Afghanistan

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Pres. Hamlet Must Send in His Troops
Pres. Hamlet Must Send in
His Troops
OPINION
Oct 9, 2009 11:15 AM CDT

Pres. Hamlet Must Send in His Troops

Krauthammer: Dems have to get serious about Afghanistan

(Newser) - It’s time for Democrats, particularly President Obama, to get serious about the war in Afghanistan, writes Charles Krauthammer. From John Kerry on, Democrats have campaigned on the cynical political calculation that Afghanistan was the “good war.” But now that it’s time to send troops into that...

Top Afghan Troop Request Is 60K—Not 40K

Obama and team meet again today on strategy

(Newser) - The troop requests on the table as President Obama meets with his security team again today are even higher than has been reported: The top option is 60,000, not 40,000, the Wall Street Journal reports, though Gen. McChrystal is backing the middle figure, 40,000. The third and...

Let McChrystal Make His Case to Congress
 Let McChrystal 
 Make His Case 
 to Congress 
peggy noonan
Oct 9, 2009 1:39 AM CDT

Let McChrystal Make His Case to Congress

National debate is needed to build consensus

(Newser) - President Obama may not want to hear from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, but Congress certainly does, writes Peggy Noonan, and he should let them. Staying on in Afghanistan and withdrawing are both unappealing options that could have dire consequences, and even though the Pentagon doesn't want to do it, the country...

Afghan Rift? It's Just 'Smoke and Puffery'
Afghan Rift?
It's Just 'Smoke and Puffery'
OPINION
Oct 8, 2009 12:45 PM CDT

Afghan Rift? It's Just 'Smoke and Puffery'

McCain, others inflate controversy so Obama looks weak: Klein

(Newser) - There’s been much consternation recently about the supposed break between the White House and Stanley McChrystal over strategy in Afghanistan. But it’s really all “smoke and puffery,” a political ruse perpetrated by John McCain and some neocon compatriots, writes Joe Klein in Time. The furor has...

Taliban to West: We Mean You No Harm

Group may be trying to sway Afghanistan strategy debate

(Newser) - With the US debating what to do in Afghanistan, the Taliban has announced it poses no threat to the West. “We did not have any agenda to harm other countries, including Europe, nor do we have such agenda today,” said a statement posted on Taliban websites. The group...

Troops Despair, Question Afghan Mission: Chaplains

'I'm not exactly sure why we're' in Afghanistan, says one

(Newser) - Morale is not good at the Forward Operating Base in Wardak province. Soldiers there are starting to lose hope, base chaplains tell the Times. “They feel they are risking their lives for progress that’s hard to discern,” said one, while another described a “sense of futility...

Blast Kills 17 Outside Indian Embassy in Kabul

Rush hour car bomb attack kills street cleaners

(Newser) - At least 17 people were killed and dozens injured when a powerful car bomb exploded in central Kabul today, rattling buildings up to a mile away. The bomb went off across the road from the Afghan Interior Ministry and the Indian embassy, which is believed to have been the target....

Afghan Debate Focuses on al-Qaeda
 Afghan Debate 
 Focuses on al-Qaeda 
white house strategy review
Oct 8, 2009 5:51 AM CDT

Afghan Debate Focuses on al-Qaeda

White House advisers argue that Taliban is too ingrained to be completely wiped out

(Newser) - The question of how much of a threat the Taliban actually poses to the US was at the heart of discussions on Afghanistan strategy yesterday, officials say. Members of Obama's national security team argued that recent successes in Pakistan show that al-Qaeda can be defeated without extra troops in Afghanistan,...

In Afghanistan, We Fight and Die, China Wins

In fact, Beijing comes out ahead whether we stay or go

(Newser) - American and Chinese interests seem to be conveniently aligned in Afghanistan, writes Robert D. Kaplan. By securing the country, NATO forces have allowed China access to vast mineral deposits and trade routes to the Indian Ocean. In turn, Chinese companies employ Afghan workers, stabilizing the economy and hence the nation....

Vietnam Books Playing Key Role in Afghan War Debate
Vietnam Books Playing Key Role in Afghan War Debate
WHAT OBAMA IS READING
Oct 7, 2009 8:24 AM CDT

Vietnam Books Playing Key Role in Afghan War Debate

Competing works on Vietnam War top policymakers' reading lists

(Newser) - A pair of books on the Vietnam War—one on why America should never have gotten involved, and one on how it could have won—are providing the framework for the Washington debate over Afghanistan strategy, insiders say. Lessons in Disaster, which describes how the White House was pushed into...

In Wanat, US Learns Value, Pain of Retreat

In Waygal Valley, leaving has helped the cause.

(Newser) - Days after the bloody battle that has come to be called the "Black Hawk Down" of Afghanistan, US troops left the the isolated Afghan village of Wanat. Fourteen months later, they haven’t returned, giving the Taliban free reign in the Waygal Valley—but the retreat is starting to...

McChrystal Should 'Shut Up'
 McChrystal Should 'Shut Up' 
OPINION
Oct 5, 2009 4:27 PM CDT

McChrystal Should 'Shut Up'

General's job is to advise the president, not lobby publicly for policy changes

(Newser) - The decisions President Obama will make following his review of Afghanistan policy will be some of the most important of his presidency. The last thing he needs, then, is a rogue general waging a public campaign for the adoption of his preferred strategy. To be sure, Stanley McChrystal deserves enormous...

Military Advice to Obama Should Be Private: Gates

Defense secretary joins criticism of McChrystal

(Newser) - Military commanders should give their advice on Afghanistan to President Obama, not to the public, Robert Gates said today. In an implicit reprimand to Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who has commented openly on his low opinion of the administration’s Afghanistan policy, the defense secretary said such advice should be given...

UN Names Norway Best Place to Live

Niger, Afghanistan round out list of 182 nations; China makes big gains

(Newser) - Norway is the best country in the world to live in, according to the UN’s human development index, and Niger is the worst, ranking just below Afghanistan. The index ranks 182 countries based on life expectancy, school enrollment, and GDP per capita. China came in at 92, up seven...

Weak Afghan al-Qaeda Calls Surge Into Question

Whether Taliban will facilitate or shun terror group is up in the air

(Newser) - The principal rationale for the original US invasion of Afghanistan was the elimination of an al-Qaeda safe haven. Almost a decade later, the terrorist group is much diminished there, as well as in Pakistan, prompting serious second thoughts within the administration about ramping up forces in the region. Aides to...

Petraeus Goes Quiet, for Good or Ill
Petraeus Goes Quiet, for
Good or Ill
ANALYSIS
Oct 5, 2009 6:11 AM CDT

Petraeus Goes Quiet, for Good or Ill

Face of Iraq surge disappears in Afghanistan debate

(Newser) - By the end of George W. Bush's second term David Petraeus was the country's most famous military man, carpeting the media with interviews and pressing the flesh on Capitol Hill. The general who personified the Iraq troop surge is still around, and spoke up in strategy sessions with Barack Obama...

Obama Lashed McChrystal in Tense Faceoff

Prez reads commander riot act over his 'Chaos-istan' dig

(Newser) - President Obama's talk last week aboard Air Force One with Afghanistan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal wasn't merely a meeting, as was widely reported in the press, but a dressing down over the general's "shocking" recent comments calling for more troops, says the Telegraph. McChrystal was called on the carpet...

Jones: Afghan Troop Level Is 'Robust'
 Jones: 
 Afghan Troop 
 Level Is 'Robust'
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Oct 4, 2009 10:38 AM CDT

Jones: Afghan Troop Level Is 'Robust'

Says situation 'much more complex than just about 'X' more troops'

(Newser) - As debate about Afghan policy rages, President Obama's national security adviser took to the airwaves today, telling CNN that the US troop presence there is "robust" and emphasizing that the situation hinged on more than sheer numbers. Although Afghanistan's disputed election was destined to be "imperfect," Gen....

Afghan Attack Kills 8 US Soldiers

Remote region near Pakistan border was scene of 2008 'Black Hawk Down' attack

(Newser) - Militant fighters attacked a pair of remote outposts in Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, killing eight US soldiers and as many as seven Afghan forces in one of the fiercest battles of the eight-year war.The Taliban claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack for coalition forces in a mountainous region...

Disastrous 2008 Battle Sways Afghanistan Strategy

Report details heroism, costly errors in firefight that left 9 dead

(Newser) - A battle 18 months ago that has come be called the "Black Hawk Down" of Afghanistan, with nine Americans soldiers killed and 27 wounded, is drawing new scrutiny in Washington as a snapshot of what has gone wrong in the war effort there. A company of paratroopers, who had...

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