Afghanistan troop surge

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Obama Faces War Without His Base
 Obama Faces War
Without His Base
PEGGY NOONAN

Obama Faces War Without His Base

Prez 'redeclared' Afghanistan war without Dems on board

(Newser) - It was reassuring to see a Democratic president admit that we're "in a real struggle with bad people," writes Peggy Noonan of Obama's Afghanistan speech, but it's too bad his supporters don't seem to be on board. Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and George W. Bush had a political...

Bill Ayers Protests Obama
 Bill Ayers Protests Obama 
clarence page

Bill Ayers Protests Obama

Calls his Afghan benchmarks 'a myth and a lie'

(Newser) - The honeymoon’s over for Bill Ayers and Barack Obama. The former Weather Underground member—that would be Ayers—was out protesting last night against Obama’s escalation of the war in Afghanistan, columnist Clarence Page blogs for the Chicago Tribune . In this clip, he says he’s “appalled...

White House Piles on Rummy Over Afghan Troop Gripe

'You go to war with the defense sec you have'

(Newser) - Donald Rumsfeld would prefer President Obama not disparage the previous administration by suggesting it ignored troop requests by US commanders in Afghanistan, as he did in Tuesday’s speech. That’s a “bald misstatement,” the former defense secretary says in a statement. “At least as it pertains...

Obama Surge Dicey for Campaigning Dems

Liberal base could make life hard for incumbents, and others

(Newser) - President Obama’s decision on the Afghan troop surge is throwing a big monkey wrench into the campaigns of some Democrats, who must now walk the line between an exasperated liberal base and the approval of the White House. Support for the surge is being wielded like a cudgel by...

Gates: Afghan Failure Means 'Civil War'

Troop surge is necessary to transition to humanitarian role

(Newser) - Defense chief Robert Gates and other members of the Obama administration took to Capitol Hill today to sell President Obama's plan to send 30,000 additional troops. "Failure in Afghanistan would mean a Taliban takeover of much, if not most, of the country and likely a renewed civil war,...

Taliban: Obama Will See 'Lots of Coffins'

Insurgents vow to fight against US surge

(Newser) - The Taliban defiantly vowed to fight back against the US troop surge, with a spokesman saying it will “provoke stronger resistance” from the group. “Obama will witness lots of coffins heading to America from Afghanistan,” a spokesman tells the BBC . “Their hope to control Afghanistan by...

Obama Takes Fight to Pashtuns
 Obama Takes Fight to Pashtuns 
Analysis

Obama Takes Fight to Pashtuns

New strategy will result in immediate spike in battles

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s new strategy will result in an immediate spike in combat clashes, as the US directly advances on the ethnic Pashtuns in eastern and southern Afghanistan. The first wave of reinforcements is already moving, reports David Wood in Politics Daily, with marines expected to begin landing in the...

Obama Gambles on Dubious Afghan Allies
Obama Gambles on Dubious Afghan Allies
Dexter Filkins

Obama Gambles on Dubious Afghan Allies

Surge relies on corrupt Karzai government, poorly-trained military

(Newser) - By announcing an 18-month timetable, Barack Obama has thrown down the gauntlet for an Afghan government and military that have so far proven unreliable. Hamid Karzai’s government is considered among the world’s most corrupt, but Obama seems to be betting that the withdrawal timetable will encourage it to...

US Will Begin Withdrawing Troops in July 2011

President will discuss Afghan timetable in speech tonight

(Newser) - President Obama plans to begin withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan in July 2011, senior administration officials say. Obama will sketch out the timetable tonight when he announces plans to send an additional 30,000 troops to the country over the next 6 months, report the New York Times and the...

Obama Sounding a Lot Like Bush
 Obama Sounding 
 a Lot Like Bush 
GLENN GREENWALD

Obama Sounding a Lot Like Bush

Rationale for troop surge is the same that Bush used for Iraq

(Newser) - Glenn Greenwald finds the rationale for the Afghan troop surge President Obama will announce tonight to be "remarkably similar" to that used by George W. Bush when he argued for more troops in Iraq in 2007. The speech hasn’t been given yet, but the administration has been leaking...

Obama Wants Afghan War Over in 3 Years

He wants all new troops on the ground within 6 months

(Newser) - President Obama wants the war effort in Afghanistan wrapped up in 3 years and most US troops home by then, senior officials tell CNN . He also wants to speed up deployment of the 30,000 or so additional troops he's sending, with the first Marines expected to be on the...

Obama Talks Afghan Strategy With Karzai

Morning videoconference pleased Afghan president, sources say

(Newser) - President Obama spent an hour on the phone with Hamid Karzi this morning to discuss the new US policy for Afghanistan, a spokesman for the presidential palace reports. A close confidant of Karzai's who was with the Afghan president following the call said Karzai was happy with the videoconference conversation...

Troop Surge Number? 34K
 Troop Surge Number? 34K 
AFGHAN strategy

Troop Surge Number? 34K

With NATO troops, total close to McChrystal request

(Newser) - The Washington Post has—or thinks it has—the much anticipated number of troops President Obama will deploy to Afghanistan, and it's 34,000. That, combined with 5,000 he's said to be seeking from NATO allies, brings the total within shooting distance of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for 40,...

Obama Issues Orders for More Afghan Troops

Briefed military last night, will reveal number and other details tomorrow

(Newser) - After weeks of deliberation, President Obama has settled on a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan and ordered the military to carry it out. The exact size of the troop escalation has not been announced, but sources put the number in the neighborhood of 30,000 more troops. The...

9K Marines to Lead Afghanistan Charge
 9K Marines to Lead 
 Afghanistan Charge 
obama's new strategy

9K Marines to Lead Afghanistan Charge

They'll be deployed days after Obama outlines new war plan

(Newser) - Just days after Obama unveils his new Afghan war strategy, as many as 9,000 Marines will ready themselves to deploy to Afghanistan's Hemland province as part of phased reinforcements approach. They'll double the Marine force in a bloody southern region that has seen US gains but, due to a...

Taliban Makes Surprise Return in N. Afghanistan

Kunduz thought secure enough to move troops elsewhere

(Newser) - With US and Afghan forces focused on the southern regions of Afghanistan, the Taliban has popped up in the country’s northern Kunduz province—not only far from its home area but until recently seen as peaceful enough that soldiers and policemen have been transferred from the area to help...

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