Afghanistan war

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Pelosi Eye Roll Hints at Dem Rift on Afghanistan

She doesn't seem to be on the same page as Reid

(Newser) - It was a little thing. After Tuesday’s powwow with the president on Afghan strategy, Harry Reid emerged from the White House with Nancy Pelosi and announced: “Everyone said that ‘whatever decision you make, we will support it,’” as the House speaker rolled her eyes. Though...

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...

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,...

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...

Anti-War Movement Switches Focus to Afghanistan

Dwindled movement seeks revival as war enters 9th year

(Newser) - The anti-war movement isn't the force it was in the '60s or even six years ago, but organizers are hoping a campaign of protests this fall will gain momentum and capitalize on the growing unpopularity of the Afghanistan war. The National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, an umbrella organization for dozens...

No Afghanistan Withdrawal, Obama Tells Lawmakers

But still undecided on proposed buildup

(Newser) - President Obama won’t commit to sending more troops to Afghanistan, but neither will he withdraw any, he told congressional leaders in a White House meeting today that included a sharp exchange between the president and Republican Sen. John McCain. Obama wanted to “dispense with the straw man argument...

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...

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...

Arctic Thaw May Lead to NATO-Russia Chill

New Euro chief warns of competition for resources

(Newser) - NATO’s new European commander is wary of Russian intentions in the Arctic, where climate change is opening up trade routes and access to billions of barrels of oil. James Stavridis looks “at the high north and I think it could either be a zone of conflict, I hope...

McChrystal Meets With Obama to Make His Case

(Newser) - President Obama squeezed in a quick, unannounced meeting this morning with Gen. Stanley McChrystal during his trip to Copenhagen. The two met for about a half-hour aboard Air Force One, where McChrystal presumably made his case in person for more troops in Afghanistan. The general flew in from London, where...

White House Split on Afghanistan Strategy

'Skeptic-in-chief' Biden challenges McChrystal's call for more troops

(Newser) - Gen. Stanley McChrystal's call to beef up the war effort in Afghanistan is proving a tough sell with senior administration officials.  White House advisers challenged many aspects of the commander's assessment at a meeting this week, including his belief that al-Qaeda would again find sanctuary in Afghanistan if the...

US Troops: It's 'Vietnam Without the Napalm'

(Newser) - The US troops patrolling the Arghandab River area in southern Afghanistan have one of the most arduous tasks of the war: winning the support of the locals in a region where the Taliban is gaining strength. Hal Bernton of McClatchy Newspapers checks in with the soldiers of Bravo Company and...

Obama May Need GOP to Send More Troops

Democrats uneasy about Afghan buildup

(Newser) - If President Obama decides to go along with Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s request for 40,000 more troops in Afghanistan, he’s probably going to need Republican help to do it. Democrats are increasingly opposed to the buildup, with party leaders telling the Washington Post they worry that more American...

Rove Warns Prez: Don't Leave Afghanistan to Biden

Obama should drop his 'aloof' approach and start listening to his commanders

(Newser) - President Obama's hands-off approach to Afghanistan may suit his governing style but it's no way to win a war, writes Karl Rove. The president has only spoken with his top commander in Afghanistan once since June, notes Rove. This apparent indifference to conditions on the ground contrasts sharply with his...

Americans Fed Up With Afghan War
 Americans Fed Up 
 With Afghan War 
OPINION
Sep 26, 2009 9:59 AM CDT

Americans Fed Up With Afghan War

(Newser) - The Obama administration is busy figuring out how to fine-tune its Afghan strategy while most Americans by and large just want us out of there. "A clash is coming," warns Bob Herbert. Most people are tired of the war, worried about the recession, and in no mood for...

Osama Warns Europe to Leave Afghanistan

Al-Qaeda mastermind says Obama 'has no regard for human life'

(Newser) - Osama bin Laden wants Europe to pull its troops out Afghanistan and sever ties with the US. In a new audio message, the al-Qaeda chief admonishes European nations for putting in with a United States whose “supreme commander has no regard for human life and intentionally bombs villagers from...

Brooks: Listen to McChrystal
 Brooks: 
 Listen to McChrystal 
opinion
Sep 25, 2009 9:12 AM CDT

Brooks: Listen to McChrystal

President Obama must dismiss 'graveyard of empires' remarks

(Newser) - Talk to people who have a superficial sense of Afghanistan, and you'll hear the same thing: It's a "graveyard of empires," and the US needs to get out. Genuine experts, people who live there, dismiss the stereotype as "rubbish" and take a more "guardedly optimistic" view....

McChrystal Surprised by 'Breadth of Violence'
McChrystal Surprised by 'Breadth of Violence'
Interview
Sep 25, 2009 7:22 AM CDT

McChrystal Surprised by 'Breadth of Violence'

Civilian casualties all-important in Afghanistan, commander says

(Newser) - Gen. Stanley McChrystal, whose mission for the last few months has been to size up the situation in Afghanistan and redirect US strategy, says he found the violence to be worse than he expected going in. “I think that in some areas that the breadth of violence, the geographical...

Taliban Widens Afghan Attacks From Pakistan Base

Forces controlled from Pakistan respond nimbly

(Newser) - The Afghan Taliban leadership operating out of Pakistan has surprised the US military by countering its offensive in southern Afghanistan with a shrewd expansion into the north and west of the country. “They’ve outmaneuvered us time and time again,” an intelligence official tells the New York Times....

Ahmadinejad Rips Israel, US, as Usual, in UN Speech

American, other delegations walk out of Iranian president's speech

(Newser) - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ripped Israel and the US in his speech today before the United Nations General Assembly, even as Iran’s president said his country was ready to work for peace and would shake hands “honestly extended to us.” The US and other delegations walked out—in protest...

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