The hilarious fake newspaper The Onion has a breaking news story….”US Continues Quagmire-Building Effort in Afghanistan“ Though I can normally read Onion pieces and just let myself go and enjoy the hysterical satire, but I couldn’t quite relax fully while reading this one. Here’s an excerpt: “We’ve spent a lot of time and money fostering […]
In the past week or so there have been growing signs that the Obama administration is likely to choose an Afghan strategy closer to McChrystal’s counterinsurgency plan than VP Joe Biden’s counterterrorism stance. However, most of these signs do not come directly from the administration as they have been rather tight-lipped and mainly just voiced […]
Dexter Filkins’ ‘Stanley McChrystal’s Long War‘ is an excellent profile of America’s top commander in Afghanistan and clearly showcases the challenges of going ‘all-in’ and ‘getting out’. McChrystal comes off as vibrant, smart, and worthy General, but the task ahead of him is depicted as seemingly insurmountable. Here are some choice bits… McChrystal on counterinsurgency: […]
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave an official interview this weekend where she largely discussed American policy in Afghanistan. Here are some of the highlights: Regarding the Afghanistan’s Electoral Commission coming report about a possible runoff in the presidential election: “…we’re not positive what the election commission will recommend. But clearly, whatever their recommendation […]
This afternoon I watched the half hour preview of PBS Frontline’s ‘Obama’s War’ and it was riveting. The small portion shown focuses on a group of Marines attempting to protect a village of civilians in Helmand Province. Their amazing efforts are awe inspiring to me. My only problem with PBS’s job is the name. The […]
Here layeth a great group of Afghan-related works that you should check out: Scott Shane of the New York Times does a quick, yet informative profile of Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Unfortunately, he’s as influential as ever. Staying with the New York Times, Jame Traub has one of the better pieces analyzing Afghanistan’s future and […]
Just making sure we’re all up-to-date on the latest ‘President Obama Afghan Decision 09’ process. Yesterday, the President met with a large bipartisan group of Congressmen and Senators with the major news coming out that he will not implement a major evacuation of American troops from Afghanistan nor fall back on orchestrating a strictly anti-Al […]
Peter W. Galbraith, who was fired last week from his position with the UN as deputy special representative in Afghanistan, has come out swinging with a hard hitting piece in the Washington Post deriding the United Nation’s work in securing a free and fair Afghan Presidential Election. Galbraith, who was basically fired by UN special […]
The Obama Administration is undertaking an intense, high-profile deliberation over what to do next in Afghanistan. Accounts of this week’s White House meetings indicate a lively, open debate, punctuated by General Stanley McChrystal’s calls for increased troop levels, answered by skeptical questioning from Vice President Biden. Some of this debate is being carried out in […]
As the Obama administration deliberates on what strategy and how many resources to commit or implement in Afghanistan, there has been growing comparisons between Obama’s dilemma and Bush’s prior to the Iraqi surge. Though the comparison has several important leaks, there is much to discern in both President’s leadership styles and decision making methods. The […]
It appears that journalist Bob Woodward has the scoop again on the Obama administration’s next moves in Afghanistan. Well, I guess that’s not really accurate, as Woodward really has just broken the story of the Obama administration’s ‘plans’ for how they are going to decide their next moves in the war in Afghanistan. All of […]
It’s Out. The Cat and Gen. McChrystal’s Afghan Strategy and Resource Recommendations to President Obama. While I safely got my cat Chuck back into the house, the Obama administration cannot put McChrystal’s report, which calls for thousands of more troops or the US mission in Afghanistan “will likely result in failure”, back in its envelope. […]
A few items of note to discuss: Just as I was applauding the seemingly positive news of the fact that Spain was planning to commit a few hundred more troops to the NATO effort in Afghanistan, President Stephen Harper of Canada’s spokesman Dimitri Soudas reiterated in a briefing Monday that Canada will withdraw its troops […]
With good news regarding Afghanistan few and far between lately, I found this story though small, refreshingly positive. The Spanish government has decided to send an additional 220 troops to the Central Asian state. This would make Madrid’s total to around a 1,000 soldiers assigned to the NATO effort, but 450 of them were sent […]
With Afghanistan presidential election marred with claims of fraud that may force a another turn at the polls, or at least a recount, and with the long term American presence in the country facing a growing, and at times loud, critical audience back in the States the Obama administration could use some clarity and some […]