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Tag Archives: Obama

Obama's Wars: Exit Plan Ignores Narco-Terrorism in Afghanistan

Obama's Wars: Exit Plan Ignores Narco-Terrorism in Afghanistan

Bug Out Now, says Obama…

All of this follows on the heels of revelations–more ‘leaks’– from Woodward’s soon to be published best-seller, “Obama’s Wars,” especially a specific and ‘bizarre,’ as Woodward calls it, statement by the President about the nation’s ability to ‘absorb’ another 9/11 type attack, and by inference, the inability of the US government (or any government for that matter) to safequard its citizens from the bombs, bullets, and bacteria that are terrorism’s stock-in-trade.

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WaPo Concurs on Waverer-in-Chief

The Washington Post editorial page shares my concern of President Obama’s seeming lack of commitment in his Afghanistan strategy, as portrayed in Bob Woodward’s ‘Obama’s Wars’ series: What’s most disturbing in Mr. Woodward’s book is the evidence it offers that Mr. Obama’s own commitment to his plan is weak. The president is described as preoccupied […]

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Ending poverty by reducing corruption

Last week the United Nations held a summit on the Millennium Development Goals. This is a set of venerable aims laid out in 2000 and intended to be accomplished by 2015. They include things like improving gender equality and ending extreme poverty. While some people indeed treat them as something to strive for, the goals […]

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Bob Woodward's 'Obama's War' Part One: Waverer-in-Chief?

Bob Woodward's 'Obama's War' Part One: Waverer-in-Chief?

Well, I just finished the 1st of Bob Woodward’s three-part series ‘Obama’s War’ in the Washington Post and came away keying a different aspect than Woodward and likely the Obama administration wanted to get across. Woodward’s main theme in this first section is that the high brass of the US military (Mullen, McChrystal, Petraeus) failed […]

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Mexico's 'Insurgency' Triggers Diplomatic Furor

This is the new face of global organized crime–a criminal smorgasbord in which players energized by shifting motives still cooperate at intersections in their operational journeys, ‘hooking up’ for a day or an extra dollar when there are benefits all around.

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Money, Money, Money!

The latest Afghanistan and Iraq cost analysis by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) will not sit well with many Americans living on a tight budget. Though the war in Iraq is costing less and less, the US military is basically transferring these saved funds to the Afghan conflict. Between 2009 and 2010, the average monthly cost […]

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CIA Chief in Kabul: Obama/Karzai Administration Relations

This Wall Street Journal story by Siobhan Gorman details the influential position of a CIA chief inside of the Karzai administration in Kabul. The piece is worthwhile reading for its insight into the Obama administration’s Afghan teams layout and method for working with the at times, volatile, President Karzai. President Obama’s administration’s relationship with Karzai has seen […]

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WTO should not be the first response

Last week the U.S. Congress passed a border security bill that plans to generate funds by hiking H1-B and L-1 visa fee by $2000 per application per person. This would help fund the $600 million emergency fund for securing the U.S. border, particular with Mexico. (See David’s post for details.) Though it is not explicitly […]

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Exiting the Exit Strategy?

Exiting the Exit Strategy?

With all the hub-bub about the Wikileaks, tragic death of the humanitarian workers, President Karzai’s anti anti-corruption crusade, etc. an important seachange in the Obama administration’s Afghan strategy has appeared; The administration is discreetly walking back its July 2011 drawdown date. Here is Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week [my emphasis]: “I think we need […]

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Wikileak Damage: From Secretary Gates to Speaker Pelosi

Wikileak Damage: From Secretary Gates to Speaker Pelosi

After Faheem poignantly detailed President Karzai’s disapproval of the Wikileaks document leak, we now have Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ strong reaction from the incident: “I’m not sure anger is the right word. I just — I think mortified, appalled,” Gates said. “And if I’m angry, it is because I believe that this information puts those in Afghanistan […]

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Following the First Battalion, 87th Infantry

Following the First Battalion, 87th Infantry

Just a couple items and recommendations: First, I highly recommend checking out this the first part of the New York Times coverage of the deployment of the First Battalion, 87th Infantry. The Times will follow this battalion for the next year as they head to the increasingly restive provinces of Kunduz and Baghlan in Afghanistan’s […]

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"Runaway General" Part Two

Here are a few observations from Michael Hasting’s Rolling Stone article Obama-McChrystal seemed to be on same page in terms of actual Afghanistan war strategy/policy – This has been an underreported aspect of the whole incident. McChrystal and his aides were mainly critiquing (if ‘bite me’ is a critique) the political process and not the […]

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President Obama on McChrystal's Removal, Petraeus' Arrival, & the Steady Roll of American Afghan Policy

President Obama on McChrystal's Removal, Petraeus' Arrival, & the Steady Roll of American Afghan Policy

President Obama did as good a job as was possible in his short speech to the country on Gen. McChrystal’s dismissal and the placement of Gen. Petraeus as the leader of all foreign military forces in Afghanistan. In his talk, President Obama emphasized that this was a change in military leadership and not one of […]

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McChrystal Out, Petraeus In

Afghanistan is so boring to cover. Sometimes I just sit at my desk screaming in my head ‘SOMETHING HAPPEN ALREADY!!!’ So Gen. McChrystal is now a goner and Gen. Petraeus is back to save the day yet again. Anyway you cut it, this is a sad situation that can only make a difficult situation even […]

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Great Expectations, But Can They Deliver?

The Obama administration proffered a two-part message at last week’s U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue meeting in Washington.  The first part is that, after more than a year of treading water in bilateral affairs, the administration is re-focusing its attention on New Delhi.  This signal, which was repeated loudly by U.S. officials starting with President Obama, received […]

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