Afghanistan exit strategy

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Petraeus: My Son Served in Afghanistan

Deployment was kept 'very quiet'

(Newser) - In the midst of an emotional exchange today on Capitol Hill, David Petraeus revealed that his son had recently served a combat tour in Afghanistan, "which thankfully we were able to keep very quiet," the AP reports. Republican Rep. Walter Jones had pressed Petraeus to "be honest"...

Biden to Karzai: We'll Stay Past 2014
Biden to Karzai:
We'll Stay Past 2014

Biden to Karzai: We'll Stay Past 2014

But he promises US will 'not be an occupying force'

(Newser) - So much for “hell or high water.” Joe Biden met with Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan yesterday, and emerged telling reporters that the US would be willing to keep troops in the country past 2014, provided the Afghan government wanted them there. “We have moved into a new...

Biden Makes Surprise Afghanistan Visit

VP to review progress in security handover

(Newser) - The vice president has made a surprise visit to Afghanistan. Joe Biden is in the country to review progress as allied forces turn security over to Afghan hands, the AP reports. He’s set to meet with President Karzai and US commander David Petraeus, the White House says; he’ll...

Biden's Way Off on 'Total' Afghanistan Pullout
Biden's Way Off on 'Total' Afghanistan Pullout
OPINION

Biden's Way Off on 'Total' Afghanistan Pullout

VP claimed departure 'come hell or high water'

(Newser) - Joe Biden was in the spotlight this weekend for saying the US would follow its Iraq model and be “totally” out of Afghanistan by 2014, “come hell or high water.” Well, that’s just wrong, writes Justin Elliott in Salon . For one thing, withdrawal from Iraq hasn’...

US Now in Afghanistan as Long as Soviets

9 years, 50 days: Same length, different fight, analysts say

(Newser) - As of today, the US military has been fighting in Afghanistan for 9 years and 50 days—exactly as long as the Soviets did during their doomed campaign to turn the country into a socialist state. Analysts say that while the Soviet invasion and the NATO campaign have very different...

US Plans 2014 End to Afghan Combat

Phased withdrawal echoes Iraq exit strategy

(Newser) - The Obama administration has worked up a plan to complete the US combat mission in Afghanistan by 2014, gradually shifting security into the hands of Afghan troops, insiders tell the New York Times . The piecemeal strategy, which echoes the phased Iraq withdrawal, will be presented at a NATO meeting in...

Karzai to US: Cut Troop Presence
 Karzai to US: 
 Cut Troop 
 Presence 
INTERVIEW

Karzai to US: Cut Troop Presence

Afghan prez says war has taken vast toll on people, need to get back to normal

(Newser) - Nine years into the war in Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai sees the toll it's taken on his people and says it's time for the US military to dial down its war effort. "The time has come to reduce the presence of, you know, boots in Afghanistan," he tells the...

Afghan Troop Surge Just 'Political Cover' for Obama
Afghan Troop Surge Just 'Political Cover' for Obama
Charles Krauthammer

Afghan Troop Surge Just 'Political Cover' for Obama

Charles Krauthammer: President doesn't believe in the war

(Newser) - President Obama doesn't really believe in the Afghanistan war, writes Charles Krauthammer, and Bob Woodward's book proves it. Sure, he increased troops and called it a "vital national interest," but he simultaneously told his team that he needed an exit strategy because "I can't lose the whole...

White House Torn Apart By Afghan War

Bob Woodward book reveals deep fault lines over war policy

(Newser) - The Obama White House is a simmering pot of anger and disagreement, with too many bickering chefs handling of the war in Afghanistan, according to a new book by Bob Woodward that exposes deep rifts in the administration. Here, via the New York Times , are some of the juicy bits...

GOP Slaps Obama on Mosque
 GOP Slaps Obama on Mosque 
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP

GOP Slaps Obama on Mosque

Issue will haunt in November, says Cornyn

(Newser) - David Petraeus stopped by to say he's not overwhelmed by his 2011 deadline in Afghanistan, but President Obama's stance on the Ground Zero mosque was pretty much the only game on the Sunday shows today. The GOP should keep its paws off the Constitution, DNC chair Tim Kaine said, while...

Afghan Women Dread Peace With Taliban

TIME talks to woman mutilated by militants

(Newser) - It appears increasingly likely that the US exit strategy from Afghanistan will involve some form of reconciliation with the Taliban. But that’s a terrifying thing for many Afghan women, Time reports this week, plastering on its cover the grisly image of an 18-year-old woman who had her nose and...

Support Crumbling for Afghan War

Congressional Dems near open revolt as initiative fails to show progress

(Newser) - The July 2011 deadline Barack Obama set to begin withdrawing troops from Afghanistan was supposed to put pressure on Hamid Karzai’s government to step up its efforts to take over security duties. But it's wound up putting at least as much pressure on Obama, according to a harsh front-page...

Biden: Few Troops to Leave Afghanistan in 2011

US trying to work with reasonable Taliban members

(Newser) - Don’t expect much from next summer’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. In an interview yesterday, Joe Biden said some troops would start leaving in July 2011, but added, “It could be as few as a couple thousand troops. It could be more. But there will be a transition.”...

Afghanistan Victory a 'Romantic Wish'
 Afghanistan Victory 
 a 'Romantic Wish'  
rachel maddow

Afghanistan Victory a 'Romantic Wish'

It's time to stop asking people to die, host argues

(Newser) - Rachel Maddow fired one across the administration's bow last night in a lengthy piece breaking down its strategy behind the war in Afghanistan. She acknowledges that setting up an Afghan government is a vital US interest. "The administration's argument for staying in Afghanistan and what to do there is...

McChrystal's Real Crime: Trying Too Hard in Afghanistan

General wants to win the war at any cost

(Newser) - Yes, Gen. Stanley McChrystal should lose his job, but not because he bruised Barack Obama’s ego. “The press is turning a story about policy into a story about penises,” writes Peter Beinart on the Daily Beast . Beneath the “fairly mild” cracks McChrystal makes in that Rolling ...

White House Rolls Out Red Carpet for Karzai

Afghan leader comes to DC for (likely strained) talks

(Newser) - When Hamid Karzai arrives in Washington today, he'll be met with smiles (through gritted teeth, perhaps) from Barack Obama. The administration has had a rocky relationship with Karzai—the trip was almost canceled after he publicly contemplated joining the Taliban—but Obama has ordered his aides to roll out the...

Karzai's Peace Plan: Exile Taliban Leaders

Plan calls for "deradicalization" classes, jobs

(Newser) - Taliban leaders would be allowed to go peacefully into exile, while their warriors would be given jobs and “deradicalization” classes under a new peace plan that will be proposed later this month by Hamid Karzai's government in Afghanistan. The write-up seen by the Guardian refers to Taliban fighters as...

Obama Doubles Special Ops in Afghanistan

Administration fears time is running out to stop Taliban

(Newser) - The Obama administration has more than doubled the number of special forces in Afghanistan, tasking them with hunting down Taliban leaders—in part because it’s worried that the US has a dwindling window to defang the insurgency before its scheduled 2011 withdrawal, senior officials tell the LA Times . They’...

Obama Leans on Karzai to Beef Up Cooperation

Surprise visit to Afghanistan spotlights emphasis on civilian cooperation

(Newser) - President Obama's surprise visit to Afghanistan today is in large part intended to impress upon the Afghan government the necessity of fighting crime and corruption in preparation to govern without American intervention. After meeting with Hamid Karzai, Obama said he was happy with the military accomplishments in the country, "...

Patrick Kennedy Loses It on House Floor
 Patrick Kennedy 
 Loses It on House Floor 
afghanistan coverage 'despicable'

Patrick Kennedy Loses It on House Floor

Rhode Island Congressman blasts media for Afghanistan Coverage

(Newser) - Patrick Kennedy blasted the media on the floor of the House this afternoon, calling the focus on the likes of Eric Massa rather than the war in Afghanistan "despicable." The lame-duck Rhode Island Democrat was speaking—and eventually shouting—in favor of a Dennis Kucinich-sponsored resolution requiring President...

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