President Obama is very cognizant of the opinion polls which clearly say that a majority of the American people are now against the war in Afghanistan. Most Americans oppose Afghan war or troop surge. Democrats are overwhelmingly against the war and even Republican are having second thoughts about the war in the Khyber.
Bluster before Exit: Obama’s last hurrah—30,000 troops “for 18 months” then withdrawal by 2011 
The last time the Obama Administration went into a deep review of the Afghan policy, it came up more of the same. The last review was simply repackaged demagoguery justifying the Banality of Occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan: Mr. Bruce Reidel’s perpetuated the circle of complicity between a sycophantic press, and a non-inquisitive servile public. The American people were forced to accept the the only argument that is being repeatedly propagated by a cabal of right wing ideologues. Unable to see the other options the nation is forced to accept the ruthless occupation as necessary and the only way forward. Python swallows alligator and explodes: Lessons from the Peloponnesian War.
US German rift impacts Afghan war. The defeat of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan has come at great cost to the citizens of those countries. Baghdad is resilient and recovered from the devastation of invasion of Mongols under Halaku Khan who obliterated the capital city. This invasion has been worse, because it uses modern means of exterminating enemies. In Iraq more than one million have been killed and 3.5 million left the country and life as refugees in Syria and elsewhere. In Afghanistan the carpet bombing sent the country to the Neanderthal days of Chengiz Khan and the other Mongols who had tried to occupy it earlier. Af-Pak: Beating up the angry cat, pissing off the ferocious tiger
- Michael Moore to President Obama
- Obama’s mini surge: Withdrawal in 2011! as predicted by Rupee News
- Delhi’s worst nightmare: A “Taliban” (Pakhtun) government in Kabul
- Obama’s new Grand bargain: More aid, intelligence cooperation & a few threats
Reporting from Washington – On a day when his administration outlined broad and ambitious goals for Afghanistan and Pakistan, President Obama also moved Wednesday to call a timeout in the escalating national debate over a troop increase.
Obama insisted he would not be rushed in refining his strategy for the region or in making a decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan, saying more time was needed to refine strategy and assess needs.
But the lofty goals set by the White House that include promoting an Afghan government that can combat extremists and corruption while supporting human rights — represent difficult, time-consuming jobs likely to require a greater number of troops and more civilian aid and international help.
Senior military leaders have said a troop increase will probably be necessary. Some administration officials have signaled to members of Congress that they are likely to ask for additional forces.
But the U.S. troop level is due to rise to 68,000 this year, and the prospect of sending more has triggered a backlash among leading congressional Democrats. Many Republicans, meanwhile, have sided with military commanders in urging Obama to send more troops.
- PEANUTS: Puny US Aid to Pakistan is too little too late. Marshall Plan, & Trade concessions missing
- Graveyard of Empires: AfPak-TurkTaj-UzbKaz-AzKyr -istan
- The rude Admiral Michael Mullen is still wrong on Afghanistan
What is different about this new approach this time? Well most of it is the same old rhetoric packaged anew, and some of it is old wine in new bottle. It does offer a few additional kernels of focus on economic development for both Afghanistan and Pakistan, but that has been promised many times over the past decade. None of it actually materialized. Neither the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZ) nor the Free Trade Agreements, nor the trade preferences stood the test of reality.
Free fall: Illegitimate election catalyzes collapse of Kabul Government. The goal is the same “pacification of Afghanistan”. This time it is “pacification of Afghanistan by eliminating the ’safe havens’ in FATA. 3000 more targets sent to Kabul will not reverse the insurgent gains. More drone attacks on FATA won’t cut it. More pressure on Islamabad won’t hack it.
Justifying the Banality of a brutal Occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan: The Thinktanks attempt to complete the circle of complicity between a sycophantic press, and a non-inquisitive servile public. The nation is forced to accept the only argument that it is being repeatedly inundated with
Afghanistan ethnic map: Centrifugal forces are at work drawing the ethnicites towards areas where the majority of them live
Obama moved Wednesday to cool that debate, staking out a middle position in an appearance with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Obama said he was not going to decide on sending additional troops until he had “the strategy right.”
“You don’t make determinations about resources, and certainly you don’t make determinations about sending young men and women into battle, without having absolute clarity about what the strategy is going to be,” Obama said.
Administration officials have set objectives that include disrupting terrorist networks in Afghanistan and Pakistan; stabilizing Pakistan’s government by monitoring Pakistani public opinion, among other measures; improving Islamabad’s ability to battle insurgents; improving Afghan forces and defeating the insurgency there; and improving the Afghan government, including its judiciary and support for human rights.
The objectives and the “metrics” established to measure them amount to an ambitious agenda, going well beyond the administration’s overall goal of defeating terrorist cells in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yardsticks of progress, for both Afghanistan and Pakistan focus at least as much on rooting out the Taliban and its strongholds as defeating Al Qaeda.
The Obama administration announced a broad new strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan in March, but there have been few details from the Pentagon or State Department about how the government would put that strategy into action.
Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who took over as commander of allied forces has been working on a more detailed strategic plan and developing a request for more resources.
An assessment last month by McChrystal, which was described to lawmakers Wednesday, represents the first step in laying out that refined strategy and making the case for a larger troop presence.
Obama said Wednesday that he wanted an assessment of the civilian and diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan akin to the military assessment recently completed by McChrystal.
“My determination is to get this right,” Obama said. “And I am going to take a very deliberate process in making these decisions.” Obama says he won’t rush Afghanistan troop decision. The president will not decide on sending additional troops until he has ‘the strategy right,’ he says. By Julian E. Barnes. September 17, 2009. julian.barnes@latimes.com
The Pakistani perspective: Peace deals only way to precipitate face saving for US & Obama’s smooth Exit strategy from Afghanistan
Blaming Pakistan won’t help the war on terror.The Government in Pakistan under tremendous pressure from the populace is unable to handle the pressure and will have to take a stand against the drones. Pakistan to Holbrooke: Here’s a list. The United States should reshape its Afghan policy to take into account Pakistan’s security concerns, otherwise no strategy will work. US Charge of the Light Brigade into Pakistan is a US failure and has to stop
