Troop Surge

Letting Tax Cuts Expire Would Save U.S. $60 Billion Per Year

The New York Times | DAVID LEONHARDT | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: National Debt, Troop Surge, Bush Tax Cuts, Tax Cuts, Medial Research, College Tuition, Democrats, Corporate Taxes, Universal Preschool, Republicans, National Deficit, Politics News

$60 Billion: The approximate amount that extending the Bush tax cuts on income above $250,000 a year -- which Congress seems on the verge of doing -- ...

Read Whole Story

Poll: Afghans Lose Confidence In U.S., NATO

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Afghan War, US Military, Afghanistan, Troop Surge, Nato, ABC News, Afghan Poll, Washington Post, Video, World News

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — More than a quarter of Afghans see insurgent attacks against American troops as justified, according to a poll release...

Read Whole Story

White House Worried About 'Deteriorating Stalemate' In Afghanistan

Politics Daily | David Wood | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: David Wood, Obama Afghanistan, David Wood Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Troop Surge, David Petraeus, General Petraeus, US Troops Afghanistan, Afghanistan War, World News

The assessments now pouring into the White House from Afghanistan run the gamut from discouraging to awful, as the Obama administration finishes up it...

Read Whole Story

WATCH Woodward: Obama 'Psychologically' Out Of Afghanistan

Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Times Square Bomb, Afghan War, Bob Woodward, Drone Attacks, White House, Faisal Shahzad, Afghanistan, Troop Surge, Obama's Wars, Pakistan, Counterterrorism Pursuit Team, Obama, Video, Politics News

President Obama is "psychologically" out of Afghanistan, says author and Washington Post editor Bob Woodward. Woodward appeared on CBS's "Early Show"...

Read Whole Story

Robert Gates In Afghanistan: Some Troops Could Leave Early

AP | ANNE GEARAN | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Robert Gates, Afghanistan, Afghanistan War, Afpak, Troop Surge, Withdrawal, Toop Withdrawal, Afghanistan Withdrawal, Gates Afghanistan, World News

PUL-E-CHARKHI, Afghanistan — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates raised the possibility Wednesday that some of the U.S. forces involved in the A...

Read Whole Story

Marjah Battle: NATO Forces Move To Flush Out Final Taliban Resistance

AP | AMIR SHAH | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Marjah, Afghanistan, Afghanistan War, Troop Surge, Afghanistan Surge, Nato, Taliban, World News

KABUL — An Afghan Defense Ministry official says at least seven people have been killed in bombing attacks in the capital Kabul. Gen. Ahman Zia...

Read Whole Story

Taliban Using Human Shields In Afghanistan

AP | ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU and RAHIM FAIEZ | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Taliban, Afghanistan, Afghanistan War, Troop Surge, Human Shield, Afghanistan Human Shielf, Taliban Human Shield, Marjah, World News

MARJAH, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters holding out in Marjah are increasingly using civilians as human shields, firing from compounds where U.S....

Read Whole Story

Marjah Battle: Gunfire Between Marines, Taliban Foreshadows Major Afghanistan Fight

AP | ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU and CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Marjah Battle, Marjah, Marjah Afghanistan, Marjah Taliban, Marjah Marines, Taliban, Afghanistan, Marines, Taliban Afghanistan, Afghanistan War, Troop Surge, World News

NEAR MARJAH, Afghanistan — U.S. and Afghan forces ringed the Taliban stronghold of Marjah on Thursday, sealing off escape routes and setting the...

Read Whole Story

Biggest Afghanistan Battle Looms

AP | ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Kabul, Taliban, Afghanistan, Marines, U.S. Troops, Nato, Troop Surge, Eric Tremblay, Zahir Azimi, Helmand, Marjah, World News

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — U.S. troops and their Afghan and NATO allies are planning their biggest joint offensive since the Afghan war's s...

Read Whole Story

McChrystal: Taliban Could Play Role In Afghanistan Peace

Financial Times | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Taliban, Afghanistan, Troop Surge, General Mcchrystal, Afghanistan Peace, Mcchrystal, Afghanistan War, World News

General Stanley McChrystal, the Nato commander in Afghanistan, has raised the prospect that his troop surge will lead to a negotiated peace with the T...

Read Whole Story

Karl Eikenberry Assures Afghans That U.S. Will Stay Beyond 2011

McClatchy | Thomas L. Day | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Afghan War, Karzai, Karl Eikenberry, White House, US Troops, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Escalation, Troop Surge, Kabul, Obama, Taliban, 2011, Withdrawal, World News

KABUL, Afghanistan -- U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry Thursday further signaled that a strong American military presence will remain i...

Read Whole Story

How Do You Ask Someone to Be the Last to Die for President Obama's Political Image?

David Sirota | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Afghanistan War, Afghanistan, Troop Surge, US Troops Afghanistan, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Politics News

It is possible that President Obama is risking the lives of 100,000 troops with no intention of actually waging the counterinsurgency strategy he publicly says is necessary.

Read Post

Afghanistan Ambassador Speaks Out On U.S. Troop Surge

Robert Guttman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Said T. Jawad, Troop-Surge, Afghanistan Ambassador, President Barack Obama, Afghanistan War, World News

Ambassador Jawad makes our surge seem plausible when he states: "The mission is clear. This is America's war to disrupt, dismantle and ultimately defeat Al Qaeda."

Read Post

General David Rodriguez: Afghanistan Troop Surge Will Take Longer

AP | ANNE GEARAN and AMIR SHAH | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: White House, Pentagon, Troop Surge, Escalation, Afghanistan Surge, David Rodriguez, Afghan Troop Surge, Afghanistan Troop Surge, Afghanistan Escalation, Afghanistan, World News

KABUL — The military may not finish its surge of 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan until nearly a year from now, a senior U.S. commander sai...

Read Whole Story

Is Obama About to Make a Huge Mistake Over Afghanistan Troop Surge?

Andy Ostroy | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Gen. Stanley Mcchrystal, President Obama, Troop Surge, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, George W. Bush, Afghanistan War, Politics News

Instead of trying to play the "let's try to make everybody happy and ultimately make no one happy" game again, Obama could do what many believe he truly wants to, and end the war.

Read Post

Nancy Pelosi: Barack Obama Must 'Make His Case' For Afghanistan Funds

McClatchy | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Afghanistan Funds, Pelosi, Troop Surge, Pelosi Obama, Obama, Afghanistan, Afghanistan Funding, Troops, World News

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that it's up to President Barack Obama to persuade reluctant Democrats to fund his Afghanistan troop buildup...

Read Whole Story

The Forgotten Cost of War: Caring for Veterans

Paul Rieckhoff | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Veteran, Obama, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iava, Troop Surge, Veterans Administration, Obama West Point Speech, Afghanistan War, Politics News

President Obama has finally laid out his strategy for Afghanistan. Unfortunately, he did so without using the word "veteran" and without articulating any back-end support for our returning troops.

Read Post

Pakistan Fears Influx Of Militants Caused By U.S. Surge In Afghanistan

Washington Post | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Taliban, Afghanistan, Troop Surge, Afghanistan Surge, Pakistan, World News

As 30,000 U.S. troops begin to deploy to Afghanistan, fears are rising in Pakistan that a stepped-up war just over the border could worsen the increas...

Read Whole Story

NATO Allies Commit 7,000 More Troops To Afghanistan

AP | ROBERT BURNS | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Troop Increase, Nato, Troop Surge, South Korea, Georgia, Soldiers, Afghanistan, Obama, Troops, World News

BRUSSELS — NATO allies will bolster the American troop surge in Afghanistan by sending at least 7,000 soldiers of their own, officials said Frid...

Read Whole Story

Robert Gates Wants War Advice To Obama Kept Private

The Washington Post | Ann Scott Tyson and Scott Wilson | Posted 05.25.2011

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates stressed Monday that military and civilian leaders should keep their advice to President Obama on Afghanistan privat...

Read Whole Story

Up To 56,000 More Contractors Could Be Sent With Troops To Afghanistan

TPM | Justin Elliott | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Karzai, Afghanistan Contractors, Mercenaries, Afghanistan, Blackwater, Troop Surge, Escalation, Troop Levels, Afghan War, Crs, How Many Contractors in Afghanistan, Congressional Research Service, Xe, Politics News

Private contractors will make up at least half of the total military workforce in Afghanistan going forward, according to Defense Department officials...

Read Whole Story

Gibbs: Obama 'Delivered The Orders' On Afghanistan

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Obama Orders, Gibbs Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Troop Surge, Obama Military Advisers, Obama, Robert Gibbs, Obama Afghan Troops, Politics News

President Barack Obama has issued orders for the implementation of his Afghanistan strategy to military officials and cabinet members, spokesman Rober...

Read Whole Story

Senate Panel OKs $128 Billion For Afghanistan, Iraq Wars

AP | ANDREW TAYLOR | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Gates, Troop Surge, Boeing, Iraq, Congress, Obama, Appropriations Committee, War Funding, Troops, F-22, Department of Defense, Spending, Afghanistan, Senate, Politics News

WASHINGTON — With hardly any debate, a powerful Senate committee Thursday approved President Barack Obama's $128 billion request for military op...

Read Whole Story

George Will: If Iraq Troop Surge Didn't Work, U.S. Forces Must Come Home Sooner

washingtonpost.com | George F. Will | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Iran, Pentagon, Troop Surge, Nouri Al-Maliki, George Will, Iraq War, Department of Defense, Baghdad, Iraq, Obama, Home News

If there is a worse use of the U.S. military than "nation-building," it is adult supervision and behavior modification of other peoples' politicians. ...

Read Whole Story

Lawrence Korb is Wrong on Afghanistan

Derrick Crowe | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Lawrence Korb, Afghanistan, Escalation, Counterinsurgency, War on Terror, Troop Surge, Progressives, World News

The War on Terror is a metaphor designed to bludgeon the progressive movement to death. Write that in stone. Tattoo it somewhere on your body where it will hurt.

Read Post