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The "Goldilocks Principle" and Afghan War Options

Joseph A. Palermo | Posted 11.09.2009 | Politics

Read More: John McCain, George Ball, George Kahin, Rand Corporation, Afghanistan Occupation, President Barack Obama, Juan Cole, Lindsey Graham, The Nation, Peter Baker, Afghanistan War, William Polk, American War in Afghanistan, Nato, American Military Forces, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Goldilocks Principle, William Westmoreland, Richard Nixon, Vietnam War, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, New York Times, General Stanley McChrystal, Joe Lieberman, Afghanistan, Lyndon Johnson, Undersecretary of State George Ball, Helene Cooper, Robert Dryfuss, Vietnamization, Politics News
Joseph A. Palermo

General McChrystal's recommendation for more troops and material has a distinctly Westmorelandian flavor to it. If approved, it could create an additional $40 to$80 billion per annum in war costs.

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NATO, Afghans Claim To Kill 130 Taliban In Kunduz Province

Reuters | Posted 11.09.2009 | World

Read More: Taliban, NATO Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Nato, Afghanistan Casualties, World News

NATO and Afghan officials claimed on Monday their forces had killed at least 130 Taliban fighters in a major operation over the past week in an area o...

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McClatchy: Obama Leaning Toward 34,000 More Troops For Afghanistan

McClatchy | Jonathan S. Landay | Posted 11.07.2009 | World

Read More: Pentagon, Afghan Election, Department of Defense, Troops, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Troop Levels, Kabul, Obama, Withdrawal, Dod, Mike Mullen, Mcchrystal, Nato, Soldiers, Military, Surge, Waziristan, Troop Level, Afghanistan Decision, Un, Robert Gates, Afghan Decision, Stanley McChrystal, World News

President Barack Obama is nearing a decision to send more than 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan next year, but he may not announce it unti...

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Afghanistan: 2 NATO Soldiers Missing

AP | AMIR SHAH | Posted 11.07.2009 | World

Read More: Afghan Troops, Afghanistan, 2 Missing Afghanistan, Afghanistan Missing, Nato, War Wire, World News

KABUL — Two American soldiers disappeared in western Afghanistan after a routine resupply mission, and more than 25 NATO and Afghan security for...

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5 British Troops Killed By Afghan Cop, Says UK Military

AP | ELENA BECATOROS and DEB RIECHMANN | Posted 11.04.2009 | World

Read More: Uk, Afghan National Security Forces, Voter Fraud, Karzai, Afghan Election, Afghanistan, Afghan, Kabul, Nad-E-Ali District, Helmand, Afghan Cops, Taliban, Hamid Karzai, Mcchrystal, Insurgency, Kandahar, Nato, Un, Stanley McChrystal, Counterinsurgency, Afghan Police, World News

KABUL — The killing of five British troops by a rogue Afghan policeman underlines concerns about training and discipline within the ranks and po...

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Think Tank's Advice To Europe: Stop 'Fetishizing' American Relationship

Spiegel Online | Gregor Peter Schmitz | Posted 11.03.2009 | World

Read More: Russia, Uk, India, Bulgaria, France, Middle East, Obama, Spain, Diplomacy, Dc, Merkel, Nato, White House, Poland, Germany, European Council on Foreign Relations, Czech Republic, Cold War, Think Tank, Us, Israel, Fetishization, Afghanistan, Post American, European Union, Eu, Warburg Prize, Foreign Policy, Trans-Atlantic Economic Council, Wwii, State Department, Eu Usa Summit, Special Relationship, Angela Merkel, Europe, China, Soros, George Soros, World News

The council released a study on Monday called "Toward a Post-American Europe," based on wide-ranging interviews and research conducted in the 27 EU me...

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Timidity Vs. Audacity? The Tests Are Yet to Come

Amb. Marc Ginsberg | Posted 11.03.2009 | Politics

Read More: Egypt, Europe, Morocco, Pakistan, Obama, Hezbollah, Hamas, China, 2008 Election, Iran, Nato, National Security, Middle East, Israel, Afghanistan, North Korea, Barack Obama, One Year Later, Timidity to Govern, Politics News
Amb. Marc Ginsberg

So far this year, there has been a tendency to vocalize intent and engage in convenient can-kicking, rather than actionable resolve. That's not timidity -- that's testing the state of the ship's rudder.

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Karzai Effectively Handed 2nd Term After Abdullah Drops From Afghan Election

AP | HEIDI VOGT and ROBERT H. REID | Posted 11.02.2009 | World

Read More: Abdullah Abdullah, White House, Afghanistan War, Karzai, Troops, Afghanistan, Troop Levels, Axelrod, Power Share, Kabul, Voter Fraud, Obama, Hamid Karzai, Afghan Election, Nato, Clinton, Abdullah, Mcchrystal, Runoff, Hillary Clinton, Afghanistan Election, Un, Ahmed Wali Karzai, World News

KABUL — President Hamid Karzai effectively secured a second term Sunday when his only challenger dropped out of the race, and the Obama administ...

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Abdullah Withdraws From Afghan Election

BBC NEWS | Posted 11.01.2009 | World

Read More: Abdullah Abdullah, White House, Voter Fraud, Afghanistan War, Afghanistan, Troop Levels, Ahmed Wali Karzai, Hamid Karzai, Barack Obama, Afghan Election, Elections, Military, Nato, Runoff, Un, Us, Stanley McChrystal, World News

President Hamid Karzai's rival in the second round of the Afghan presidential election has announced that he is withdrawing from the poll....

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Afghanistan, Again: The Thicket Obama's Not Getting Out Of

William Bradley | Posted 10.29.2009 | World

Read More: Hamid Karzai, Jihadists, Al Qaeda, Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan, 9/11, Joe Biden, Tony Blair, Barack Obama, Nato, Counter-Insurgency, Northern Alliance, Counter-Terrorist, Stanley McChrystal, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Taliban, Ahmad Shah Massoud, Nation-Building, Nobel Peace Prize, Osama Bin Laden, World News
William Bradley

We can't afford to build a nation in Afghanistan. We have one reasonable goal there, and everything else, no matter how seemingly noble it may or may not be, is a luxury.

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The CIA, The Brothers Karzai and Spinning our COIN Wheels

Richard Allen Smith | Posted 10.28.2009 | World

Read More: Hamid Karzai, Durgs, Nato, Coin, Cia, Poppy, Afghanistan, Opium, Andew Exum, Counterinsurgency, Ahmed Wali Karzai, World News
Richard Allen Smith

We are partnering with a symbol of government corruption, which undermines any trust we might receive from the population. We are funding the insurgency we are attempting to counter.

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Troops In Afghanistan Outnumber Taliban 12-1

AP | SLOBODAN LEKIC | Posted 10.28.2009 | World

Read More: Troops in Afghanistan, Troops in Afghanistan 12-1, 12-1 Afghanistan, Afghanistan Taliban 12-1, War in Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Nato, US Troops in Afghanistan, Afghanistan Taliban, Taliban, Afghanistan War, World News

BRUSSELS — There are already more than 100,000 international troops in Afghanistan working with 200,000 Afghan security forces and police. It ad...

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Matthew Hoh Resigns: State Department Official Quits Over Afghan War

Posted 10.28.2009 | Politics

Read More: Pentagon, Abdullah Abdullah, White House, Karzai, Department of Defense, Afghanistan, Troop Levels, Pakistan, Afghan War, President Obama, Kabul, Taliban, Afghanistan Troop Levels, Afghanistan War, Obama Decision, Mcchrystal, Marines, Military, War Games, Hoh, State Department, Nato, Matthew Hoh, More Troops, Iraq, Gates, Mullen, Politics News

WASHINGTON — A former Marine who fought in Iraq, joined the State Department after leaving the military and was a diplomat in a Taliban strongho...

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Obama's Decision On Afghanistan Troop Levels Likely Between November 7 And 11; More Troops Likely

ABC News | Posted 10.26.2009 | Politics

Read More: Kabul, White House, Abdullah Abdullah, Gates, Pentagon, President Obama, Pakistan, Troop Levels, Afghan War, Mullen, Karzai, Japan, Afghanistan War, Obama Decision, Nato, Military, War Games, Mcchrystal, Department of Defense, Taliban, More Troops, Afghanistan, Afghanistan Troop Levels, Politics News

Sources tell ABC News that as of now President Obama will likely announce his decision about a new strategy in Afghanistan at some point between the A...

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Joe Scarborough Needs to Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

Robert Amsterdam | Posted 10.26.2009 | World

Read More: Russia, Gordon Brown, Msnbc, Joe Scarborough, Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, Stephen Harper, David Miliband, Afghanistan, Nato, United States, China, Barack Obama, Canada, Afghanistan War, World News
Robert Amsterdam

The ungrateful chauvinism of U.S. foreign policy reaches far beyond a rant provided by Joe Scarborough, who at least has the excuse of being in the business of manufacturing polemics.

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US Held Secret War Game To Test Afghan Troop Levels

Washington Post | Greg Jaffe and Karen DeYoung | Posted 10.26.2009 | World

Read More: Pentagon, Test, Kabul, Troop Levels, White House, Afghan Election, Department of Defense, Afghanistan, Obama, Karzai, War Game, Mike Mullen, Mcchrystal, Nato, Troop Level, More Troops, Gates, World News

The Pentagon's top military officer oversaw a secret war game this month to evaluate the two primary military options that have been put forward by th...

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Western Export of the Ballot Box Elixir is Pure Hubris

Simon Jenkins | Posted 10.23.2009 | World

Read More: Hamid Karzai, Ngo, Afghanistan, Nato, David Petraeus, 9/11, Afghans, Sweden, Barack Obama, Tora Bora, World News
Simon Jenkins

It is insufferable that Afghanistan, a miserable statelet, can reject liberal democracy despite the efforts of 70,000 NATO and NGO staff kicking their heels in Kabul's dust for eight years.

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It's a Runoff, Now What? Parsing the Impacts of the Presidential Rematch in Afghanistan

Vikrum Aiyer | Posted 10.23.2009 | World

Read More: Senator John Kerry, Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai, Isaf, President Barack Obama, Afghan-Runoff, Taliban, Pashtun, Al Qaeda, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tajik, Rahm Emanuel, Northern Alliance, Nato, Independent Electoral Commission, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, General Stanley McChrystal, Afpak, Kai Eide, Afghan Election Fraud, Afghanistan Karzai Abdullah, Afghanistan Run-Off Election, World News
Vikrum Aiyer

A coalition government in Afghanstan, while supposedly offering the best of both worlds, tacitly condones an illegitimate election and would require America to broker power among competing personalities.

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Afghanistan: Fraud, Opium, and Taliban

Jamal Dajani | Posted 10.23.2009 | World

Read More: Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan, Terrorism, Nato, Taliban, Opium, Barack Obama, Afghanistan War, Afghan Election, World News
Jamal Dajani

Why isn't Mr. Karzai being held responsible for this blatant act of election fraud? And who can guarantee that a repeat of the fraud won't happen? Or that all hell won't break loose during the run-off?

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Obama Shouldn't Ignore Eastern Europe: Commentary

nytimes.com | MIRCEA GEOANA | Posted 10.23.2009 | World

Read More: Czech Republic, Europe, Nato Missiles, Nato, Romania, World News

The decision by the Obama administration to reshape its missile shield deployment in Central and Eastern Europe has been seen by some in the region as...

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Gates: NATO Moving Toward Sending More Troops For Afghan War

AP | LARA JAKES and SLOBODAN LEKIC | Posted 10.24.2009 | World

Read More: Nato Afghan War, Nato Gates, NATO Troops, Afghanistan, Foreign Affairs, War Wire, Nato, Gates Nato, Gates Afghan War, World News

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — Top NATO and United Nations officials signaled Friday they may request more international troops to join American forces ...

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Getting the Vietnam Analogy Right in Afghanistan

Leon T. Hadar | Posted 10.21.2009 | World

Read More: Nazi Germany, President Obama, Lebanon, Iran, Hitler, China, History, Muslim, Saudi Arabia, Nato, Vietnam War, John Kennedy, Chechnya, Munich, Analogies, Czechoslovakia, Syria, Xinjiang, West Germany, South Vietnam, Hamas, Soviet Union, Hizbollah, Afghanistan War, Al Quaeda, Kashmir, Shiites, Iraq War, Communism, North VIetnam, Taliban, India, Lyndon Johnson, Cuba, Ospolitik, Detente, World News
Leon T. Hadar

The ghosts of the Vietnam War seem to be hanging around the White House Situation Room as President Obama and his national security aides debate a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

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New York Times: Military Establishment Frustrated With Pace Of Obama's Deliberations On Afghan War

New York Times | ELISABETH BUMILLER | Posted 10.19.2009 | World

Read More: White House, Karzai, Troop Levels, Kabul, Afghanistan War, Afghan Election, Pentagon, Afghanistan, Obama, Afghan War, War Dead, Nato, Robert Gtes, Mcchrystal, Stanley McChrystal, Department of Defense, More Troops, Died, Obama Troops, Casualties, World News

After nearly a month of deliberations by Mr. Obama over whether to send more American troops to Afghanistan, frustrations and anxiety are on the rise ...

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John Kerry On Afghanistan: Sending More Troops Is "Irresponsible" Until Afghan Election Is Settled

Reuters | Posted 10.17.2009 | World

Read More: Pentagon, Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan War, Department of Defense, Troops, Afghanistan, Troop Levels, Pakistan, Kerry, Kabul, Taliban, Hamid Karzai, John Kerry, Nato, Stanley McChrystal, Gen. McChrystal, Afghanistan Election, Gates, Robert Gates, World News

In an interview with CNN's "State of the Union," Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the United States should not proceed ...

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Counter-Factual History: McCain Is President and Bono Wins the Nobel Prize

Leon T. Hadar | Posted 10.14.2009 | World

Read More: Straits of Hormuz, Syria, Shanghai Treaty Organization, Mongolia, Vaclav Havel, Lithuania, Bono, Kosovo, China, Cold War, Robert Kagan, Putin, Iran, Nato, Joe Lieberam, Russia, Lech WałęSa, Czech Republic, Latvia, John McCain, Serbia, League of Democracies, Nobel Peace Prize, Colombia, Chuck Hagel, Barack Obama, Medvedev, Cnn, Poland, Georgia, Israel, Wolf Blitzer, Tawian, Lita, World News
Leon T. Hadar

"I have to admit that I'm beginning to miss George W. Bush," is the way former Republican Senator "Chuck" Hagel responded when being asked by CNN's Wolf Blitzer to assess the foreign policy record of the administration of Republican President John McCain.

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