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White House Casts Doubt on Afghan Reliability THE ASSOCIATED PRESS October 18, 2009 WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama will not commit more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until he is convinced that the central government can be a credible and effective U.S. partner, a senior White House aide said Sunday. But it was unclear whether Obama intends to accept the recommendation by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, for thousands more American troops and other resources in the 8-year-struggle to stabilize Afghanistan. The central question before Obama, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said, is ''not how much...

Afghan Bomb Attacks Kill U.S. Troops, Civilians Villagers enraged over deaths of Afghan woman, child in strikes Sat., Oct . 17, 2009 KABUL - Bomb attacks killed three American troops in Afghanistan, while civilian casualties sparked a protest by a group of angry villagers who shouted "death of America." Two American troops were killed in an explosion in the troubled nation's east on Friday, officials from the NATO-led coalition said. Another U.S. service member died the same day in a bombing in the south. The coalition announced the deaths in a statement Saturday. No further details were released. Story continues...

With Afghanistan's election crisis deepening, Sen. John Kerry says it would be irresponsible for the U.S. to consider sending additional troops to the region at this time. In taped remarks to air Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union," Kerry said it would be misguided to have a troop buildup to achieve a mission of "good governance" when the election is not yet finished.

I don’t have the details yet on Chris’ death. I was told it was an IED. Chris is my oldest son, 28 years old and a father for his little boy Ryan and husband to Caroline, his wife. I have attached a picture of Chris and Ryan, who turned one year old last month while his daddy was in Afghanistan. The picture was taken on the day of his departure. This was Chris’ 4th tour in harm’s way-once to Kosovo, twice to Iraq and now Afghanistan.

IN Afghanistan they would call it a shura, the traditional tribal way of listening to elders’ views before reaching a consensus. In Washington, where President Barack Obama has now held five war councils, they are starting to call it dithering. With another council on the Afghan war scheduled for this week, US officials admit it could be November before a decision is finally taken on whether to agree to General Stanley McChrystal’s request for more troops. One participant revealed that the protagonists have not yet discussed troop numbers. Latest polls show a majority of Americans now disapprove of Obama’s handling...

Bomb attacks have killed three more US troops in Afghanistan, the NATO-run International Security Assistance Force said Saturday. "Two US service members were killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in eastern Afghanistan October 16, and one US service member was killed in an IED attack in southern Afghanistan on the same day," it said.

NEW YORK The U.S. military in eastern Afghanistan recently changed its media embed rules to ban pictures of troops killed in the war. “Media will not be allowed to photograph or record video of U.S. personnel killed in action,” says a ground rules document issued Sept. 15 by Regional Command East at Bagram Air Field. This language is new. A version of the same document dated July 23 says, “Media will not be prohibited from covering casualties” as long as a series of conditions are met. Pictures of American military deaths are rare, but until now they have not been...

After five intense meetings on his war-fighting strategy in Afghanistan, President Obama is finished gathering data and is now "in the decision-making phase," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told Fox News. "We have finished at the broad landscape level," Gibbs said. "We are in the decision-making phase now." Gibbs said exhaustive Situation Room briefings on future U.S. troops levels, training of Afghan Army and Police forces, civilian assistance and the political stability and legitimacy of President Hamid Karzai's government are largely complete. "The meetings that go now will flow to the decision-making phase," Gibbs said. "All the discussions so...

KABUL (AP) - The U.S. military says four American service members have been killed in a bombing in southern Afghanistan. A U.S. statement Friday said that two of the service members were killed instantly in the blast and two others suffered fatal injuries in the same explosion. The latest deaths bring to 25 the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan this month. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information.

President Obama will again huddle with his national-security team on Wednesday to decide how many more troops — if any — to send to Afghanistan. But making the decision will be the easy part, the real challenge will be getting those extra boots onto the ground. If he ends up embracing Army General Stanley McChrystal's call for 40,000 more soldiers, deploying them in Afghanistan will take up to a year. The first bottleneck between the Oval Office and Afghanistan is the country's lack of sea ports (the nearest harbor is some 400 miles away) and a dearth of airports. Beyond...

The US is expected to announce a significant surge of up to 45,000 extra troops for Afghanistan after Gordon Brown said that 500 more British troops would be sent to the country. President Barack Obama's administration is understood to have told the British government that it could announce, as early as next week, the substantial increase to its 65,000 troops already serving there. The decision from Mr Obama comes after he considered a request from General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Afghanistan, to send tens of thousands of extra American troops to the country. Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock...

United States To Send 'Up To 45,000 More Troops To Afghanistan' The US is expected to announce a significant surge of up to 45,000 extra troops for Afghanistan after Gordon Brown said that 500 more British troops would be sent to the country. By James Kirkup and Andrew Hough 14 Oct 2009 Newsnight reported he would announce a surge in troop numbers. President Barack Obama's administration is understood to have told the British government that it could announce, as early as next week, the substantial increase to its 65,000 troops already serving there. The decision from Mr Obama comes after...

-excerpt- A world away from Afghanistan, over in Holland, was approaching the 65th anniversary of the allied liberation from Nazi occupation, and I had been invited to attend by James “Maggie” Megellas. Maggie, who had fought his way through Holland and is today remembered there as a hero, is said to be the most decorated officer in the history of the 82nd Airborne Division. Now 92, Maggie has recently spent about two months tooling around the battlefields of Afghanistan, and though it would be an honor to finally meet him, there was the matter of extracting myself from Kandahar City...

Sgt. Aaron Taylor had been in the country for about a month A bomb technician from Camp Pendleton has become the latest locally based Marine to die from a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Aaron Taylor died Friday when he exited a vehicle and stepped on the homemade explosive, his brother Kyle Taylor said in a telephone interview from the family's home in Minnesota. The Defense Department announced his death Tuesday. "He was an all-around good guy," 21-year-old Kyle Taylor said of his older brother. "He was really ambitious and everything he did he went after 150 percent."

Obama sends another 13,000 troops to Afghanistan on top of 21,000 he announced in March... days after Nobel Peace Prize win 13th October 2009 Barack Obama is sending an additional 13,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan beyond the 21,000 he announced publicly in March, it was revealed today. The additional forces are primarily support forces - such as engineers and medical personnel - bringing the total buildup Obama has approved for the war-torn nation to 34,000. 'Obama authorised the whole thing. The only thing you saw announced in a press release was the 21,000,' a defence official told the Washington Post.

The Obama administration blamed President George W. Bush for 13,000 new support troops headed to Afghanistan, even though Bush has not been commander-in-chief for nearly ten months.The Washington Post had a front page story this morning saying Barack Obama had authorized the troops in addition to the 21,000 increase in combat troops he ordered in March.White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today, according to the AP, that President Bush, who left office 276 days ago, was to blame for the latest troop increase:Later, spokesman Robert Gibbs rejected a published report that the president had authorized 13,000 additional troops...

It was the last way John Bernard would have wanted his voice to gain prominence in the national debate over the war in Afghanistan. The retired Marine had been writing to lawmakers for weeks complaining of the new rules of engagement he believed put U.S. troops at unacceptable risk in the insurgency-wracked country. He got little response. Then Bernard's only son, 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard — a Marine like his dad — was killed in an insurgent ambush in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province, the latest victim of a surge in U.S. combat deaths.

NEW PORTLAND, Maine – It was the last way John Bernard would have wanted his voice to gain prominence in the national debate over the war in Afghanistan. The retired Marine had been writing to lawmakers for weeks complaining of the new rules of engagement he believed put U.S. troops at unacceptable risk in the insurgency-wracked country. He got little response. Then Bernard's only son, 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard — a Marine like his dad — was killed in an insurgent ambush in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province, the latest victim of a surge in U.S. combat deaths. ----- Bernard's...

The war in Afghanistan is at best a stand off and our troops are getting killed at a higher rate because of Obama's new Rules of Engagement, (ROE). So instead of changing the ROE to favor our troops or sending more combat personnel in, Obama has decided to send in more support troops. How about that?

Saying the U.S. mission in Afghanistan is in "serious jeopardy," the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee says more troops are needed to combat an increasingly potent Taliban. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's views on the issue are more closely aligned with those of key Republicans than members of her own party, including Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee. He wants to hold off on new troops pending revision of U.S. strategy for Afghanistan.

Obama's Dithering On McChrystal Request May Doom Pak Move Against Taliban By WILLIAM MAYER October 12, 2009 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - With news of today's Taliban attack in Pakistan [suicide bombing in the city of Alpuri, located adjacent to the recently liberated Swat valley, at least 41 dead] just filtering into Western consciousness, president Obama's paralysis in the face of Gen. McChrystal's troop request assumes even weightier dimensions. In April of 2008 the Pakistani government established a truce with the Taliban [negotiated between then president Musharraf and the former Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud - killed in an...

In the chaos of an early morning assault on a remote U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine quit firing as militant forces surrounded the base. The machine gun he grabbed after tossing the rifle aside didn't work either. When the battle in the small village of Wanat ended, nine U.S. soldiers lay dead and 27 more were wounded. A detailed study of the attack by a military historian found that weapons failed repeatedly at a "critical moment" during the firefight on July 13, 2008, putting the outnumbered American troops at risk of being overrun by...

WASHINGTON (AP) - It was chaos during the early morning assault last year on a remote U.S. outpost in Afghanistan and Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine had quit firing as militant forces surrounded the base. The machine gun he grabbed after tossing the rifle aside didn't work either. When the battle in the small village of Wanat ended, nine U.S. soldiers lay dead and 27 more were wounded. A detailed study of the attack by a military historian found that weapons failed repeatedly at a "critical moment" during the firefight on July 13, 2008, putting the outnumbered American troops...

WASHINGTON - The U.S. mission in Afghanistan is in "serious jeopardy" and needs more troops to turn the tide against an increasingly potent Taliban insurgency, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday, putting her at odds with an influential Democratic colleague on military matters Sen. Dianne Feinstein's views are more closely aligned with those of key Republicans than members of her own party. Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee, urged a more methodical approach that begins with crafting a new, comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan. "I'm saying at this time, don't send more combat troops," said...

KOTALAK, Afghanistan (AFP) – An elderly Afghan woman, her hair dyed red and a black shawl draped over her shoulders, shouts as she aims a gun at US Marines who are arresting her husband as a suspected Taliban insurgent. A Marine points his assault rifle at her and is ready to pull the trigger until the woman drops her rusty pistol. Members of the 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines, accompanied by Afghan soldiers, were sweeping villages for militants early this week as part of Operation Germinate. The aim of the operation was to reduce the threat of home-made bombs -- ...(IEDs)...

<p>Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, said the White House would be committing "an error of historic proportions" if it doesn't accede to Gen. Stanley McChrystal's requests for tens of thousands of new troops in Afghanistan.</p> <p>Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, meanwhile, upped the ante from the other side of the partisan aisle, saying that it makes no sense to stay in Afghanistan but not grant Gen. McChrystal the forces he says are necessary.</p>

WASHINGTON (AP) - In the chaos of an early morning assault on a remote U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine quit firing as militant forces surrounded the base. The machine gun he grabbed after tossing the rifle aside didn't work either. When the battle in the small village of Wanat ended, nine U.S. soldiers lay dead and 27 more were wounded. A detailed study of the attack by a military historian found that weapons failed repeatedly at a "critical moment" during the firefight on July 13, 2008, putting the outnumbered American troops at risk of...

Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, today urged President Obama to move with "deliberate speed" on a decision to increase troops in Afghanistan as his generals have requested, saying that to disregard their advice would be an "error of historic proportions." McCain said on CNN's State of the Union that Obama should back General Stanley McChrystal's proposal for an increase of 40,000 troops and resist a "half measure" aimed at placating political opponents of deeper U.S. involvement. " McChrystal, the top general in Afghanistan, warned last month that the conflict would likely end in...

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) strongly criticized Barack Obama for dithering over accepting the recommendation for troops increases in Afghanistan by his handpicked Aghan commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, and blamed the delay for contributing to the deaths of eight U.S. soldiers at a small base in Nuristan that was nearly overrun by the Taliban last week.Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, made her remarks on a panel discussion on ABC News' This Week with George Stephanopoulos this morning:I don't know how you put somebody in who was as crackerjack as General McChrystal, who gives the president very solid recommendations, and...

WASHINGTON – In the chaos of an early morning assault on a remote U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Erich Phillips' M4 carbine quit firing as militant forces surrounded the base. The machine gun he grabbed after tossing the rifle aside didn't work either. When the battle in the small village of Wanat ended, nine U.S. soldiers lay dead and 27 more were wounded. A detailed study of the attack by a military historian found that weapons failed repeatedly at a "critical moment" during the firefight on July 13, 2008, putting the outnumbered American troops at risk of being...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan has recommended an increase of 40,000 troops as the minimum necessary to prevail, two sources familiar with his recommendations said on Thursday. General Stanley McChrystal also gave President Barack Obama an option of sending more than 40,000 troops, the sources said, which could be politically risky given deep doubts among Obama's fellow Democrats about the eight-year-old war. One of the sources, both of whom spoke on condition that they not be identified because of the sensitivity of talking about recommendations to the president, said McChrystal also gave a third...

This is a REALLY LONG POST — this came directly from my husband, SGT Daddy (with some minor edits from me for OPSEC reasons) The morning began with the siren signaling incoming. I ignored it. I hate putting on my gear and besides the big boy voice had dutifully reminded me that I should remain in hard shelter. I didn’t argue by deed or word. In the meantime the 155’s began to blaze away in support of some action that did not affect me. Later I was called out of my room to help in the aid station. Two of...

The official also added that President Obama is prepared to accept some Taliban involvement in Afghanistan's political future, reiterating what the president said in March.WASHINGTON -- President Obama is inclined to send only as many more U.S. troops to Afghanistan as are needed to keep Al Qaeda at bay, a senior administration official said. The official, in an interview with The Associated Press, also added that the president is prepared to accept some Taliban involvement in Afghanistan's political future, reiterating what Obama said in March. The assessment comes from an official who has been involved in the president's discussions with...

In early March, after weeks of debate across a conference table in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the participants in President Obama's strategic review of the war in Afghanistan figured that the most contentious part of their discussions was behind them. Everyone, save Vice President Biden's national security adviser, agreed that the United States needed to mount a comprehensive counterinsurgency mission to defeat the Taliban. That conclusion, which was later endorsed by the president and members of his national security team, would become the first in a set of recommendations contained in an administration white paper outlining what Obama called...

Army officers gathered at a convention in Washington this week said senior White House officials should not have rebuked Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, for saying publicly that a scaled-back war effort would not succeed. The hallways at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center buzzed with sympathy for McChrystal, who has said the U.S.-led effort in Afghanistan risks failure without a rapid infusion of additional forces. Obama and his advisers are now debating strategy in Afghanistan, with some officials arguing against additional deployments.

The White House is becoming increasingly irked at its most important general -- Stanley McChrystal, the four-star running President Obama's war in Afghanistan. Obama dispatched McChrystal to Afghanistan in June to defeat the Taliban under a White House strategy adopted in March and with 21,000 extra troops.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal wanted to ask President Obama for 50,000 more troops for Afghanistan on top of the 68,000 already stationed there, but he was convinced to lower the request to 40,000, reports CBS News White House correspondent Chip Reid. Sources tell Reid that McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, considers the lower number to be a firm bottom line McChrystal believes anything short of 40,000 increases the risk of failure, Reid reports. The president received McChrystal's former request last Thursday, one day before flying to Copenhagen to support Chicago's bid for the 2016 summer Olympics, Reid reports. Mr....

American soldiers serving in Afghanistan are depressed and deeply disillusioned, according to the chaplains of two US battalions that have spent nine months on the front line in the war against the Taleban. Many feel that they are risking their lives — and that colleagues have died — for a futile mission and an Afghan population that does nothing to help them, the chaplains told The Times in their makeshift chapel on this fortress-like base in a dusty, brown valley southwest of Kabul. “The many soldiers who come to see us have a sense of futility and anger about being...

As President Obama tries to figure out a way to vote "present" on the almost two month old recommendation of General McCrystal, word has leaked out that the General's original wanted 50,000 troops but was convinced to lower it to 40,000 to ease the "sticker shock." Reports are that McCrystal's recommendation gave a rock bottom number of 40,000 to assure victory and while there were lower troop level plans each one has an increased risk of American defeat.

Gen. David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. Central Command, said that the situation in Afghanistan needs “sustained and substantial” commitment. His statements echoed the assessment made by the senior U.S. general in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal. However, Petraeus, in his comments Tuesday to a convention of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), refused to detail what a substantial commitment means and whether it would translate to sending more troops into Afghanistan. McChrystal was criticized for airing his views on the Afghanistan war in a public forum as President Barack Obama works on a strategy to tackle growing security...

At the conclusion of the 1939 movie, "Gone With the Wind," Vivian Leigh, playing Scarlett O'Hara, defers decision on what to do about the major crisis in her life with the phrase, "After all, tomorrow is another day." Unfortunately, the Obama White House seems to have adopted Scarlett's decision-making process for the war in Afghanistan. Note to the O-Team: Kabul isn't Tara and Americans are dying while the commander in chief dithers. On Wednesday, September 30, a full month after General Stanley McChrystal submitted his "assessment" of the situation in Afghanistan, President Obama convened a three-hour meeting of his "national...

The gangster regimes of the world are on the march, and they've got our number. They know how to squeeze more civilized nations. Our weakness is cowardice, and that goes double or triple in the face of nuclear weapons. That's why all the rogues are trying to get nukes as fast as they can. They know it's the perfect blackmail weapon, and it makes them invulnerable to attack. That is also why President Obama's public rejection of General McChrystal's advice on Afghanistan affects your personal safety and mine. Gen. McChrystal wants more troops. Obama doesn't want to send them because...

Dubai, 5 October (AKI) - United States president Barack Obama is deceiving Muslims and committing crimes that violate human rights, just like his predecessor George W. Bush, Al-Qaeda's second-in-command said in a new video message on Monday. "Barack Obama is tricking us. He is responsible for crimes against human rights, just like Bush," Ayman al-Zawahiri said in a ten-minute video posted to Muslim extremist websites. The video is dedicated to Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi, a Libyan Al-Qaeda militant believed to have died recently in prison in his native Libya. He was handed over Libyan authorities by the US, who bought him...

Barack Obama urged to act after eight more US soliders die in AfghanistanWhite House under pressure over troop deployments as US military suffers deadliest day in more than a year Richard Norton-Taylor, Jon Boone, Matthew Taylor and Ed Pilkington The Guardian, Monday 5 October 2009 The American military suffered its deadliest day in Afghanistan in more than a year when eight soldiers were killed on Saturday in audacious daytime raids by insurgents on US outposts in the east of the country. The deaths came as calls mounted in Washington and London for decisions to be taken quickly over future troop...

~ EXCERPT ~ KABUL — Two more NATO soldiers, including one American, are reported dead in the latest fighting in Afghanistan. A NATO statement says the U.S. soldier died of wounds suffered in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan on Sunday. The statement says a second service member died of wounds in a roadside bombing Monday in southern Afghanistan. NATO is not releasing the service member's nationality.

As the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged Obama to show some courage: David Miliband urged President Obama to embrace a renewed “hearts and minds” strategy in Afghanistan as ministers indicated that they would not send more British troops unless the US adopted such an approach. The Foreign Secretary did not mention America by name but called on every government in the coalition to back troops, aid workers and diplomats in support of a clear plan. “We came into this together. We see it through — together,” he told the Labour conference in Brighton. His words reflect a growing concern...

(CBS) The former U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Anthony Zinni, warned that the deliberations over whether to send additional troops to Afghanistan - as many as 40,000, as suggested by General Stanley McChrystal - should not go on too much longer, lest the debate be viewed as indecision or weakness. On CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday, Zinni said it was positive to have a strategic debate and to take all opinions into account. "But I think we have to be careful how long this goes on," he told CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer. "It could be seen not...

I'm not a fan of vanity threads, but I feel this one is important, as I have not seen it discussed in either the left-wing or right-wing media. Considering that 10 more of our brave soldiers died today, at what point does Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama give a primetime address to tell us all about his plan for winning the war in Afghanistan. I ask because at this point, it appears the man does not care one bit about the lives being lost each day.

Don't Go Wobbly on Afghanistan President Obama was right in March. by Frederick W. Kagan & Kimberly Kagan 10/12/2009, "To defeat an enemy that heeds no borders or laws of war, we must recognize the fundamental connection between the future of Afghanistan and Pakistan--which is why I've appointed Ambassador Richard Holbrooke to serve as Special Representative for both countries." That "fundamental connection" between Afghanistan and Pakistan was one of the important principles President Obama laid out in his March 27, 2009, speech announcing his policy in South Asia. It reflected a common criticism of the Bush policy in Afghanistan, which...

U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said Sunday that President Barack Obama is "absolutely not" taking politics into account in his decisions on Afghanistan strategy as he comes under pressure from the left on a troop surge. Rice said on "Meet the Press" that "the president has to make a judgment based not only on military assesments" but on reports from diplomats and ambassadors in the region.