Tag: afghanistan

Despite Troop Surge, Taliban Attacks and US Casualties Soared

Data on attacks by armed opposition forces and U.S. combat casualties since the U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan was completed last summer provide clear evidence that the surge and the increase in targeted killings by Special Operations Forces have failed to break the momentum of the Taliban. The Taliban and allied insurgent organizations launched 54 … Continue reading “Despite Troop Surge, Taliban Attacks and US Casualties Soared”

Like Nixon, Obama Will Waste Lives to Get Reelected

No one needs to tell the public that politicians are slick — and the ones who get elected are the oiliest. President Obama, in a recent speech announcing the phased withdraw of 33,000 U.S. surge forces from Afghanistan by September 2012, told the country that the United States had largely achieved its goals in Afghanistan … Continue reading “Like Nixon, Obama Will Waste Lives to Get Reelected”

Obama Leaves Door Open to Long-Term US Afghan Combat

President Barack Obama’s speech announcing that the 33,000 "surge" troops in Afghanistan will be withdrawn by "summer" 2012 indicates that he has given priority to the interests of the military and the Pentagon over concerns by key officials in his administration over the impact of the war’s costs on domestic socioeconomic needs. And in a … Continue reading “Obama Leaves Door Open to Long-Term US Afghan Combat”

Afghan Resistance Triggers NATO Retreat

Almost a decade after the war in Afghanistan began, the endgame is now in sight. NATO will soon start its security handover to local forces, and the first U.S. troops will also leave as part of a gradual withdrawal plan that is due to be completed by the close of 2014. But despite claims from … Continue reading “Afghan Resistance Triggers NATO Retreat”

Debate Rages over US Withdrawal from Afghanistan

With only three weeks left before U.S. military forces are scheduled to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan, the debate over the size and pace of that withdrawal has become increasingly intense. On one hand, the Pentagon, backed by prominent neoconservatives and other hawks, insists that the 18-month-old "surge" of 30,000 U.S. troops has turned the strategic … Continue reading “Debate Rages over US Withdrawal from Afghanistan”

Accelerate Withdrawals From Afghanistan and Iraq

The jockeying for position on troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Iraq continues. Recently, departing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the U.S. military have tried to box the Obama administration into leaving as many troops in Afghanistan as possible. Gates argued that a rapid withdrawal would threaten the gains accrued from the surge of 30,000 … Continue reading “Accelerate Withdrawals From Afghanistan and Iraq”

US Uses Peace Talks to Divide Taliban from Pakistan

The leaked reports over the past two weeks of a series of meetings between U.S. officials and a Taliban figure close to leader Mullah Omar seemed to point to real progress toward a negotiated settlement of the war in Afghanistan. But in fact the talks are part of a Barack Obama administration strategy aimed at … Continue reading “US Uses Peace Talks to Divide Taliban from Pakistan”