Tag: afghanistan

US Still Taking a Hard Line on Peace Talks with Taliban

Following serious setbacks to the U.S. military’s war plan in Afghanistan, the Barack Obama administration has taken the first tentative step toward a negotiated settlement of the conflict by actively seeking to ascertain the willingness of the Taliban to enter into negotiations, according to a source familiar with the administration’s thinking about the issue. But … Continue reading “US Still Taking a Hard Line on Peace Talks with Taliban”

Rise in Af-Pak Cross-Border Attacks Spurs Backlash

The steady increase in U.S. cross-border attacks from Afghanistan into the frontier areas of Pakistan – whether by drone missiles or attack helicopters – is causing a serious backlash from both the region’s residents and Islamabad’s government and military leadership. In the latest case, the government of President Asif Ali Zardari Thursday closed NATO’s primary … Continue reading “Rise in Af-Pak Cross-Border Attacks Spurs Backlash”

The Taliban: Forced Into Negotiation While Winning?

Although David Petraeus, the top American commander in Afghanistan, recently peddled the notion that senior Taliban chieftains had made contact with senior Afghan government officials about the possibility of starting reconciliation talks, such talk of peace in our time is likely to be hype. By publicizing such contacts, Petraeus is cleverly implying, but not saying, … Continue reading “The Taliban: Forced Into Negotiation While Winning?”

Obama: ‘The Generals Made Me Do It!’

All Washington is atwitter: the grand old man of the Court Historians, Bob Woodward, has come out with yet another “book” – i.e. another long-winded press release on behalf of the Powers That Be – explaining, “reporting,” and rationalizing the war policies of the current regime. Oh, glory be! Drop everything and run to the … Continue reading “Obama: ‘The Generals Made Me Do It!’”

All the King’s Bull Feather Merchants

Uber-journalist Bob Woodward is once again telling us exactly what we need to hear long after we needed to hear it. On Friday, Sept. 24, two days before its release, Woodward’s new book Obama’s Wars was Amazon’s number two best-selling book. It’s amazing how many people will line up to be among the first to … Continue reading “All the King’s Bull Feather Merchants”

The Washington Gossip Machine

We know the endpoint of the story: another bestseller for Bob Woodward, in this case about a president sandbagged by his own high command and administration officials at one another’s throats over an inherited war gone wrong. But where did the story actually begin? Well, here’s the strange thing: in a sense, Woodward’s new book, … Continue reading “The Washington Gossip Machine”

Obama Knows the War is Dumb, but Prefers Power Over Peace

One thing that comes through clearly in Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s Wars, is the contempt felt by Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, toward President Barack Obama. One of Woodward’s more telling vignettes has Petraeus, after quaffing a glass of wine during a flight in May, telling some of his … Continue reading “Obama Knows the War is Dumb, but Prefers Power Over Peace”

Democracy Is Overrated

American policymakers love to see purple thumbs in the developing world, especially in countries in which the United States has undertaken “nation-building” projects (read: invasions and occupations). The recent Afghan parliamentary elections are a case in point. Yet elections in the developing world are not usually what they are cracked up to be and can … Continue reading “Democracy Is Overrated”