troop surge

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No Afghanistan Withdrawal, Obama Tells Lawmakers

But still undecided on proposed buildup

(Newser) - President Obama won’t commit to sending more troops to Afghanistan, but neither will he withdraw any, he told congressional leaders in a White House meeting today that included a sharp exchange between the president and Republican Sen. John McCain. Obama wanted to “dispense with the straw man argument...

Weak Afghan al-Qaeda Calls Surge Into Question

Whether Taliban will facilitate or shun terror group is up in the air

(Newser) - The principal rationale for the original US invasion of Afghanistan was the elimination of an al-Qaeda safe haven. Almost a decade later, the terrorist group is much diminished there, as well as in Pakistan, prompting serious second thoughts within the administration about ramping up forces in the region. Aides to...

Petraeus Goes Quiet, for Good or Ill
Petraeus Goes Quiet, for
Good or Ill
ANALYSIS
Oct 5, 2009 6:11 AM CDT

Petraeus Goes Quiet, for Good or Ill

Face of Iraq surge disappears in Afghanistan debate

(Newser) - By the end of George W. Bush's second term David Petraeus was the country's most famous military man, carpeting the media with interviews and pressing the flesh on Capitol Hill. The general who personified the Iraq troop surge is still around, and spoke up in strategy sessions with Barack Obama...

Afghanistan Push Meets Resistance —From Democrats

Levin, Pelosi object to troop buildup; Obama weighs options

(Newser) - Support for the war in Afghanistan is dwindling among Democrats as President Obama mulls increasing US involvement in the region, the New York Times reports. Ahead of an expected request for more troops from the US commander in the country, the chair of the Senate armed services committee says he’...

Surge May Be Only Way to Keep US Safe From al-Qaeda

Remote-controlled strikes won't be enough to stop terrorists, say experts

(Newser) - The idea that al-Qaeda could be prevented from regaining a haven in Afghanistan without having American troops in the country is gaining support as the war drags on, but it's unlikely to work, many counterterrorism experts tell the New York Times. Terrorism can't be destroyed by airstrikes or Special Forces...

Military Seeks Much Bigger Boost for Afghan Forces

(Newser) - America's new top commander in Afghanistan believes the country's security forces will need a much bigger upgrade than planned if President Obama's strategy is going to work, officials tell the Washington Post. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, still doing a 60-day assessment, is said to have concluded that the expansion of Afghan...

Town's Stalemate Offers Snapshot of Afghan War

(Newser) - A stalemate between US Marines and Taliban fighters in a small, abandoned town in southern Afghanistan could be seen as a microcosm of the war there, Michael M. Phillips writes in the Wall Street Journal. In Now Zad, a 300-strong company of Marines has traded fire with a Taliban force...

Surge Worked in Iraq, But Beware Afghanistan
 Surge Worked in Iraq, 
 But Beware Afghanistan 
BOOK REVIEW
May 12, 2009 5:52 PM CDT

Surge Worked in Iraq, But Beware Afghanistan

(Newser) - A new book on the surge in Iraq could offer lessons to the Obama administration about Afghanistan, Dexter Filkins writes in the New Republic. Thomas E. Ricks’ The Gamble details the success of a small band of contrarian US generals, led by David Petraeus, in turning around the war. But...

With Paychecks Scarce, Iraqi Awakening Unravels

(Newser) - The imminent withdrawal of US troops and the lack of funds to keep Sunni Awakening members on the payroll has led to rising violence there, the Wall Street Journal reports. The steep decline in oil revenues has left the Iraqi government broke, and former insurgents hired by the US to...

US Maneuvers to Name Afghan Prime Minister

Part of America's 'exit strategy'

(Newser) - The US is planning to place a prime minister in the Afghanistan government to bypass corruption-tainted President Hamid Karzai, reports the Guardian. American authorities, backed by European allies, also plan to divert money to the provinces away from Karzai control. US officials have grown increasingly disillusioned with the current government...

Two-Thirds of Americans Back Afghanistan Surge

Two-thirds of Americans support Afghanistan 'surge'

(Newser) - The 17,000 additional troops President Obama plans to send to Afghanistan will ship out with the support of two-thirds of Americans, a contrast to the public’s poor reception of George W. Bush’s Iraq surge, the Washington Post reports. Polls also show Obama’s troop increase has widespread...

Obama Approves Afghan Troop Surge

(Newser) - President Obama has approved an increase in troop levels in Afghanistan, which could put 17,000 more soldiers and Marines on the ground in the coming months, the AP reports. Insiders say they should be in place by the volatile summer period, when warmer weather and upcoming elections are expected...

Obama Takes Time on Troop Decisions

Unlike his predecessor.

(Newser) - Barack Obama is resisting pressure from the Pentagon to swiftly approve a major shift of forces to Afghanistan, Politico reports. For weeks officials have been predicting the new president would, within days, OK the request for 10,000 more troops. Instead Obama has insisted on a methodical strategic review, debating...

Obama Challenges Troop Surge in Afghanistan

Asks for clear strategy before sending more troops

(Newser) - President Obama has called for a review of the planned deployment of up to 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, a nation that some fear will become his “Vietnam,” the Times of London reports. Some 17,000 more troops were poised to head there last week, but defense...

Lieberman: 5 Surges for Afghanistan
Lieberman: 5 Surges
for Afghanistan
OPINION
Feb 6, 2009 12:12 PM CST

Lieberman: 5 Surges for Afghanistan

Senator outlines plan to empower moderate Muslims, win war

(Newser) - It’s going to be a difficult slog, bound to get worse before it gets better, but we must win the war in Afghanistan, writes Joe Lieberman in the Wall Street Journal. If we follow his prescriptions, he writes, we can empower moderates and make Afghanistan an al-Qaeda “graveyard”...

Pentagon to Send 30K New Troops to Afghanistan

Heartland strategy seeks to cut off Taliban's supply of fighters, drug money

(Newser) - US commanders are finalizing plans to beat back the resurgent Taliban with tens of thousands of extra American troops in Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reports. As part of Barack Obama's emerging strategy, reinforcements will be deployed in rural areas where Kabul's grip is weak, including along the border with...

Admit It: Bush Was Right (Once)
 Admit It: Bush Was Right (Once) 
OPINION
Jan 17, 2009 3:32 PM CST

Admit It: Bush Was Right (Once)

(Newser) - The surge worked, writes Peter Beinart in the Washington Post, and liberals need to admit it—for their own good. Some 500 Iraqis died in Iraq in November, down from 3,475 in November 2006, a major success by any standard. American deaths fell from 69 to 12. But Democrats...

US May Double Forces in Afghanistan to 60K

(Newser) - The US could double the number of its troops in Afghanistan to about 60,000 by next summer, the highest such estimate to date, Reuters reports. American troops currently number 31,000, but joint chiefs chairman Mike Mullen said today that an additional 20,000 to 30,000 will be...

Brown Hints He'd Nix Obama Plea for Troops

Time for other nations to step up in Afghanistan, warns prime minister

(Newser) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has hinted that Britain would defy a request by Barack Obama to send 2,000 more troops to Afghanistan, the Times of London reports. After hearing of bleak progress there against the resurging Taliban, Brown warned that other nations will have to shoulder further deployments....

Afghanistan Is a 'Theme Park of Problems'
 Afghanistan Is a
'Theme Park of Problems'
Analysis
Dec 2, 2008 8:34 AM CST

Afghanistan Is a 'Theme Park of Problems'

Obama has his work cut out for him

(Newser) - Winning in Afghanistan won’t be nearly as easy as Barack Obama hopes, military experts tell the New York Times. The president-elect has staked his national security reputation on Afghanistan, but the rural nature of the insurgency there will make it difficult to stamp out. “Afghanistan may be the...

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