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Barack Obama is to reject all of the options outlined for increasing troop numbers in Afghanistan in favour of revised plans which include a clear exit strategy, it has been claimed. The report came from a senior administration official close to the high-level deliberations Mr Obama is holding with his war cabinet over the refocusing of the Afghan war effort. The President is said to have raised questions at a meeting on Wednesday that could alter both the size of any possible troop increase and the length of time they are in the country before they can hand over to...

Last month, the U.S. Air Force created four new UAV squadrons (29th Attack Squadron, 6th Reconnaissance Squadron, 16th Training Squadron and 849th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron). All these new units are actually training squadrons. The air force is training 220 operator crews (each with a pilot and one or two sensor operators) a year. In two years, this will increase to 400 a year, which will enable the air force to run 50 CAPs (Combat Air Patrol; UAVs in the air over a combat zone) simultaneously. The large number of new crews are needed because the pilots only operate UAVs for...

A number of experts think the U.S. should abandon its “top down” strategy of building an Afghan national army and should switch to arming and paying local tribes to fight the Taliban. Former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, appearing Thursday at a Capitol Hill conference sponsored by RAND, said he closely examined former Soviet counterinsurgencies in Poland and the Ukraine. In both cases, the Soviets successfully levered small, locally recruited militia forces to successfully battle numerically superior anti-regime insurgents. He warned of the perils of trying to police xenophobic Tajiks, Uzbeks and Pahstuns with an Afghan national army. A better...

policymakers continue to debate U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, we asked Rick Nelson, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to weigh in on the possibility of reconciling Taliban fighters, efforts to track down Al Qaeda and the potential risks that an escalation of the war in Afghanistan might pose to neighboring Pakistan. Nelson is a former Navy helicopter pilot with operational and intelligence experience in counterterrorism including assignments at the National Counterterrorism Center and National Security Council. Earlier this year, he returned from Afghanistan where he directed a Joint Task Force. Below is an email Q and...

The ongoing debate over the way forward in Afghanistan has settled into the “light footprint,” counterterrorism approach, versus the “heavy footprint,” population-centric counterinsurgency approach. Reportedly, what is about to emerge from the Obama administration is a hybrid of the two, with the vast majority of troops providing security in Afghanistan’s major population centers and pulling troops out of less populated rural zones. Drone strikes and periodic raids would be employed to check the Taliban in remote areas. The danger in such an approach is that once rural villages are ceded to insurgent control, they may never be recaptured as the...

As Pakistani troops advance through South Waziristan, they are coming across quickly abandoned facilities apparently long used by Islamic terror organizations. South Waziristan, and its pro-Taliban Mehsud tribe, has long been a place where government officials only went with permission of the locals. And the locals apparently believed their own propaganda that government troops would not get far if they tried to invade the area. Army artillery and helicopter gunships, aided by air force fighter-bombers, proved more than a match for the tribal warriors, who soon fled to the safer hills. The Islamic terrorists fled with them, often failing to...

WASHINGTON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The White House declared Hamid Karzai the legitimate president of Afghanistan on Monday and said President Barack Obama's decision on whether to send more U.S. troops there is still weeks away.

By DAVID E. SANGER WASHINGTON - With the White House's reluctant embrace on Sunday of Hamid Karzai as the winner of Afghanistan's suddenly ... With Karzai, US Faces Weak Partner in Time of War New York Times. Abdullah Abdullah was at times emotional on Sunday in announcing in Kabul that he was dropping out of a runoff.

the U.N.’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, has warned the United States against striking terrorists from unmanned drones. “My concern is that these drones, these Predators, are being operated in a framework which may well violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law,”

No excerpt available.

US strikes with remote-controlled aircraft against Al-Qaeda

EXCERPTED; "say current and former U.S. officials". Where is the outrage?

NATO defense ministers Friday endorsed the kind of broad counterinsurgency approach for Afghanistan that is the basis for the pending troop request by the NATO and the U.S. commander there, General Stanley McChrystal. The ministers, including U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, are meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the defense ministers have a "general shared view" that the alliance must make Afghanistan strong enough to defend itself against militant forces. And he said the ministers also agree on the approach for accomplishing that. "There is the support of this counterinsurgency strategy, which means that ministers...

When White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs goofed and referred to "Secretary Kerry" on Wednesday, it seemed like one heck of a Freudian slip. But Sen. John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat and former presidential candidate -- fresh back from a successful diplomatic mission to Afghanistan -- is brushing off any suggestion that he's positioning for a promotion or stepping on the real secretary of state's toes.

One-hundred percent of this morning's new Afghanistan war polling is bad news for Barack Obama's administration. In fact, it's a double-dose of bad news: One, it confirms the developing trend of crumbling civilian support for the military struggle launched late in 2001 to oust the Taliban and deny Afghanistan as a safe haven for al-Qaeda terrorist training for any future 9/11-style attacks. Two, the new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows the Democratic president's support fading sharply among the heretofore strongest supporters of Obama's "war of necessity" -- Republicans. And the latest Post/ABC poll bolsters two surveys earlier this month, both...

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials expect Afghan President Hamid Karzai to concede on Tuesday that he fell short of the 50 percent vote share in August's election that he needed to win outright, but it was unclear Monday whether that would lead quickly to a runoff election with his nearest challenger, a U.S. government official said. Karzai could opt to embrace a runoff, which Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday was logistically feasible within weeks, or he could attempt to negotiate a power-sharing arrangement with former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, who finished second in the August balloting.

Me and Izi have started small adventure company this year. We have started too late and all people has asked us about 2010 ;) This story begun when one journalist has called me and asked about Afganistan tour. - Have you been there? I have heard you intend to take people for Afganistan? Is this true? Well, we have seen Afganistan and road to Wakhan from other bank of Pyanzh but we have not been there. No clients this year, why not take a little ride to Afghanistan just for fun? Miro, our friend from Slovakia has joined us for...

One of President Obama's top advisers said Sunday the Bush administration failed to ask critical questions about the war in Afghanistan, leaving the Obama administration starting from scratch -- and leaving the war "adrift." "The president is asking the questions that have never been asked on the civilian side, the political side, the military side and the strategic side," White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told CNN's "State of the Union."

10/15/2009 - FORT GORDON, Ga. (AFNS) -- An ordinary day for the Kapisa/Parwan Provincial Reconstruction team in Afghanistan became an unforgettable opportunity for an Airman from here to help save children's lives. Staff Sgt. Jonathan Okeefe, a 338th Training Squadron Det. 1 satellite, wideband and telemetry systems instructor at Fort Gordon, recently returned from a 12-month deployment to Afghanistan where he served as the chief communications officer for the Kapisa/Parwan PRT based out of Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. "Each PRT is assigned to one of the 26 provinces in Afghanistan," Sergeant Okeefe said. "The mission of each team is to make...

WASHINGTON: Afghanistan has boldly stepped up where even India has been discreet in treading, bluntly accusing the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI of masterminding the latest bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul which killed 17 people.

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan - Karima Yousafzai jumps behind the wheel of her 1994 Toyota Corolla and heads into traffic, deftly negotiating around wannabe motocross champions, oblivious pushcart peddlers, a roadside herd of sheep and several contenders for the crazy-driver-of-the-year award. She takes little notice of the looks directed her way.

For the second time today, I have seen a news report and thought it was a joke. The first time was when I heard the POTUS had one the Nobel Peace prize this time it was the Democratic Party's reaction to the criticism. According to Ben Smith at Politico the reaction was basically, "if you criticize the President's award, you are siding with the terrorists" A top Democratic National Committee official reacted furiously to a statement from Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele mocking -- and describing as "unfortunate" -- President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize. "The Republican Party has thrown in...

The rocket-propelled grenade and rifle fire was so intense that most of the soldiers spent the opening minutes of the battle lying on their stomachs, praying that the enemy would run out of ammunition.

Militant fighters streaming from an Afghan village and a mosque attacked a pair of remote outposts near the Pakistani border, killing eight U.S. soldiers and as many as seven Afghan forces in one of the fiercest battles of the eight-year war.

A nuclear-armed Taliban? It may not be as far-fetched as it might first appear. The Taliban already control or have a significant presence in northwest Pakistan along a critical stretch of the Afghan border. Taliban units operate with relative impunity in the region surrounding Peshawar, Pakistan's major population, commercial and transportation center less than 100 miles from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Dominance of Taliban and al-Qaida forces in the pivotal northwest region of Pakistan provides not only a sanctuary and training centers for attacks on Afghanistan, but it has become a base of operations to weaken any pro-Western sentiments among the...

KABUL - Taliban militants are sowing fear along Afghanistan's highways with stepped-up checkpoints, hijackings and bombs - including one Tuesday that killed at least 30 bus passengers in the south. Afghan authorities say the attacks, often carried out by only a handful of militants, are part of a psychological campaign to convince civilians that Taliban control is spreading. "It is quite possible for a group of three to five insurgents to come out on the highway and attack a convoy," said the Interior Ministry spokesman, Zemarai Bashary. "Maybe thousands of people will travel that day and they are watching that...

Next time you're in Afghanistan, make sure to keep an eye out for the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command's giant blimp-like surveillance airship

<p>Just announced by Jennifer Griffith in a live interview, WH has asked Pentagon for a formal assessment of a withdrawal from Afghanistan, that the Afghan Wart is no longer in our nations interest, blamed the Afghan elections.</p>

McChrystal to resign if not given resources for Afghanistan By Bill RoggioSeptember 21, 2009 4:17 PM Within 24 hours of the leak of the Afghanistan assessment to The Washington Post, General Stanley McChrystal's team fired its second shot across the bow of the Obama administration. According to McClatchy, military officers close to General McChrystal said he is prepared to resign if he isn't given sufficient resources (read "troops") to implement a change of direction in Afghanistan: Adding to the frustration, according to officials in Kabul and Washington, are White House and Pentagon directives made over the last six weeks that...

President Obama is rejecting messages from General Stanley McCystal, Nato commander in Afghanistan, for an increase in troops. McCrystal distributed a 66 page report to the pentagon stating; “success demands a comprehensive counterinsurgency campaign”, one which strikes the importance of gaining the support of Afghans so as to prevent being viewed as an occupying army. McCrystal also stresses that Nato forces must to ready for a rising rate in causalities as they take these precocious risks in winning over support of civilians. He has not stated the specific amount of additional troops he feels are needed from US and/or Nato...

If any know this soldier, it would be nice to let him know so many thinks his actions are well appreciated, not only by his fellow soldiers, but by everyone who has read this. We received this email via email and wanted to share with everyone. It really makes the term "Home Sweet Home" mean alot more. I hope the picture will go through for you - of this Army soldier in Iraq with his tiny 'plot' of grass in front of his tent. It's heartwarming! Lord keep them Safe. Here is a soldier stationed in Iraq , stationed in...

During the campaign in 2008, President Obama was quite clear about what was needed in Afghanistan. Although he did state that military action was not enough, he described the situation as precarious and urgent, with Afghanistan being the central front in the war on terror. So now he’s taking a wait and see attitude? Here’s a clip from the CBS interview in July 2008. He seemed pretty clear as to what his strategy was at the time.

Obama said Wednesday there will be no quick decision on whether to send more U.S. troops into the widening war in Afghanistan, saying "my determination is to get this right."... The U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, also has delivered a grim assessment of the war and is expected to follow up soon with a request for thousands of additional troops.

Scores of people were feared killed on Friday in a big explosion involving fuel tankers in northern Afghanistan, the governor of Kunduz province said, blaming Taliban militants. The governor, Mohammad Omar, said as many as 90 people may have been killed in the blast, which occurred when residents were collecting fuel from tanker trucks in a rural district of the province.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Clinton ordered an investigation on Tuesday into the Animal House revels of private guards at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan - including booze, hookers and other "deviant behavior." "These are very serious allegations, and we are treating them that way," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said of photo and e-mail evidence of the "climate of fear and coercion" at the living quarters of ArmorGroup guards. The investigation by the State Department's inspector general follows a shocking report to Clinton by the nonprofit Project on Government Oversight detailing a "Lord of the Flies environment" at the...

Taliban insurgents have taken over parts of two northern provinces from which they were driven in 2001, threatening to disrupt NATO's new supply route from Central Asia and expand a war that's largely been confined to Afghanistan's southern half, U.S. and Afghan officials said.

I would like to pay tribute to Pfc. Brian Wolverton, a 21 year old Oak Park, CA resident who was killed in action in Afgahanistan on August 20, 2009. The 2006 Oak Park High School graduate died from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit in Kumar province. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement expressing sadness over Wolverton's death. Flags were flown at half-staff in Sacremento. A funeral service will be held at Pierce Brothers in Westlake Village, CA on Sat., Aug 29th. We all owe a debt of graditude to our nation's men and women who pay the ultimate...

More than a year ago, the U.N. dropped the Russian air transport company Vertikal-T from its approved list of vendors after a fatal helicopter crash in Nepal. Yet NATO continued to use helicopters owned by Vertikal-T in Afghanistan. And on July 19, one of those choppers crashed at southern Afghanistan's largest NATO base, killing 16 civilians on board. The crash reflects a little-known reality behind NATO's military push in Afghanistan: It is relying on Russian aviators flying Soviet-design aircraft, who are clocking up lucrative contracts in a country Russian troops left two decades ago. Aviation industry analysts say many of...

As the American military comes to full strength in the Afghan buildup, the Obama administration is struggling to come up with a long-promised plan to measure whether the war is being won. ...Commanders in Afghanistan say they no longer pay much attention to how many enemy fighters are killed in action. Instead, they are trying to count instances in which local citizens cooperate with Afghan and allied forces.

Drug policy still makes enemies of the common folk Imagine a foreign army occupies the state of Indiana. Its commanders are concerned that local Hoosiers don't like the foreigners in their midst, displaying that dislike practically every night by setting off murderous roadside bombs every time a patrol goes by. And because the local people are at odds with the occupation forces, they offer those troops precious little help or intelligence as they pursue their military mission. The commander brings in some experts to find out why his troops are so unpopular. They interview the local farmers. And the answer...

British frontline troops in Afghanistan are so short of helicopters and transport planes that they are being bailed out by the Russians. The Mail on Sunday has established that the Ministry of Defence is using civilian Russian-built Mi-8 and Mi-26 transport helicopters to ferry supplies and soldiers in Afghanistan. The pilots are freelance Russians and Ukrainians. Britain is also hiring massive commercial Russian Antonov aircraft to fly vehicles and heavy equipment from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire to Afghanistan.

Taliban insurgents stepped up attacks Friday against U.S. Marines in southern Afghanistan's Helmand River valley, forcing troops in some areas to spend the day fighting instead of carrying out plans to meet with residents and local leaders. The stiffest resistance occurred in the district of Garmser, where Taliban fighters holed up in a walled housing compound engaged in an eight-hour gun battle with troops from the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Marine Regiment. The Marines eventually requested a Harrier fighter jet to drop a 500-pound bomb on the compound, which was believed to have killed all fighters inside. The commanders...

KABUL—Militants exploded a vehicle outside the gates of a U.S. coalition base in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, sparking a two-hour gunbattle that ended when American troops called in airstrikes, officials said. Two U.S. troops were killed and four were wounded. More than 30 insurgents were killed by the airstrikes in Zerok district of Paktika province, said Hamidullah Zawak, the provincial governor spokesman. The multi-pronged attack near the Pakistan border came as thousands of Marines in southern Afghanistan pursued the biggest U.S. military operation here since the American-led invasion of 2001, trying to cut insurgent supply lines and win over local...

Operation Khanjar part of the effort to turn the tide against the Taliban in Afghanistan -snip- The 4,000-strong marine expeditionary brigade involved in the operation are part of the 21,000 extra US troops Obama has sent to Afghanistan in an attempt to turn the tide against the Taliban. The aim of Operation Khanjar is to retake the initiative in Helmand, and make it safer for elections due next month. Voter registration had been particularly poor in Helmand in part because for the past few years, the British force has been pinned down in the upper Helmand River valley between the...

The United States and Kyrgyzstan signed a deal on the transit of non-military cargo to Afghanistan that will effectively keep open a US airbase Bishkek had ordered closed, officials said Tuesday. Kyrgyzstan had troubled Washington by ordering the closure of the airbase at Manas, a key transit point for Afghanistan operations, just as US President Barack Obama was seeking to intensify the campaign against the Taliban. Under the deal worth more than 170 million dollars, the rent for the base -- now called a "transit centre" -- will be more than tripled, but limits are to be imposed on its...

The United States currently has about 139,000 troops in Iraq and 52,000 in Afghanistan according to this AP article about the US being ready to be in Iraq for 10 years. Barak Obama took the oath of office on January 20th 2009 at which time there were 142,000 Troops In IraqTurn to page 24 of this Brookings institute report and 31,000 troops in Afganistan according to the Christian Science Monitor

The Ministry of Defense has announced an increase in troops to Afghanistan by 400 to be sent in April and May. Poland’s current mission in the country costs about 35.8 million zloty (7.9 million euro). The Defense Ministry will cover the costs of the additional 400 soldiers. There are currently 1,600 Polish soldiers stationed in Afghanistan in the Ghazni province. Minister of Defense Bogdan Klich has stated that he expects that the situation in the coming months will worsen in the region, anticipating the presidential elections scheduled for August. (mmj)

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan sits on one of the largest mineral deposits in the region, the country's mines minister said, urging foreign firms to invest in oil, gas and iron ore sectors. A U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) had shown that the war-torn nation may hold far higher amounts of minerals than previously thought, Mohammad Ibrahim Adel said. "In the field of minerals, Afghanistan is the richest country in the region, much more, hundreds of times more. Except for diamond, you have all the other minerals that you find in nature, in Afghanistan," Adel told Reuters in an interview late on...

The disconnect between reporting and reality on Iraq was dramatic during 2005. Media stories about the incompetence and hopelessness of the Iraqi army and police were like the soup of the day, every day. Yet month by month, before my eyes, Iraqi security forces were improving. Reporting this truth earned the label of “stooge,” because the soup of the day was Failure. Millions of Americans and Europeans apparently wanted Iraqis to suffer because those same Americans and Europeans seemed to hate George Bush. Today Iraq is succeeding, but as Generals Petraeus or Odierno might say, the situation remains fragile and...

Afghanistan's Taliban on Tuesday turned down as illogical U.S. President Barack Obama's bid to reach out to moderate elements of the insurgents, saying the exit of foreign troops was the only solution for ending the war.snip"The Taliban are united, have one leader, one aim, one policy...I do not know why they are talking about moderate Taliban and what it means?," "If it means those who are not fighting and are sitting in their homes, then talking to them is meaningless. This really is surprising the Taliban."