But there is a real and strong middle option: to put ourselves and
friendly Afghans in a position to manage future terrorist threats in that
country without a major U.S. combat role. We can accomplish this by doing what
we actually know how to do: arm, train, divide the enemy, contain and deter.
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Two Arguments for What to Do in Afghanistan - TIME - 16 views
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why does it all have to be so complicated? i don't understand how everyone can hate each other, and it's hard to get along. i know it sounds like a dream to expect more, but it is not impossible.
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this is a great idea, but will it truely work? i realize we are trying so hard to make afghanistan a better country, but i, personally, haven't seen any difference.
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There are four main prescriptions for a more realistic strategy in Afghanistan. First, stop trying to do the impossible, i.e., build an effective government in Kabul and enlarge Afghan security forces.
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Second, divide and rent the Taliban. Like the British, we can propose deals that split the moderates (those content with exerting power in Afghanistan alone) from the fanatics (those obsessed with global jihad).
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These actions can be in place within one to two years and allow the U.S. to be mostly withdrawn from combat within three.
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Fourth, start doing what the U.S. does well — deterrence and containment. To deter, we must maintain a small, residual capability in Afghanistan for a few years, as well as offshore air and missile capabilities to inflict harsh punishment when necessary.
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Third, surge about 10,000 new combat forces on top of the 68,000 already authorized and create an additional 5,000 dedicated trainers. Such a surge should be sufficient to handle immediate troubles.
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The U.S. has never won a classic civil war or a fight against an insurgency in which it bore the brunt of battle and became the local villain. Vietnam is the obvious example. For the sake of friendly Afghans and for our own security, our goal now should be to make this their war, not our war.
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involving up to 40,000 more U.S. troops
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We should instead focus on forging a smaller army, say 75,000 or 100,000, that can and will actually fight, and concentrate on arming and training local warlords and tribal leaders who can defend themselves. This, backed by good U.S. logistics and intelligence, could block a Taliban reconquest of Afghanistan.
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These actions can be in place within one to two years and allow the U.S. to be mostly withdrawn from combat within three.
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Perhaps most fundamental, the middle way avoids the quicksand on which the counterinsurgency strategy is built: the absolute need for nation-building. Counterinsurgency strategy requires clearing and holding territory, which cannot be done without transforming a corruption-riddled, anarchic and poverty-stricken state into a functioning market democracy.
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But there is a real and strong middle option: to put ourselves and friendly Afghans in a position to manage future terrorist threats in that country without a major U.S. combat role. We can accomplish this by doing what we actually know how to do: arm, train, divide the enemy, contain and deter.
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We can accomplish this by doing what we actually know how to do: arm, train, divide the enemy, contain and deter.
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We can accomplish this by doing what we actually know how to do: arm, train, divide the enemy, contain and deter.
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to put ourselves and friendly Afghans in a position to manage future terrorist threats in that country without a major U.S. combat role.
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Second, divide and rent the Taliban. Like the British, we can propose deals that split the moderates (those content with exerting power in Afghanistan alone) from the fanatics (those obsessed with global jihad). We can also attract Taliban fighters by paying them more than the Taliban leadership can afford.
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Second, divide and rent the Taliban. Like the British, we can propose deals that split the moderates (those content with exerting power in Afghanistan alone) from the fanatics (those obsessed with global jihad). We can also attract Taliban fighters by paying them more than the Taliban leadership can afford.
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Interactive Map: The Economy Where You Live : NPR - 10 views
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A Window On the War in Afghanistan - TIME - 8 views
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It's been more than eight years since the war began, and for much of that time, it was a conflict that took place at the margins of our awareness.
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The war in Afghanistan is at a crossroads. President Obama will soon decide whether to commit more U.S. troops to a conflict that's already on the verge of becoming the longest military action in American history--or perhaps begin to dial back our commitment there. It's been more than eight years since the war began, and for much of that time, it was a conflict that took place at the margins of our awareness.
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GoErie.com: Local News - Erie County executive race influences fate of projects - 5 views
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For Democrat Barry Grossman, the contest represents a chance to win a high-profile political race -- something Grossman was unable to do in 2005 when he lost the Democratic primary for Erie mayor to Joe Sinnott. For Republican Mike Kerner, a Nov. 3 municipal election victory would validate his small-money, shoe-leather campaign.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/05/afghanistan.debate/index.html - 5 views
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Some helping to shape the strategy support counterinsurgency, which would involve a large number of troops focused on fighting the Taliban, plus efforts to rebuild the country and its economic system. Others, such as Vice President Joe Biden, favor a counterterrorism strategy in which a limited number of troops would target only al Qaeda.
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I think that in order to defeat al Qaeda like Joe Biden mentioned, it will prove neccessary to fight the Taliban and improve Afghanistan's central government and economy as well.
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I don't think Biden realizes that we were trying to do that but they diguise themselves as civilians which makes it harder to find them. The terrain is so bad that we have to go in and look everywhere to find them because they can be anywhere.
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Some critics have said the White House is playing politics with the decision and putting U.S. troops at risk
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The White House needs to put political differences aside and really focus on finding the best strategy. As General McChrystal said, the time will eventually come when the U.S. will either fail in Afghanistan or pull the troops out, so the Obama administration needs to act quickly and efficiently in reaching an appropriate decision
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Police use stun gun on 10-year-old girl | Fox10tv.com - 5 views
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A police officer in a small Arkansas town used a stun gun on an unruly 10-year-old girl after he said her mother gave him permission to do so
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Unreasonable force was used because a 10 year old girl could easily have been restrained using other methods than tazing her.
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This probably wasn't needed to restrain a 10-yearold girl at all. So i do think that this was a misuse of force. If the police officer really knew what he was doing wouldnt need to taser a ten year old girl because she was kicking and screaming.
Lame MP3 Encoder Binaries - 6 views
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August deadliest month of 2009 for Afghan civilians, UN says - CNN.com - 3 views
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August had the most fatalities this year for civilians in Afghanistan because of the country's disputed election, and violence could rise again when the final results are released, a U.N. report warns.
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About 1,500 people died in Afghanistan from the beginning of the year to August, according to the U.N. report released this week.
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Almost 70 percent of the civilian deaths this year were blamed on what the report called anti-government elements. More than 20 percent of the civilian deaths were attributed to pro-government forces, the report said.
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More than 200,000 of the nearly 5.7 million votes cast have been thrown out because of these allegations
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August had the most fatalities this year for civilians in Afghanistan because of the country's disputed election, and violence could rise again when the final results are released, a U.N. report warns.
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About 1,500 people died in Afghanistan from the beginning of the year to August, according to the U.N. report released this week.
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A lot of people are dying in Afghanistan, i think this is wrong because they are just civilians. If we had more soldiers over there i dont think this would happen as much.
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Yeah but you also have to think about if we have more soldiers in Afghanistan then the more at risk are our American soldiers.
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i cant believe this is still going on! its horrible that innocent people are dying because of this!
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In afghanistan, august was the month with the most civilian fatalities. This is believed to be from violence coming form the country' s recent election. The death was not stated for the month yet, but in 2009 august has been called the "deadliest month". The amount of violence is coming from increasing insecurity over that last few months. I think this should show us that Afghanistan does need help and is in need for more troops to help keep every thing under control.
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I agree with Lauren. I think that if there is still this much violence and chaos going on in Afghanistan, it should send a message to our government that the United States still needs to be over there and that the war is obviously not over yet.
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Why are we still sending troops over if it is just utimately killing them? I agree with Lauren and Rebecca with that idea that if this continues, we need to take them out of Afghanistan. Majority of Afghans might not want our help. If this is the case, we actually aren't helping anything. Instead, we are just instigating the killing.
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August had the most fatalities this year for civilians in Afghanistan because of the country's disputed election, and violence could rise again when the final results are released, a U.N. report warns.
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This month has been the highest month for deaths in Afghanistan, this is partly due to the disputed election this month.
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This also means the americans have to stay on their toes because of increased violence
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War in Afghanistan - CNN.com | Diigo - 3 views
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It just seems so unreal how people can have invalid votes for Presidental elections. Our country's system seems so good and prevents fraud like this. I couldn't even imagine the turmoil in the country who encounters this situation.
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i also can't believe this because it is just so unreal. it's completely crazy how this happens even now. isn't America supposed to be a growing country?
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Afghan women hiding for their lives - CNN.com - 2 views
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Two Arguments for What to Do in Afghanistan - TIME - 2 views
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In August, President Obama laid out the rationale for stepping up the fight in Afghanistan: If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which al-Qaeda would plot to kill more Americans. So this is not only a war worth fighting.
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This is not because the Taliban is so strong; generous estimates suggest it numbers no more than 20,000 fighters. It is because the Afghan government and the 90,000-man Afghan army are still so weak.
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Having overthrown the ruling government in 2001, the U.S. has an obligation to leave to Afghans a country that is somewhat stable. And a stabilized Afghanistan is a necessary precondition for a peaceful South Asia, which is today the epicenter of global terrorism and the most likely setting of a nuclear war. Obamas Af-Pak plan has a real chance to achieve a stable Afghanistan if it is given some time to work.
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I kind of understand the U.S. obligation in a way and in another way I don't. We might have overthrown their government to promote peace in their country, but I don't feel that leaves us with an obligation to fix it. I feel that the efforts the U.S. has already put in to fix this country are plentiful and that the country needs to try to find a way of being stable other than the U.S.
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Another common criticism is that Afghanistan is a cobbled-together agglomeration of warring tribes and ethnic factions that is not amenable to anything approaching nation-building. In fact, the first Afghan state emerged with the Durrani Empire in 1747, making it a nation older than the U.S. Afghans lack no sense of nationhood; rather, they have always been ruled by a weak central state.
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A third critique is that Afghanistan is simply too violent for anything constituting success to happen there. This is highly misleading. While violence is on the rise, it is nothing on the scale of what occurred during the Iraq war — or even what happened in U.S. cities as recently as 1991, when an American was statistically more likely to be killed than an Afghan civilian was last year.
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A BBC/ABC News poll conducted this year, for instance, showed that 63% of Afghans have a favorable view of the U.S. military. To those who say you cant trust polls taken in Afghanistan, its worth noting that the same type of poll consistently finds neighboring Pakistan to be one of the most anti-American countries in the world.
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Obamas Af-Pak plan is, in essence, a countersanctuary strategy that denies safe havens to the Taliban and al-Qaeda, with the overriding goal of making America and its allies safer.
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Having overthrown the ruling government in 2001, the U.S. has an obligation to leave to Afghans a country that is somewhat stable. And a stabilized Afghanistan is a necessary precondition for a peaceful South Asia, which is today the epicenter of global terrorism and the most likely setting of a nuclear war. Obamas Af-Pak plan has a real chance to achieve a stable Afghanistan if it is given some time to work.
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Under Obama, the Pentagon has already sent a surge of 21,000 troops to Afghanistan, and the Administration is even weighing the possibility of deploying as many as 40,000 more.
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Afghanistan as it was in the 1970s, a country at peace internally and with its neighbors, whose towering mountains and exotic peoples drew tourists from around the world.
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GoErie.com: Local News - Erie families face fear of lost jobs and tough times - 2 views
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Diana Ames knows just how desperate a person can feel. Advertisement She and her husband, Ron, found themselves temporarily homeless in the early 1980s when he lost his job at Riley Stoker. The couple and their five children were spared by a local social-services agency that put them up at a motel for a month.
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