Skip to main content

Home/ International Politics of the Middle East/ Group items tagged McChrystal

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Filter: All | Bookmarks | Topics Simple Middle
Morgan Mintz

Only Decisive Force Can Prevail in Afghanistan - WSJ.com - 0 views

online.wsj.com/...3440104574404753110979442.html

afghanistan war terrorism pakistan US McChrystal

shared by Morgan Mintz on 14 Sep 09 - Cached
  • the ramifications of an American defeat in Afghanistan would not only be a devastating setback for our nation in what is now the central front in the global war on terror, but would inevitably further destabilize neighboring, nuclear Pakistan.
  • our problems result from what was, for years, a mismanaged and underresourced war.
  • We have an exceptional new commander on the ground, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who has begun a top-to-bottom overhaul of all aspects of our war policy and put forward a dramatically new civil-military strategy that clearly identifies failed policies and prioritizes the proven principles of counterinsurgency
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • This team must also have the resources it needs to succeed—including a significant increase in U.S. forces. More troops will not guarantee success in Afghanistan, but a failure to send them is a guarantee of failure. As we saw in Iraq, numbers matter in counterinsurgency.
  • Mr. Obama was right when he said last year that "You don't muddle through the central front on terror . . . You don't muddle through stamping out the Taliban."
  • Additional U.S. resources must be accompanied by significant and meaningful benchmarks that hold the government of Afghanistan and our own government accountable.
  • Morgan Mintz on 14 Sep 09
     
    It's an opinion piece, but it's worth noting the authors and the clear position they are promoting.
Jim Franklin

Al Jazeera English - Americas - Afghan ambassador for extra forces - 0 views

english.aljazeera.net/...2009107175431443111.html

USA Obama Afghanistan

shared by Jim Franklin on 08 Oct 09 - Cached
  • The White House said prior to Tuesday's meeting that Obama considered it "tremendously important" to listen to congress about the war, but would not base his decision on the mood on Capitol Hill or waning public support for the war.
  • "If they come to Afghanistan, it will make it easier for Afghans to take the responsibilities for themselves. We are hopeful that the president will accommodate the request that General McChrystal has put forward."
  • "We are very grateful for what the United States has done for Afghanistan; we respect the decision of the [US] president," he told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • "But from my interaction with our own generals and the generals in the Pentagon, we know that we need these additional troops."
  • "If those troops do not arrive, the challenges will be even bigger and we might not have adequate [numbers] of trainers in time, to train our own security forces [in order] to take the responsibility of the fight ourselves," he said.
  • Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States has said that more US troops are needed in his country to help promote stability and train the domestic security forces.
  • But his comments were in marked contrast to those from Ahmed Shah Ahmedzai, a former Afghan prime minister, who told Al Jazeera that more troops would achieve little.
  • "The war started eight years ago and throughout these eight years there is no progress, especially from the Afghan government and from the Nato forces. To increase more troops this will not help the Afghan issue," he said.
  • "Our recommendation to the [US] government is that we should start negotiations and spend our joint efforts to stop the war. Starting to negotiate is the only way to solve the Afghan crisis."
  • 40 per cent of Americans support the war - down four percentage points compared to the same survey in September.
  • "Obama's base, the liberal-left wing of the party, wants nothing more to do with the war, and alienating your base is never a good idea. Obama may have to rely on Republicans in Congress to authorise funds for more troops for the war in Afghanistan, if he wants to go in that direction."
Ed Webb

BBC NEWS | Americas | Envoy urges no US troop increase - 0 views

news.bbc.co.uk/...8356094.stm

bbc Afghanistan USA military diplomacy obama

shared by Ed Webb on 12 Nov 09 - Cached
  • a leaked cable
  • Gen McChrystal was "fuming" about Mr Eikenberry's intervention
  • Michael Fisher on 12 Nov 09
     
    Seems like President Obama is being pulled in every direction. Why can't there ever be a definitive 'best-choice' in political science? So speculative is this crazy world of international relations. I suppose that's what makes it so much fun.
1 - 3 of 3
Showing 20▼ items per page