updated below The latest embarrassment came when Amb. Eikenberry’s private advice to Pres. Obama on not sending troops leaked, ending up in wide coverage of a possible “off-ramp” and “withdraw” plan. It’s political poison for the President to have these possibilities swirling when you’re deliberating. And Gates, who has weighed in positively on Obama’s work [...]
Tag Archives | Afghanistan
Reports Say Obama Looking for ‘Ramp to Withdraw’ on Afghanistan
updated below Ambassador Eikienberry doesn’t trust the Karzai government. The AP is reporting that it’s had its desired affect. Pres. Obama is now rejecting all the current plans on the table for the next step in Afghanistan. So, the rewrite has begun. I’ve been against more troops, because of the mountains of evidence obtained from [...]
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Meanwhile, About Afghanistan…
The latest TM-DC podcast is up. Listen now! Last Friday I listened to Sect. Hillary Clinton give a speech at the first “No Limits” conference. This is Ann Lewis’ group made up of, well, the political arm of what’s left of Clinton’s 2008 campaign, though that’s my interpretation, not the official line. Clinton was subdued [...]
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Measuring Obama and Clinton
From the time I started writing this piece this morning to the time it was posted, Time magazine had changed the tone and title from “Hillary’s Moment” to “The State of Hillary: A Mixed Record on the Job.” Things shift quickly for team Obama, especially when you’re chief diplomat is Hillary Rodham Clinton. Somewhere between [...]
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One Year Later, Karzai ‘Wins’ by Default
“Needless to say, this is not where we wanted to be after nine months,” commented a senior aide to the president. – AfPak Channel (via New York Times) One year since Barack Obama won the election, come November 4th, the above statement seems apt, though not just for Afghanistan or Karzai’s “win.” Anthony Cordesman defines [...]
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Fox News Responds with Rush
Pres. Obama went to war with Fox News, and what he got to show for it was the preview of what Rush’s new Fox News Channel show will look like. … um… Rush is getting his own show, right? Otherwise he lost all that weight for nothing. Rush went on and on, with Chris Wallace [...]
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Sarah Palin is Now the GOP Establishment
It’s the second time this year that Sarah Palin going rogue has paid off. Her “death panels” squeal set Pres. Obama and the Democrats back on their heals, and when she came out to endorse Mr. Hoffman it seemed laughable to many. It doesn’t matter that Dick Armey was out there too, as he’s yesterday’s [...]
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Drones Over Pakistan
Full text of interview. Incoming, and I’m not just talking about drones in Pakistan. Clinton faced a tough crowd with even tougher questions over U.S. policy of using CIA drone attacks. From the AP: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton came face-to-face Friday with Pakistanis’ simmering anger over U.S. aerial drones firing missiles in [...]
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Secretary of Frankness
“I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn’t get them if they really wanted to,” she told a group of newspaper editors during a meeting in Lahore. “Maybe they are not ‘get-at-able’. I don’t know,” she said. … While acknowledging the many bumps in U.S.-Pakistan relations, [...]
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Afghanistan in the Caucus Room: Levin Slams Cheney
–expanded piece cross-posted at Huffington Post– Edited and updated with reporting from the event. “Fueling the drama, there are some in Washington who are willing to toss cheap and easy lines about presidential ‘dithering,’ or alleging the president is ‘afraid’ to reach a decision, in an effort to push him to immediately, indeed automatically, endorse [...]
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CIA In Bed with Karzai’s Corrupt Brother
“The only way to clean up Chicago is to get rid of Capone,” General Flynn said. – Brother of Afghan Leader Is Said to Be on C.I.A. Payroll I wonder if this was Dick Cheney’s idea? Andrew Exum writes today that it’s the most important article on Afghanistan that you’re going to read this week: [...]
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Afghanistan: Former Marine at State Resigns
updated version cross-posted at Huffington Post His name is Matthew Hoh and this could turn into a story that will haunt Pres. Obama’s decision on Afghanistan every day until the strategy is announced. I’m sure it is already. Hoh simply doesn’t believe in where the U.S. mission has been and where Obama is about to [...]
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Troop Increase Looks Likely in Afghanistan
Rep. of Secr’etary-General Kai Eide, Sen. John Kerry, Pres. Karzai. (via) NATO’s decision to endorse a broader effort in Afghanistan could be foreshadowing, as the narrower approach to Afghanistan, which Biden championed, shows all signs of being grounded. Gates was at the NATO briefing, which was also attended by Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Via the Wall [...]
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TM-DC Podcast: Dick Cheney Fun, Fox Battle, Foreign Policy
–bumped– The new podcast is up… I just couldn’t resist having some fun on the podcast with Mr. Cheney’s latest screed. He’s so over the top he’s outdone himself on this one. The White House response was pitch perfect. From Politico: A day after former Vice President Cheney charged the Obama administration with “dithering” over [...]
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Richard Holbrooke: ‘Can’t say enough about John Kerry.’
–updated – bumped– Backdrop… The setting for my conversation with Richard Holbrooke was Kati Marton’s book salon and wine reception at the New American Foundation. Ironically, Josh Rogin had an exclusive interview with Richard Holbrooke several hours after I had a conversation with him, with the following from Rogin the exact same thing Holbrooke revealed [...]
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