Obama holds new war cabinet talks on Afghanistan

Source: AFP

Obama holds new war cabinet talks on Afghanistan

By Laurent Lozano (AFP) – 42 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama huddled with his war council Wednesday for the fifth time, debating whether to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan as he maps a new strategy to quell the conflict.

Obama has said he hopes to unveil his plans in the coming weeks as he desperately seeks to contain the violence in Afghanistan fueled by the resurgent Taliban ousted from power eight years ago and Al-Qaeda militants.

He met Wednesday in the White House with his national security team including Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton via videoconference from Russia.

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McChrystal joined the talks along with Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair and CIA chief Leon Panetta.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hJ9-l4EhhVB1wJYzDoNCNluwmDUQ

this is one giant cluster-f where the lines between policy and strategy have been blurred.
politicians shouldn't get too involved in strategy and war chiefs (i.e. demons) should not be involved in policy. This is what happens when you have a war in search of a reason.

Took some time to get him there, but, there he is.

..that BushCo. left the new President.

If he puts in more troops, more will die, the war will drag on (and he'll lose votes on the moderate > left)

If he pulls out the troops, chaos, especially for Afghan women, and Rush et all will paint him as a "surrender monkey" with his tail between his legs. Weak on terror. (and he'll lose votes on the moderate > right)

Bush/Cheney had not only most of the troops in that one country right after 9/11, but the sympathy of the world. I'm sure they could have convinced Europe and other places to contribute more troops as well. They could have dominated the whole country, (not just one or two cities) secured it for actual legitimate elections, rebuilt schools etc.. Not to mention following Bin Laden into Tora Bora and perhaps even getting him.

Now its too late to win there. The thing was to get in with massive troops, enough to secure the whole country, and get out within a few years of training a native police force. By the half-ass and sabotaged approach that BushCo. spawned, the tide was bound to turn against them eventually. Any country will win against an invading force if they over-stay their welcome.

Cheney's having a good chuckle about this down in his lair.

because we are there. the people we claim as our good guys (karzai and gang) are just as anti-woman as the taliban.

"During the Taliban’s reign, fewer than one million children went to school in Afghanistan. Now about six million children are registered in schools and about one third of them are girls."
http://www.sida.se/English/Countries-and-regions/Asia/Afghanistan/Programmes-and-Projects/More-children-in-school-in-Afghanistan/

I can't help but think that allowing these girls to not only finish their educations but to excel at their educations will produce better long term results than, oh, blowing up people's houses for example. We should create a fund for the brightest of these girls, a fund that will give them a free ride in thecollege of their choosing.

Worrying about what any of them might say is a waste of time and energy. It's a given they will be ugly, no matter what any Democrat does. So, you never let their reaction factor into any analysis. Figure out what is right, do it, and expect shat from them.

Obama security team studies Afghan army, police

(AP) – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON — The White House says the latest three-hour meeting on the United States' next moves in Afghanistan dealt at length with strengthening the civilian mission and training of Afghan police and army.

Spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday the fifth gathering of President Barack Obama's security team in the super-secure White House situation room looked forward to a day when the Afghan police and army would be able to provide security for the country.

Gibbs denied a report circulating in Britain that the president had made a decision on a request from the U.S. Afghan commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, for as many as 80,000 additional American forces.

Obama has said he would make up his mind in the coming weeks. ... http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gTYT7NsVPN-TKD9Dq5XqnvpGurhgD9BB3A4G1

Obama talks US nonmilitary efforts in Afghanistan

By JENNIFER LOVEN (AP) – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON — As President Barack Obama inches closer to a decision on new troops for Afghanistan, his latest war council debate Wednesday centered on how to strengthen U.S. civilian efforts there and significantly ramp up training of the Afghan police and army.

Obama met for three hours with his national security team, the fifth of six such meetings scheduled for the president to consider where to take the eight-year-old war.

The White House added a meeting for next week, by which time there may be a decision on whether to hold a runoff presidential election in Afghanistan between President Hamid Karzai and his chief challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.

The allegations of widespread fraud in the Aug. 20 voting are among the most troublesome factors in Obama's strategy review. An Afghanistan government seen as illegitimate by its people could create openings for the Taliban and a renewed safe haven for al-Qaida. Many fear that any U.S. effort — no matter how big or well-targeted — could fail as a result.

The U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission could rule as soon as Saturday on whether to discard enough Karzai votes to force a runoff with Abdullah. The new vote, logistically difficult to pull off, would have to be held within two weeks.

Though some administration officials and Obama advisers differ on whether a narrower, counterterror-style approach or a broader counterinsurgency mission is the better approach, all seem to agree that increasing nonmilitary efforts to improve Afghanistan's agricultural industry and economy, rule of law and governing institutions are key to any success. Similarly, the administration hopes to train significantly more local police and army in the hope they could eventually take the burden off of U.S. shoulders of protecting the country from a Taliban resurgence and al-Qaida infiltration. ... http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iqyaFh_efr-brDq0rMLF1hkop0tgD9BB40B00