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michaelyon-online.com - 3/27/2009

Obama on Afghanistan: Disappointing

— michaelyon-online.com — 27 March 2009 President Obama has just spoken on AfPak. I closed my eyes and listened closely... to his words, coming via the BBC from the other side of the world. The President's words were disappointing. He talked about our goal to reach a force ... (more) Obama on Afghanistan: Disappointing

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Barack Obama

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nytimes.com - 3/27/2009

Text - President Obama’s Remarks on New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan

— nytimes.com — Washington, DC March 27, 2009 Good morning. Today, I am announcing a comprehensive, new strategy for Afghanistan... and Pakistan. This marks the conclusion of a careful policy review that I ordered as soon as I took office. My Administration has heard ... (more) Text - President Obama’s Remarks on New Strategy ...

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Washington, D.C

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commentarymagazine.com - 3/27/2009

A New Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan

— commentarymagazine.com — The new Afghanistan policy that President Obama unveiled at the White House today was pretty much all... that supporters of the war effort could have asked for, and probably pretty similar to what a President McCain would have decided on. The major ... (more) A New Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan

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Afghanistan

Iraq

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The Drug War And Afghanistan
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — David Corn noticed a really interesting nugget in Holbrooke's briefing: What to do about the opium flowing out of Afghanistan has always been a knotty element of US policy regarding Afghanistan. How much of a priority should it be? (Simply put, if you attack the the opium ...

OBAMA’S AFPAK PLAN JUST ABOUT RIGHT
Right Wing Nut House — ... forces in Afghanistan. If there were not people like Gates and Petraeus up there, my gut would say to pull out. It is only my faith in the military, and what I saw them accomplish against heavy odds in Iraq, that gives me hope. I would add to Petreaus and Gates the name of Richard Holbrooke. This is one tough dude who also has the courage and ability to think outside the box. Here he talks about corruption and the huge challenge facing both the US and the Karzai government in dealing with the problem: I would just point you to the fact that no American chief executive has ...

Ambassador Richard Holbrooke: US has to completely rethink drugs policy in Afghanistan
PoliGazette — ... Finally: one of the top advisers to President Barack Obama has said the U.S. has to “completely rethink” its drugs policy in Afghanistan. ...

Weekend Opinionator: The Art of War in Afghanistan
Opinionator — ... “Holbrooke said the $800m (£550m) a year the US was spending on counter-narcotics would be better used in supporting Afghan farmers,” reports the BBC. ” ‘It hasn’t hurt the Taleban one iota,” he said, “because whatever money they’re getting from the drugs trade, they get whatever they need whether we reduce the acreage or not.’ ” Mother Jones’s David Corn was present, and proved not entirely invulnerable to the legendary Holbrooke charm: Holbrooke is a wonderfully engaging character—an old-school power player. He schmoozes reporters, coming across as intelligent, crafty, and ...

Obama's Af/Pak Strategy And A Pony
Newshoggers.com — ... In fact, the Obama strategy is more like the blueprint for a plan than the plan itself. There are some encouraging ideas - like Holbrooke saying the entire war on opium in Afghanistan needs a rethink - but overall a blurry, undefined plan for doubling down, surging and "when they stand up" exits should shame all Obama supporters who spent so much time rightly castigating Bush administration white paper strategies for Iraq as being ill-defined "wishing for a pony". Even Bush's plans were more detailled than we've had out of the Obama administration so far. ...

“We’re going to have to rethink the drug problem”
HorsesAss.Org — ... that we’ve already created in Mexico, with terrorist groups reaping massive profits from an illegal trade that we can’t stop. I’m hoping that this article on newly appointed Ambassador Richard Holbrooke is a sign that our policy is going to finally deal with reality over there: ...

Is Holbrooke Off the (War on Drugs) Wagon?
David Corn — ... continued to talk to the reporters in the room. Prompted to address the opium trade's impact on the potential for success in Afghanistan, he called for "a complete rethink" of the war on drugs in Afghanistan and suggested that he was hardly gung-ho on the poppy eradication program there. So is Holbrooke off the (anti-drug) wagon? He did note that the review process had not been able to produce any consensus on this knotty matter. You can read my full account of Holbrooke's comments here. Holbrooke's remarks certainly deserve follow-up. ...

The War on the War on Drugs
Opinionator — ... enthused I’m no longer viewed as a lunatic trying to hook their kids on crack. My mother reports that Republican doctors at her workplace, guys who complain about taxes and have NRA stickers on their cars, are muttering about taxing and legalizing. The War on the War on Drugs has had its surges in the past, but without realizing any changes in policy. This time around it may achieve results. Even if Obama is not ready to embrace the idea, some in his administration are. Last Friday, David Corn asked Richard Holbrooke about the priority of drug fighting in Afghanistan. “We’re ...