pajamasmedia.com - 11/16/2008
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November 16, 2008 SMALL WARS JOURNAL: How Should the U.S. Execute a Surge in Afghanistan? Michael Yon emails the link and adds: "Last time I was in Afghanistan, I mentioned an off-the-cuff number that we might need something like 50k more troops. . . . This 25-40k clearly will NOT BE ...
yglesias.thinkprogress.org - 11/20/2008
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yglesias.thinkprogress.org —
Ross Douthat forecasts Barack Obama’s political strategy :
Even with the GOP brand in the toilet, Republicans...
are still trusted as much or more than Dems on foreign policy, mostly for somewhat nebulous “toughness” reasons. So ...
(more)
A Big Difference
noblesseoblige.org - 11/18/2008
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noblesseoblige.org —
. Zombie’s braver than I, I was going
to wait until the defense pact agreement passed the...
assembly in Iraq, but what the hey…. Victory in Iraq Day! 1 One other note on this: I predict the media will not join in, I predict that they will ...
(more)
Victory in Iraq Day
thewashingtonnote.com - 11/17/2008
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thewashingtonnote.com —
(Andrew Bacevich talking with Bill Moyers) Fire Dog
Lake has some of the best book salons on...
the web. They run in real time for two hours with a web-based exchange between an author and FDL readers. I have had the pleasure of hosting two of ...
(more)
Andrew Bacevich Comments on Self-Damaging Wars, the ...
Comments
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It Always Comes Down to Logistics
Vodkapundit —
Considering a “surge” for Afghanistan, Glenn Reynolds asks, “ How many troops can we support, logistically, in Afghanistan?” Good question. The Soviets had this same problem when they invaded back in 1979. And the Soviet Union bordered Afghanistan; they had rail lines going from their industrial centers right to the border, or nearly so. We have to fly most everything in we need. On the other hand, the Soviets spent their time destroying Afghanistan’s infrastructure, while we’ve spent our time building it up. Best guess? It’s a wash. I’d be surprised if we could support more ...
A Surge in Afghanistan
Ace of Spades HQ —
... An optimistic projection of adding eight combat brigades (as opposed to the five surged in Iraq) only gets us a 10:1000 ration of COIN forces to population, which would be helpful, but still is only half of what doctrine suggests. Add to that the fact that the borders are well-nigh unsecurable and that the Pashtuns in Afghanistan are determined to assist the insurgency -- and that we can't often pursue them across the borders -- and the magnitude of the problem becomes apparent. Michael Yon, in fact, suggests that we not even attempt the surge, as he thinks the ...
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What, I Was Serious?
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Here's Spencer Ackerman writing in the Washington Independent :
Today a cohort of progressive bloggers unveils a new effort against ...
In Time of War
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Get Afghanistan Right
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Obama's Afghanistan Dilemma: "Growing Dissent" On More Troops
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Shakedown
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GetAfghanistanRight.com
washingtonindependent.com 1/12/2009 — Today a cohort of progressive bloggers unveils a new effort against the planned 20,000-troop increase of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. A website called GetAfghanistanRight, set up by bloggers at the Seminal and Brave New Films — and with the ...
The Surge in Afghanistan
agonist.org 1/12/2009 — The US will soon double the number of its troops in Afghanistan from about thirty thousand to sixty thousand, and several other NATO countries will also up their troop levels. The move comes with little surprise and considerable bipartisan support, ...
On the Front Lines in Afghanistan
pajamasmedia.com 12/14/2008 — The war in Afghanistan is, in many ways, just getting started. PJM presents exclusive reports from Michael Yon — our 21st century "Ernie Pyle" — who will be in the country through 2009.
McCain on Afghanistan at AEI
weeklystandard.com 2/25/2009 — Senator McCain is just now delivering a speech at AEI on the war in Afghanistan. Some highlights:
"Success is possible in Afghanistan. Afghans reject the Taliban. Just 4 percent of Afghans wish them to rule the country, and they rate the Taliban ...
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