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AMERICAN DIGEST: Surging Towards Afghanistan-Bananistan
Think Progress: Pentagon planning to send up to 15,000 troops to Afghanistan.
Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News: Pentagon Plans to Send More Than 12,000 Additional Troops to Afghanistan
Counterterrorism Blog: The Price of the Criminal-Terror Nexus in Afghanistan
Surging Towards Afghanistan-Bananistan
AMERICAN DIGEST —
... Obamocrats should be pleased with this war news: Pentagon Plans to Send More Than 12,000 Additional Troops to Afghanistan - US News and World Report "And there may be even more to come." ...
Pentagon planning to send up to 15,000 troops to Afghanistan.
Think Progress —
... U.S. News reports that the Pentagon “will be sending 12,000 to 15,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, possibly as soon as the end of this year, with planning underway for a further force buildup in 2009.” In light of the ...
Pentagon Plans to Send More Than 12,000 Additional Troops to Afghanistan
Democratic Underground Latest Breaking News —
... troops are slated to arrive earlier than has been previously discussed, on the heels of the deadliest months for American forces in Afghanistan since the war began. The first wave of soldiers will be a U.S. Army brigade from the 10th Mountain Division, according to a senior military official. This brigade is scheduled to ship out between November and January, while two other brigades are likely to arrive "sometime in the spring or summer of next year," the official adds. Read more: http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/iraq/2008/08/19/pen...
The Price of the Criminal-Terror Nexus in Afghanistan
Counterterrorism Blog —
... Given that the cash pipeline is not being attacked in any way that is making a significant difference, the plans for a mini surge there, with additional U.S. troops is unlikely to make a key difference. ...
McCain’s Free Media Pass
Firedoglake —
... been bogged down in the wrong country, fighting the wrong war and making it impossible for the US to respond effectively anywhere else.
The consequences of this distraction can be seen in our tragic inability to defend our own and NATO allies' troops in Afghanistan or prevent the collapse of US policy in Pakistan. It is a contributing factor to the US and NATO's inability to respond effectively in Georgia. The Russians know we can't defend Georgia; we can't even shore up our threatened forces in Afghanistan until December.
Instead of ...
Violence Up In The Forgotten Front
Wonk Room —
... July, former Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan commander Lt. General David Barno noted a shortfall of over a thousand police trainers and mentors, leading him to conclude that “until the police system overall is dramatically improved … the counterinsurgency approach is going to continue to be increasingly difficult because the police are the first line of defense locally against insurgents, criminals, and others that might challenge the central government”. US News and World Report writes that the Pentagon is planning on deploying an additional three brigades to ...
The End of the World
Corrente —
I linked this earlier in a comment, but for those who missed it, suicide bombers killed 60 people in Pakistan. Along those same lines, the Pentagon will be sending 12-15,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
The very serious people of both parties seem to have decided that to make up for the Iraq fiasco, we will double down in Afghanistan so we can win the “good” war against al Qaeda. This is not a McCain v. Obama thing since both seem to think sending more troops to Afghanistan and threatening Pakistan is fantastic foreign policy.
Tomgram: Ann Jones, Afghan Women Behind Closed Doors
TomDispatch —
... A year and a half later, with the U.S. reportedly planning to ship 12,000-15,000 extra troops to Afghanistan early next year, that tragedy only deepens and, far from turning into ancient history, Jones's piece might as well have been written yesterday. Or tomorrow -- for no matter who becomes president in January 2009, those extra troops are likely to be but an American downpayment on further grim headlines and more suffering for Afghan women. ...
Troop Shift From Iraq to Afghanistan: Just Window Dressing?
MoJo Blog Posts: mojo —
... Taliban has gained continued strength in recent years. According to Bush's plan, an additional 4,500 troops will head for Afghanistan in the next few months, including some units that had been scheduled for Iraq deployments. The war in Afghanistan is more popular among Americans than the Iraq conflict, and Bush stands to gain from focusing more of his efforts there in the twilight of his presidency. But since U.S. commanders have said that a "surge" in Afghanistan would likely require at least 12,000 more boots on the ground, Bush's offering seems as slim as it ...
