Top Afghanistan News, Videos, and Blogs - BeltwayBlips

How bad schools affect the military

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:12:07 +0000

Michael Fumento , writing at Forbes, explains why Americans are Not Fit For Combat Low education and high-fat diets are keeping Americans out of the military . … About three-fourths of the nation’s 17- to 24-year-olds can’t join the military, largely due to these ...

Fausta posted 8 hours ago from faustasblog.com

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The war on corruption

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:08:07 +0000

The best answer to the question " can we win in Afghanistan in spite of corruption in the government? " might be another question: which government ? ***** Defense news: Improvements in Afghan Governance Will Take Time, Gates Says . Video here . "Do you think there's any ...

Greyhawk posted 13 hours ago from mudvillegazette.com

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Warlords and Warlords

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:28:05 +0000

From Foreign Policy's AfPak Channel Daily Brief : As part of her media outreach following yesterday's inauguration of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a brief but wide-ranging interview to Afghanistan's Azadi Radio ( State Department , AFP ). Maintaining ...

Greyhawk posted 15 hours ago from mudvillegazette.com

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Democrats Propose Surtax to Cover War Costs

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:13:48 +0000

CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE Nov. 20, 2009 – 1:43 p.m. Democrats Propose Surtax to Cover War Costs Senior House Democrats have introduced legislation that would impose a surtax beginning in 2011 to cover the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill was unveiled late Thursday by David R. ...

The Corner on National Review Online found this 10 hours ago on cqpolitics.com

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First, Obama gets a Nobel Peace Prize for nothing; now, a tae kwon do black belt after zero kicks

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:00:00 +0000

And not even a medium bow for receiving it.

doubleplusundead found this 32 hours ago on latimesblogs.latimes.com

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Specter: Big troop request would meet "cold" reception in Congress

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:04 +0000

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter said Thursday he would not support any troop increase to Afghanistan and predicted a troop increase announcement would meet a cold reception on Capitol Hill. "We ought not to add troops to Afghanistan, I even question staying there, unless it is ...

Daily Kos found this 9 hours ago on thecable.foreignpolicy.com

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What are troops good for? Photo ops!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:40:45 +0000

Obama Tells Troops: “You Guys Make a Pretty Good Photo-Op” Such tact, such wit. And if you’re in Afghanistan, hold tight for your turn, White House aides: No Afghan decision before Thanksgiving (h/t Dymphna ); however, the WaPo managed to save the soundbite, so to speak, Obama ...

Fausta posted 18 hours ago from faustasblog.com

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Afghanistan's Insurgency Now Stronger Than Ever As Insurgents Use Children As Weapons

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

(CBS News) The war President-elect Barack Obama is inheriting in Afghanistan includes an insurgency that's stronger than ever. And it's creeping ever-closer to the Afghan capital. In a video obtained by CBS News, a U.S. convoy is attacked less than 20 miles from Kabul. "I think in Afghanistan, ...

The Reaction found this 13 hours ago on wcbstv.com

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Intelligentsia against intelligence

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:15:00 +0000

David Sirota: Today, screeds calling for leaders to prioritize lightning-fast decisions over measured deliberations are increasingly commonplace in the Washington intelligentsia, even after an Iraq debacle brought on by the same ideological know-nothingism.

Open Left - Front Page found this 15 hours ago on oregonlive.com

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Chuck Todd's interview with Obama

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:24:26 +0000

From NBC's Ali Weinberg As we mentioned in First Thoughts , NBC's Chuck Todd sat down with President Obama to discuss Afghanistan, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, health care, the U.S. economy, and even reports about the president's weight loss. Below is a transcript of the entire interview. CHUCK TODD: Mr. President, thank you - I know we don't have a lot of time, so I want to dive right into this - Afghanistan. When are you going to make your decision? PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I think that I ...

The Corner on National Review Online found this 31 hours ago on firstread.msnbc.msn.com

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Checking In

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:49:30 +0000

Radio check hires_091109-M-5751H-190 U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Sean Cain, with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, performs a radio check during a security patrol in the Nawa district of the Helmand province, Afghanistan, on Nov. 9, 2009. The 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment is a ...

Victory Caucus -- All Content found this 15 hours ago on blackfive.net

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Fred Thompson: Afghan war 'has been lost'

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:55:45 +0000

Former Senator Fred Thompson today intensified his party's criticism of President Obama's long deliberation over policy in Afghanistan, announcing that Obama's delay signals that "the war has been lost" and that nothing the president now does will "make any difference." ...

Flopping Aces found this 35 hours ago on politico.com

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Kilcullen: It’s all or nothing, Mr. President

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:39:37 +0000

Last night I went to see David Kilcullen, the most quotable Australian since the Brothers Gibb, report on his most recent tour of Afghanistan. This is a great way to begin a speech: One afternoon about six weeks ago I got ambushed in a valley in Dora Nur, in Nangarhar province... ...

Firedoglake found this 2 days ago on ricks.foreignpolicy.com

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Obama Won't Make Afghan Decision Before Thanksgiving, Aides Say

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:29:39 +0000

President Obama will not announce a decision on his war strategy in Afghanistan before Thanksgiving, his aides told Fox News on Thursday. The latest development on the fate of up to 40,000 U.S. troops came at the tail end of the president's eight-day Asia trip. For several weeks, Obama has been ...

JustOneMinute found this 32 hours ago on foxnews.com

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In Leaning on Karzai, U.S. Has Limited Leverage

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:55:20 +0000

WASHINGTON When President Obama delivered a rare and public call last week for President Hamid Karzai to crack down on corruption in Afghanistan , there was one glaring omission from his remarks an “or else.” Mr. Obama’s exclusion of the obvious threat that he will pull American troops out ...

Hot Air » Top Picks found this 9 days ago on nytimes.com

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The cost of on-the-job training (Politico)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:46:00 +0000

Politico - In an Ideas piece, Romney says Obama's lack of experience is evident in his handling of Afghanistan.

Althouse found this 39 hours ago on politico.com

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NATO expects more resources for Afghan training

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:07:40 +0000

LONDON (Reuters) NATO's secretary-general said on Wednesday he expected alliance members to provide more resources for training Afghan troops and police, but would not comment on exact troop numbers. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament he expected U.S. President Barack Obama to ...

TomDispatch found this 37 hours ago on news.yahoo.com

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Obama must rethink rethinking Afghanistan -

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:46:45 +0000

His strategy deliberations are starting to look like dangerous indecision. Barack Obama is in danger of giving deliberation a bad name. The decision about whether to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan was never going to be easy, but events -- and a collision of egos in Kabul -- have ...

The Corner on National Review Online found this 5 days ago on latimes.com

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Gates Condemns Leaks on U.S. Afghan Policy and Ft. Hood

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:50:28 +0000

OSHKOSH, Wis. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is normally a mild-mannered man, at least in public, but he unleashed a torrent on Thursday about leaks during the investigation of the Foot Hood shootings and during President Obama ’s deliberations on sending more American troops to ...

Antiwar.com Original found this 24 hours ago on nytimes.com

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Obama weighs hybrid Afghan war plan

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:50:28 +0000

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- A hybrid option for additional resources in Afghanistan is under consideration Wednesday by U.S. President Barack Obama and his top military strategists. Obama is said to be considering as many as four separate options to revamp the war strategy for Afghanistan. ...

Antiwar.com Original found this 24 hours ago on upi.com

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