“The Magician” draws eyes away from the ball in Afghanistan–again!
Once again, on the eve of a major meeting of U.S. and NATO foreign and defense ministers on October 14, the “Magician” in his green…
David Petraeus
Strategic disarray in Afghanistan
“The current near-term strategy appears to be to try to kill enough of the Taliban’s leaders to force them to negotiate a settlement on terms acceptable to Hamid Karzai.”
“This war will not be won, or defeat avoided, by fine intellectual distinctions.”
“What Obama needs to do is to take the bull by the horns, and start exploring options for the early departure of Hamid Karzai. This will be a monumentally challenging task. So was D-Day in World War II.”
Fighting corruption and other challenges in Dexter Filkins’ Corrupt-istan
To the Observer, the idea of trying to make Karzai a more central player in efforts to root out corruption in his own government sounds like giving Al Capone a more central role in cleaning up Chicago.
Senator Kerry’s Conflict of Interest in Afghanistan
Senator John Kerry (D-MA) traveled to Kabul on August 17 to deliver the Obama administration’s warning to Hamid Karzai that he must clean up corruption…
Wikileaks’ Leaked Documents on Afghanistan: Massive U.S. Intelligence System Failure
Much of the attention in the press following the release by Wikileaks of over 90,000 classified documents from U.S. military operations and intelligence in Afghanistan…
“The Magician” enthralls donors once again, in Kabul
Once again the Magician has waived his green cape and dazzled the international donors who are paying for the war they are waging in Afghanistan…
General Petraeus, the Haqqani network, and moral clarity in Afghanistan
Updated To find our way in Afghanistan, we need to find our compass. Our moral compass. General David Petraeus, according to reports, is pushing for…
Urgent Note to Obama and Petraeus: Reread the Eikenberry Cables, Avoid Reasoning from Conclusions, and Adjust Course
The replacement of General Stanley McChrystal by General David Petraeus signals an important change in the military leadership in Afghanistan. However, with commentators suggesting that…
After McChrystal: Obama, Petraeus, and Fixing a Failed Strategy in Afghanistan
The newspapers will be filled for days with information and views regarding Obama’s June 23 firing of General Stanley McChrystal and his replacement by General…
McChrystal, Petraeus, COIN, and Fixing a Failed Strategy in Afghanistan
The newspapers will be filled for days with information and views regarding Obama’s meeting with Stanley McChrystal and his Afghanistan team on Wednesday, June 23,…
Intelligence Matters: U.S. Dependence on Intelligence From Wali Karzai Shapes Kandahar Strategy
Quotation “La guerre, c’est une chose trop grave pour la confier à des militaires.” “War is too serious a matter to just be handed over…