counter insurgency news stories on Newser

Obama Rethinks Afghan War

Jane Yager — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:57:00 CDT

With Gen. Stanley McChrystal's assessment in hand, President Obama is conducting a "very, very serious review of all options" in Afghanistan, the Washington Post reports. The president, once confident in the plan to boost counterinsurgency efforts, now faces a game changed by last month's botched Afghan elections and eroding popular...

Go All In on Afghan War, McCain, Lieberman Say

Kevin Spak — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:16:00 CDT

Barack Obama’s strategy for Afghanistan must roundly reject the so-called “minimalist” approach being whispered about in DC, write John McCain and Joe Lieberman in today’s Washington Post. The minimalists want the US to focus on limited, “realistic” counterterrorism goals. But McCain and Lieberman remind Obama that during the campaign he...

US Secretly Training Pakistani Commandos

Jason Farago — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:07:25 CST

Dozens of American military advisers and technical specialists are secretly working in Pakistan to train armed forces to battle the Taliban and al-Qaeda, reports the New York Times . The Special Forces soldiers are providing intelligence and advising the Pakistani military on combat tactics, although they are not conducting combat operations....

US Will Finance Afghan Militias

Kevin Spak — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 11:51:12 CST

The US will begin funding local militias throughout Afghanistan, an effort to re-create the successful counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reports. “Afghanistan historically has been known as a country where local communities took care of themselves,” explained the US ambassador. “The way to counter the Taliban today...

Gates Poised to Cut Pricey Weapons

Ambreen Ali — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:05:41 CST

Armed with Barack Obama's endorsement, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is poised to change the Pentagon's pricey weapons priorities, reports the Los Angeles Times . Gates is expected to carve into expensive pending programs like the Army's $160 billion Future Combat Systems plan and high-tech fighter jets in favor of cheap, low-tech...

Afghanistan Is a 'Theme Park of Problems'

Kevin Spak — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:34:00 CST

Winning in Afghanistan won’t be nearly as easy as Barack Obama hopes, military experts tell the New York Times . The president-elect has staked his national security reputation on Afghanistan, but the rural nature of the insurgency there will make it difficult to stamp out. “Afghanistan may be the ‘good war,...

Why Gates Should Stay —and Why He Shouldn't

Kevin Spak — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:25:01 CST

Conventional wisdom has it that Barack Obama will ask Robert Gates to keep his post as Secretary of Defense, but there’s no conventional wisdom about how wise that is. “It has more minuses than pluses,” opines one ex-Pentagon official, but others disagree. Some pros and cons: Gates would ensure a...

Resilient Taliban Drives Pakistan to Brutal Tactics

Jason Farago — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 08:17:00 CST

In the lawless Northwest Frontier Province, the Pakistani army has been fighting the Taliban for 3 months for control of just a sliver of land. State forces had expected the battle to be a cursory victory, but the Taliban is stronger and more deeply entrenched—literally, in a network of...

Iraq Cracks Down on US-Allied Sunni Fighters

Rob Quinn — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:30:03 CDT

Iraq's Shiite-dominated government has begun a crackdown on groups of US-backed Sunni fighters, the New York Times reports. The government fears the fighters, part of what is called the Awakening movement, could be waiting to turn their guns on Shiites. In several parts of the country senior members have been...