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Obama Unveils 'Leaner,' 'Agile' Military

Kevin Spak — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:43:40 CST

President Obama officially unveiled his plan for a slimmed-down military with a speech at the Pentagon today, promising that budget cuts and a reduction in conventional ground forces wouldn't harm the nation's security. "Our military will be leaner, but the world must know—the United States is going to maintain...

US Withdraws from Once-Key Afghan Valley

Matt Cantor — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 07:44:12 CST

The US is withdrawing from the Pech Valley, the mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan that for years was central to its strategy—and the site of much bloodshed. The move is a controversial one, notes the New York Times : 103 US troops were killed there, and many more wounded, leading...

Woodward: Obama's Directing Afghan War

Emily Rauhala — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 04:01:41 CDT

President Obama is personally directing the course of the war in Afghanistan, author Bob Woodward tells ABC News . While chatting with Diane Sawyer about his new book , the famed investigative reporter calls the president "strategist-in-chief" and says, unequivocally, that Afghanistan is "Obama's war"—so much so that the president personally...

New US Afghanistan Chief: Convince, Don't Kill

Matt Cantor — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:20:01 CDT

The new US commander in Afghanistan says his experiences there and in Iraq have changed his perspective on an effective counterinsurgency: “You're going to have to convince people, not kill them,” Gen. Stanley McChrystal tells the Wall Street Journal . “Since 9/11, I have watched as America tried to first put...

Sacked Commander Wrong for New Afghan Strategy

Matt Cantor — Tue, 12 May 2009 08:11:00 CDT

David McKiernan was dumped as top American commander in Afghanistan yesterday, after less than a year, because his approach was too “conventional,” Pentagon officials tell the New York Times . Defense Secretary Robert Gates said “fresh eyes were needed” and “a new approach was probably in our best interest.” McKiernan’s replacement...

For Afghan Success, Look to Colombia

Matt Cantor — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 11:11:00 CDT

When President Obama reviewed US strategy in Afghanistan, the lessons of Iraq were key. But a better comparison might be Colombia, where parallels abound—and where the government has handled insurgents with a fair bit of success, writes Scott Wilson in the Washington Post . Both Afghanistan and Colombia have faced...

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...

Afghanistan Demands Broader Strategy: Kissinger

Matt Cantor — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:45:02 CST

The US can no longer afford to follow “traditional anti-insurgency tactics” in such a large, ethnically diverse, and “forbidding territory” as Afghanistan, Henry Kissinger writes in the Washington Post . Instead of focusing on a stronger centralized government, he urges a “coherent” strategy that supports “local and regional entities,” prevent the...

Obama Challenges Troop Surge in Afghanistan

Matt Cantor — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:52:53 CST

President Obama has called for a review of the planned deployment of up to 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, a nation that some fear will become his “Vietnam,” the Times of London reports. Some 17,000 more troops were poised to head there last week, but defense secretary Robert...