Updated 20 May 2012:
A New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan – 27 Mar 09 – White House
“Today, I am announcing a comprehensive, new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. And this marks the conclusion of a careful policy review, led by Bruce [Reidel], that I ordered as soon as I took office.”
Report on Afghan war will not ask for more troops – Google News – 5 Aug 09
Gen. may ask for more troops for Afghanistan – ArmyTimes – 31 Jul 09
Newsletter comment: The administration and Pentagon have been reviewing the Afghanistan policy for over seven months with still no real plan in place to WIN this war!
CNN Poll: Support for Afghanistan war drops – CNN – 6 Aug 09
U.S. Commander Warns Taliban Getting Stronger – FoxNews – 10 Aug 09
Pentagon Disputes Claim That Taliban Is Winning in Afghanistan – FoxNews – 10 Aug 09
Patience Needed to Beat Taliban, McChrystal Says – DefenseLink – 11 Aug 09
Operation Aims to Secure Southern Afghanistan for Elections – DefenseLink – 12 Aug 09
Order to protect Afghans frustrates U.S. troops – MSNBC – 13 Aug 09
U.S. Marines Fight House-to-House in Afghan Taliban Stronghold – FoxNews – 13 Aug 09
Gates: ‘A few years’ of combat in Afghanistan – Yahoo! News – 13 Aug 09
Gates Might Agree to More Troops for Afghanistan – VOA – 13 Aug 09
Newsletter comment: I believe it is becoming very clear just looking at the headlines above that there is absolutely no clear plan in Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan is becoming more like Vietnam each day, where the changing rules of engagement will endanger our troops with no clear policy for them to follow. This is NOT good for moral…
SECDEF Gates, Gen. McChrystal and the White House seem to be changing their positions on a daily basis!
Gates Notes Security Progress Prior to Afghan Election – DefenseLink – 13 Aug 09
Top General in Afghanistan Looks to Replace Support Force With Combat Troops – FoxNews – 14 Aug 09
Obama Pledges Increased Pressure in Afghanistan – DefenseLink – 20 Aug 09
War strategy in Afghanistan due for shift as patience runs short – Seattle Times – 24 Aug 09
“Allied military commanders in Afghanistan have told a senior U.S. envoy they need more troops to deal with an intensifying insurgency in the country’s east, raising the possibility the Obama administration may refocus the war on the lawless border with Pakistan.”
Obama facing hard choices on Afghan war plan – ArmyTimes – 24 Aug 09
Report: Change strategy for fighting Taliban – ArmyTimes – 31 Aug 09
McChrystal Delivers Assessment to U.S., NATO Leaders – DefenseLink – 31 Aug 09
Op-ed: Time to Get Out of Afghanistan by George F. Will – Washington Post – 1 Sep 09
Newsletter comment: I hate to say it, but Mr. Will has raised some very important points that need to be considered. Clearly the administration has no clear plan after nearly seven months of reviews of what direction to take. Gen. McChrystal wants more troops but will probably not get the numbers he wants because of pressures from the left. President Obama and SECDEF Gates have some very tough decisions to make, and soon! – Roger Young
Editorial: Setback in Afghanistan – The right response is not a retreat. – Washington Post – 3 Sep 09
Military leery of Afghanistan escalation with no clear goals by Nancy A. Youssef, Jonathan S. Landay and Warren P. Strobel – 7 Sep 09
Gates Tells Al-Jazeera U.S. Cannot Think of Afghan Withdrawal – DefenseLink – 8 Sep 09
Newsletter comment: So is this the Obama plan for Afghanistan? A nice chat with Al-Jazeera?
Trapped in Afghanistan killing zone, nowhere to run by Jonathan S. Landay – 9 Sep 09
Airstrikes in Afghanistan drop by almost half – USA Today – 9 Sep 09
Congress wants hearings on war assessment – ArmyTimes – 10 Sep 09
Pelosi: Upping troops to Afghanistan unpopular – Yahoo! News – 10 Sep 09
Open Letter to the President Regarding Afghanistan by co-editor, Roger Young. Please see:
http://northwestvets.com/President_Afghanistan.htm
Outmanned and outgunned in Afghanistan by Jonathan S. Landay – Seattle Times – 14 Sep 09
More ‘combat enablers’ Afghan-bound – ArmyTimes – 14 Sep 09
Mullen Says More Forces Likely Needed in Afghanistan – FoxNews – 15 Sep 09
Analysis: White House postponing hard calls on war – Yahoo! – 15 Sep 09
Gates Weighs Need for More Troops in Afghanistan – DefenseLink – 15 Sep 09
Obama: No ‘Immediate Decision Pending’ on More Troops to Afghanistan – FoxNews – 16 Sep 09
Newsletter comment: I suggest our viewers get a copy of “Dereliction of Duty” by H.R. McMaster. You will see that history is repeating itself… Roger Young
GOP seeks Afghanistan info; Gates urges patience – Yahoo! News – 17 Sep 09
Newsletter comment: Yet another in a long list of stall tactics by the Pentagon and Obama administration. Can our troops wait?
Editorial: Afghanistan is not Vietnam … yet – Washington Times – 17 Sep 09
Military growing impatient with Obama on Afghanistan by Nancy A. Youssef – 18 Sep 09
“…Adding to the frustration, according to officials in Kabul and Washington, are White House and Pentagon directives made over the last six weeks that Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, not submit his request for as many as 45,000 additional troops because the administration isn’t ready for it…”
Afghanistan Strategy Must Focus on al-Qaida, Obama Says – DefenseLink – 20 Sep 09
White House Urges Patience on Afghan War Strategy, After McChrystal Sounds Warning – FoxNews – 21 Sep 09
Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s redacted assessment courtesy of The Washington Post
Pentagon Delays Troop Request for Afghan War – FoxNews – 21 Sep 09
Officials ponder adding drones, not troops – ArmyTimes – 22 Sep 09
U.S. Commanders Told to Shift Focus to More Populated Areas – The Washington Post – 22 Sep 09
Commander to Request Thousands More Troops to Afghanistan As Early as Wednesday – FoxNews – 22 Sep 09
Powerful Lawmakers Press Desire for Gen. McChrystal to Testify on Afghan Strategy – FoxNews – 23 Sep 09
Joint Chiefs Chairman Likely to Sign Off on Afghanistan Troop Request, Aides Say – FoxNews – 25 Sep 09
Obama Calls Afghanistan NATO’s Most Important Mission – DefenseLink – 29 Sep 09
White House Pushes Back on Afghan War Criticism Ahead of Strategy Session – FoxNews – 30 Sep 09
“Ahead of a key strategy session on the Afghanistan war, the White House fired back Wednesday at critics who say President Obama is stalling on Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s request for more troops…”
Afghanistan Talks Focus on Means, Not Ends, Press Secretary Says – DefenseLink – 30 Sep 09
Obama’s War Council Divided on Afghan Strategy – FoxNews – 1 Oct 09
Opinion: McChrystal Now Just One of Many Leaders as Obama Rethinks Afghan Strategy – FoxNews – 1 Oct 09
Gen. Stanley McChrystal has seemingly gone from President Obama’s counterinsurgency czar to just one among a sea of faces advising him on war policy in Afghanistan.
Afghan Decision Expected in Matter of Weeks – DefenseLink – 1 Oct 09
Obama Meets With McChrystal in Denmark – FoxNews – 2 Oct 09
Obama, advisers weigh Afghanistan options – ArmyTimes – 7 Oct 09
Newsletter comment: My guess is the new strategy will be “McChrystal Light.” It is lonely at the top, and being Commander-In-Chief cannot be a good position for a professional politician…
Official: Obama to Send Enough Troops to Keep Al Qaeda at Bay – FoxNews – 8 Oct 09
Opinion: Decision time in Afghanistan: Obama as Hamlet by Charles Krauthammer – Seattle Times – 10 Oct 09
Pentagon Refutes Report That Obama Dispatched 13,000 Additional Troops to Afghanistan – FoxNews – 13 Oct 09
White House: No Troop Decision Until Afghan Election is Resolved – FoxNews – 18 Oct 09
Gates: U.S. Cannot Wait for Afghan Election to Make Troop Decision – FoxNews – 20 Oct 09
Defense Secretary Robert Gates tells reporters aboard his plane to Tokyo that the administration cannot “sit on our hands” with regard to troop levels in Afghanistan.
U.S. Tested Afghan Options in Secret War Game – FoxNews – 26 Oct 09
Obama Says He Will Not ‘Rush’ Decision on Afghanistan Strategy, Troop Levels – FoxNews – 26 Oct 09
McCain exhorts Obama to make Afghan decision now – Seattle Times – 28 Oct 09
Obama Reportedly Eyeing ‘McChrystal Light’ Plan for Afghan War With Small Troop Boost – FoxNews – 28 Oct 09
Officials: No rift between Obama, McChrystal – ArmyTimes – 31 Oct 09
Obama Requests More Options for Troop Levels – FoxNews – 31 Oct 09
Newsletter comment: This has become ridiculous! On March 27th the President announced his “new” policy and yet the debate continues…
White House: Afghan decision in coming weeks – ArmyTimes – 1 Nov 09
Obama Calls for Revised Afghanistan War Options – FoxNews – 12 Nov 09
Obama: Afghanistan Decision a Matter of ‘Getting This Right’ – FoxNews – 13 Nov 09
Newsletter comment: One could say that our President appears to be tortured to make the right decision and being extremely thoughtful.
I believe that our President is “dithering” because he knows any decision to increase troop strength will upset his base. I believe that politics is once again playing a major role in important military decisions as was often the case during Vietnam. President Johnson and McNamara repeatedly ignored the recommendations of the Joint Chiefs and their commanders in Vietnam and decided to let the “whiz kids” micromanage the war from D.C. and we all know the outcome…
Time on Afghan Strategy is Well-spent, Petraeus Says – DefenseLink – 13 Nov 09
Big costs weigh on troop debate – Seattle Times – 15 Nov 09
Obama: Administration Leaks on Afghan War Strategy a Firing Offense – FoxNews – 18 Nov 09
Obama Won’t Make Afghan Decision Before Thanksgiving, Aides Say – FoxNews – 19 Nov 09
Lawmakers Propose ‘War Surtax’ to Pay for Troop Increase in Afghanistan – FoxNews – 23 Nov 09
Obama to announce Afghanistan decision soon – ArmyTimes – 24 Nov 09
Obama Issues Marching Orders on Afghanistan War Strategy – FoxNews – 30 Nov 09
Obama to Outline Plan to Send 30,000 Troops to Afghanistan Over Six Months – FoxNews – 1 Dec 09
The New Way Forward – The President’s Address [on Afghanistan] – White House – 1 Dec 09
Written transcript – White House – 2 Dec 09
Gates Signals Afghanistan Withdrawal Date Could Move – FoxNews – 2 Dec 09
McChrystal ‘Absolutely Supportive’ of Surge Timeline – FoxNews – 2 Dec 09
Newsletter comment: After months of review, the new strategy has been announced by President Obama. This closes this topic but it will remain open for comments.
Bob Woodward book details Obama battles with advisers over exit plan for Afghan war – Washington Post – 22 Sep 10
Why Is He Sending Them?” by Charles Krauthammer – 1 Oct 10
Newsletter comment: I read the book myself this past weekend. Mullen, Gates, Petraeus, McChrystal & Hillary Clinton pushed for a 40,000 troop surge for a counterinsurgency that would take from 12-15 years.
Obama scaled that plan back to 30,000 with the only real hope of “degrading the Taliban” with reviews scheduled for this December and next July – “exit ramps.” I have no doubt he intends to scale back our forces next July despite what Petraeus and Gates have been saying that these are simply scheduled reviews. Therefore, why the “surge”?
To be very honest Woodward’s book is depressing and when the facts get out to our troops it will be completely demoralizing. All concerned should not only read the Woodward book, but also “Dereliction of Duty” by H.R. McMaster for a direct comparison of what happened in Vietnam. History is sadly repeating itself. – Roger Young
Obama to move U.S. closer to Afghanistan exit – ArmyTimes – 21 Jun 11
Opinion: Obama and Afghanistan — The Careful Management of Failure by Christian Whiton – 22 Jun 11
Mullen calls Obama Afghanistan plan risky – ArmyTimes – 23 Jun 11
Officials: Obama Leaving to Commanders Details on Afghan Departure – FoxNews – 26 Jun 11
Obama Troop Cuts Went Beyond Largest Withdrawal Offered By Top General – FoxNews – 28 Jun 11
Charting Obama’s Journey to a Shift on Afghanistan – New York Times – 19 May 12
