Word: afghanistan
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...think that the security of the United States and the safety of the American people were at stake in Afghanistan," Barack Obama said, announcing his decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, "I would gladly order every single one of our troops home tomorrow." It was the most emotional moment of his address - but it was a curious sentence, and an unsatisfying speech, defensive and slightly convoluted. Certainly, it was not a classic call to arms: nothing remotely like Shakespeare's Henry V at Agincourt or Winston Churchill during the Blitz, as conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer pointed...
...high drama that has been unfolding this autumn: the struggles of a highly intelligent, dispassionate man to find a rationale for a mission that is crucial but slightly crazy, a decision that will define his presidency. (See a graphic of the troop count and war funding in Afghanistan...
...question the President was expecting. He said he rejected that argument "because if you follow the logic ... then you would never leave. Right? Essentially you'd be signing on to have Afghanistan as a protectorate of the United States indefinitely." And the time limit, he suggested, might give him leverage over Hamid Karzai, the recalcitrant Afghan leader: "In my discussion with President Karzai yesterday," Obama said, "I was able to articulate to him exactly what he's going to need to do over the next two years to be prepared for this transition." (See a video about the soldier...
...less than ideal." Indeed, over the past few months, I've heard members of the Administration make cases for and against each of the decisions the President has made. There is no completely convincing argument that 30,000 - or 40,000 - more troops will turn the tide in Afghanistan; you can make an argument, nearly as plausible, that they will make a bad situation worse - Afghans have, historically, not reacted well to tens of thousands of armed foreigners on their turf. (Which leads in turn to a counter-counterargument: we're not conquerors; we come bearing schools and wells, with...
Discussions about tactics and strategy in Afghanistan do have a tendency to go on, and on, swirling ad infinitum. One thing the President has guaranteed by his deliberations of the past few months is that he has sampled all the dishes on the menu of unappetizing options. Every decision he has made can be meticulously defended. So can every decision he didn't make. (See pictures of Fort Irwin's Theater...