Stanley McChrystal

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NATO Admits Killing 10 Afghan Kids in Botched Raid

Anger over civilian deaths grows

(Newser) - When a NATO raid killed 10 children and teenagers at a remote mountain compound in Afghanistan last December, troops claimed to be targeting a “known insurgent group responsible for a series of violent attacks.” But after a lengthy investigation by the Times of London, NATO now admits that...

33 Civilians Killed in Afghan Airstrike

Women, children among victims in bombed minibuses

(Newser) - At least 33 civilians, including women and children, were killed yesterday when a NATO airstrike obliterated a group of minibuses traveling along a road in the midst of the Marjah offensive. Officials believed the vehicles were carrying insurgents on their way to attack allied forces. Some 14 people were wounded...

Marjah a Blueprint for Obama Afghan Strategy

Afghan troops outnumber NATO and US for first time

(Newser) - The current offensive in Marjah is not only the largest in the 8 years the US has been engaged in in Afghanistan, but the White House hopes it will serve as a strategic blueprint for the rest of the war. The administration has been stressing the differences between the Marjah...

NATO Strike Kills 12 Afghan Civilians
 NATO Strike Kills 
 12 Afghan Civilians  
MARJAH OFFENSIVE

NATO Strike Kills 12 Afghan Civilians

Rocket misses target by 1000 yards; McChrystal apologizes to Karzai

(Newser) - Twelve Afghans died today when two rockets fired at insurgents missed their target by 1,000 feet and struck a house during the second day of NATO's ambitious effort to break the Taliban's grip on the country's dangerous south. Thousands of US and Afghan forces encountered pockets of resistance, fighting...

Marjah Offensive Ends 'Mowing the Grass' Strategy
Marjah Offensive Ends 'Mowing the Grass' Strategy
analysis

Marjah Offensive Ends 'Mowing the Grass' Strategy

When fighting ends, an Afghan government will move in

(Newser) - The massive new assault under way in Afghanistan represents the new military strategy of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, writes Dexter Filkins. When the fighting is over and coalition forces have taken control of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, the Afghan government will quickly set up government offices along with a police...

McChrystal: There's Been Enough Fighting

General foresees settlement with weakened Taliban

(Newser) - Gen. Stanley McChrystal says he’s pushing towards a negotiated peace with the Taliban, using his newly-expanded forces to weaken their bargaining position. “As a soldier, my personal feeling is that there’s been enough fighting,” the NATO commander in Afghanistan tells the Financial Times . “What I...

GOP Needs to Be Obama's Ally Against Terror
GOP Needs to Be Obama's Ally Against Terror
opinion

GOP Needs to Be Obama's Ally Against Terror

'GOP-Obama entente' is in country's best interests, writes Daniel Henninger

(Newser) - The GOP should give no quarter to President Obama and congressional Democrats on domestic issue, but the fight against terror's a different story, writes Daniel Henninger. Obama has some serious people—including Robert Gates, Mike Mullen, and Leon Panetta—on his national-security team and the GOP should stay the course...

70% of Afghan Civilian Deaths Caused by Taliban

Death caused by allied forces down 28%

(Newser) - The number of Afghan civilians who died in war-related violence last year soared to the highest annual level since the conflict began in 2001, with nearly 70% blamed on insurgents, according the the UN, and 25% to allied forces. The UN mission in Afghanistan said 2,412 civilians were killed...

Meghan McCain Picks the People of '09

Gen. McChrystal, Zach Galifianakis, and the Twitter guys make her list

(Newser) - Meghan McCain has been weighing in on intriguing people all year, right? Maverick Junior takes a crack at the year's most intriguing, dipping into both the entertainment and political worlds.
  • McCain kicks things off with Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Afghanistan who has "the courage to keep
...

Time Names Ben Bernanke Person of the Year

Beats out Usain Bolt, Nancy Pelosi, and Stanley McChrystal

(Newser) - Time has named Ben Bernanke its “Person of the Year” for 2009, crediting him with saving the world’s financial system and dubbing him “the most powerful nerd on the planet.” This year was all about the economy, explains Michael Grunwald in his voluminous feature, “and...

McChrystal: We'll Know by This Time Next Year

General says troop surge should show results within a year

(Newser) - The US should know by this time next year whether the troop buildup in Afghanistan worked, Stanley McChrystal told the House Armed Services panel today, though he cautioned that there was no easy road to success. "The sober fact is that there are no silver bullets," he said....

Obama's Long Road to Afghan Strategy
 Obama's 
 Long Road to 
 Afghan Strategy 
BEHIND THE SCENES

Obama's Long Road to Afghan Strategy

Prez was relentless in analyzing every angle

(Newser) - Amid cries of "dithering" and the silent finality of Arlington's rows of white tombstones, President Obama calmly, analytically, and exhaustively reviewed all options in Afghanistan before finally announcing to his team on Nov. 29 that he would send in 30,000 more troops. The New York Times retraces the...

Speech, Afghan Reality Don't Quite Match

Allies may not help; Afghan troops ineffective even if trained

(Newser) - President Obama’s speech tonight “raised expectations that may be hard to meet,” AP analysts Calvin Woodward and Robert Burns write, citing conditions in Afghanistan that don’t match Obama’s rhetoric:
  • US allies will add troops: In fact, this has always been a tough sell, and even
...

Obama's Afghan Plan Won't Please Anybody
Obama's Afghan Plan Won't Please Anybody
DAVID BROOKS

Obama's Afghan Plan Won't Please Anybody

Which means that the president may have gotten it right

(Newser) - President Obama has assembled parts of different Afghanistan strategies into a whole that looks certain to displease just about everybody when it is unveiled tonight, writes David Brooks. The administration appears to have pulled back from its earlier enthusiasm for a comprehensive counterinsurgency—COIN—plan in favor of COIN-lite, Brooks...

Obama Cools to Surge in Afghan Forces

President expected to pare down Afghan role in US plans

(Newser) - Even as President Obama is expected to announce a surge in US troops in Afghanistan tomorrow, the White House has soured on doubling the size of the Afghan army and police, the Wall Street Journal reports. The president plans to scale back a key element of Gen. McChrystal's strategy, the...

9K Marines to Lead Afghanistan Charge
 9K Marines to Lead 
 Afghanistan Charge 
obama's new strategy

9K Marines to Lead Afghanistan Charge

They'll be deployed days after Obama outlines new war plan

(Newser) - Just days after Obama unveils his new Afghan war strategy, as many as 9,000 Marines will ready themselves to deploy to Afghanistan's Hemland province as part of phased reinforcements approach. They'll double the Marine force in a bloody southern region that has seen US gains but, due to a...

Report: Obama Will Send 34K Troops to Afghanistan

Prez finalized decision last night, will address nation next week

(Newser) - President Obama has made his choice on Afghan strategy after months of deliberations and will announce it next week, administration sources tell McClatchy . The president finalized his decision to send another 34,000 troops in meetings last night, and plans to address the nation on the choice next Tuesday, prior...

US, Afghans Recruit Taliban With Jobs

Drive will be similar to the 'Sons of Iraq' program

(Newser) - Afghanistan has launched an initiative to convert Taliban foot soldiers with the promise of jobs and protection. Backed by the US military, the plan is modeled on its “Sons of Iraq” program; Stanley McChrystal even lured a key architect of that program out of retirement to help with it....

Backing Afghan Militias Makes NATO Allies Queasy

Experts worry $1.3B from US won't buy loyalty of local fighters

(Newser) - The US hasn’t given its Western allies the details of its plan to recruit and fund tribal militias to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan, fearing, correctly, that they won’t like it, the Guardian reports. The strategy is already under way in 14 areas, with a budget of some...

Clinton Makes Surprise Afghan Visit
 Clinton Makes 
 Surprise Afghan Visit 
KARZAI INAUGURAL

Clinton Makes Surprise Afghan Visit

Secretary arrives amid heightened security, meets with McChrystal

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton made an unexpected appearance in Afghanistan today to attend the inauguration of President Hamid Karzai and meet with Gen. Stanley McChrystal. It's Clinton's first trip to Afghanistan since becoming secretary of state. Clinton called the visit "a specific opportunity for everyone to take stock of where we...

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