NewsTrust - War - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Mainstream)

Chomsky condemns 'immoral' Afghan war

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - By Noam Chomsky - Nov. 23 (Interview) - (video)

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Deficit hawks attacking the wrong prey

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By David Sirota - Nov. 16 (Opinion) - When the House considered a health care expansion proposal that the CBO says will reduce the deficit by $11 billion a year, tea-party protesters and Congress' self-described "fiscal conservatives" opposed it on cost grounds. At the same time, almost none of them objected when Congress passed a White House-backed bill to spend $636 billion on defense in 2010. The hypocrisy is stunning

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Healing our troubled vets

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - Nov. 11 (Editorial) - The public is kinder to its veterans today than it was during the Vietnam War, when soldiers risked their lives overseas only to face scorn from antiwar activists when they got home. Yet veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan may be having a harder time readjusting to civilian life than previous generations of warriors.

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UN workers fear huge impact of relocation

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - Nov. 05 (Interview) - The UN has said that it will temporarily relocate 600 of its international staff based in Afghanistan. Here, UN workers discuss how the measures to tackle growing security challenges will impact on the UN operation in Afghanistan.

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memeorandum: AP sources: Authorities had concerns about suspected Fort Hood … (Associated Press)

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:38:47 -0800

Associated Press - Nov. 05 - Associated Press: AP sources: Authorities had concerns about suspected Fort Hood shooter, reviewed Web postings? ?? WASHINGTON - The Army psychiatrist suspected of carrying a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, had come to the attention of authorities six months ago because of Internet postings ?

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The Generals' Revolt

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:07:22 -0800

Rolling Stone - Nov. 04 -

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Iraq on the Edge

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The New York Review of Books - By Joost R. Hiltermann - Oct. 29 (Opinion) - For the occasional visitor such as myself, various methods exist to measure America's standing in Iraq, Iraqi suspicions and aspirations, and progress in the transfer of power, but none prove as illuminating as the checkpoints into and throughout Baghdad's Green Zone, that diminishing symbol of the Bush administration's ambitions.

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There’s No Substitute for Troops on the Ground

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Max Boot - Oct. 22 (Opinion) - After a visit to Afghanistan, it was clear that success there depends on an infusion of additional troops.

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Now, a Cheney surge: Blasts Obama for Afghan 'dithering,' delays and indecision

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:10:20 -0700

Los Angeles Times - Oct. 22 -

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The three fallacies that have driven the war in Afghanistan

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Independent - By Johann Hari - Oct. 21 (Opinion) - A bloody escalation in the war is more likely to fuel jihadism than thwart it. If Obama is serious about undermining this vile fanatical movement, it would be much wiser to take the hundreds of billions he is currently squandering on chasing after a hundred fighters in the Afghan mountains and redeploy it. Spend it instead on beefing up policing and intelligence, and on building a network of schools across Pakistan and other flash-points in the Muslim world, so parents there have an alternative to the fanatical madrassahs that churn out bin Laden-fodder. The American people will be far safer if the world sees them building schools for Muslim kids instead of dropping bombs on them.

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A World Without Nuclear Weapons: Six Wrong-Headed Cliches about Disarmament

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Der Spiegel - By Oliver Thränert - Oct. 21 (Opinion) - A world without nuclear weapons presupposes a new world order. It is a goal that will not be achieved overnight. However, we should begin. Sooner or later, the assumption that humanity can continue to live with nuclear weapons without deploying them will prove to be a misapprehension.

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My mission - and motivation

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Jerusalem Post - By Richard Goldstone - Oct. 20 (Opinion) - I begin with my own motivation, as a Jew who has supported Israel and its people all my life, for having agreed to head the Gaza mission. Over the past 20 years, I have investigated serious violations of international law in my own country, South Africa, in the former Yugoslavia, in Rwanda and the alleged fraud and theft by governments and political leaders in a number of countries in connection with the United Nations Iraq Oil for Food program. In all of these, allegations reached the highest political echelons. In every instance, I spoke out strongly in favor of full investigations and, where appropriate, criminal prosecutions. I have spoken out over the years on behalf of the International Bar Association against human rights violations in many countries, including Sri Lanka, China, Russia, Iran, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

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Counterintuitive counterinsurgency

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Richard Fontaine, John Nagl - Oct. 15 (Opinion) - As the Obama administration debates whether to stick with the counterinsurgency strategy for Afghanistan, opponents point to that nation's flawed presidential election as a reason why this approach cannot work. Counterinsurgency is premised, they argue, on the presence of a legitimate national government that can win allegiance from local populations. Given credible allegations of rampant abuse in Afghanistan's August election, President Hamid Karzai's newly illegitimate government cannot play this role. As a result, the United States has little choice but to change strategies.

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In the Afghan War, Aim for the Middle

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Richard N. Haass - Oct. 11 (Opinion) - The one issue that should be at the core of the United States' Afghan strategy is Pakistan. It is there, not Afghanistan, where the United States has vital national interests. These stem from Pakistan's dozens of nuclear weapons, the presence on its soil of the world's most dangerous terrorists and the potential for a clash with India that could escalate to a nuclear confrontation.

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Fear was no excuse to condone torture

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Miami Herald - By Charles C. Krulak, Joseph P. Hoar - Sep. 15 (Opinion) - In the fear that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Americans were told that defeating Al Qaeda would require us to ``take off the gloves.'' As a former commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps and a retired commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command, we knew that was a recipe for disaster. But we never imagined that we would feel duty-bound to publicly denounce a vice president of the United States, a man who has served our country for many years. In light of the irresponsible statements recently made by former Vice President Dick Cheney, however, we feel we must repudiate his dangerous ideas -- and his scare tactics.

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Time to Deal in Afghanistan

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Fareed Zakaria - Sep. 13 (Opinion) - Success will depend on reaching out to the Taliban and Pashtun tI very much agree with this article, and we and NATO should absolutely set other goals than nation building, And specially now after an election that has not been fair and free, but steeped in fraud. Also, with hifh corruption in the country mixed with drug trafficking, makes it more important to think twice. But we have to be there, if not, we risk hardliners both in Afghanistan and Pakistan to expand both power and territory. We also risk that other militants would 'stream in' from other Arab countries or from the West, Europe and the US. What makes it so dangerous and a necessetaty to be present with a moderate 'footprint', is because after all Pakistan has nuclear weapons. To reach the different major tribes, it will take to give our soldiers a cultural education on Afghan life and traditions.ribes.

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Will Obama Fight For Afghanistan?

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Anne Applebaum - Sep. 08 (Opinion) - For years it has simply been the ’good war,’ as opposed to the ’bad war’ in Iraq, and no one felt the need to argue further.

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A Stable Pakistan Needs a Stable Afghanistan

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Wall Street Journal - By Frederick W. Kagan - Sep. 05 (Opinion) - Critics of the war have suggested we should draw down our troops and force Pakistan to play a larger role in eliminating radical extremists. American concerns about al Qaeda and Taliban operating from Pakistani bases have led to the conventional wisdom that Pakistan matters to the U.S. because of what it could do to help—or hurt—in Afghanistan. The conventional wisdom is wrong as usual.

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George Will is wrong about Afghanistan

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Foreign Policy - By Christian Brose - Sep. 02 (Opinion) - The problem in Afghanistan is not that a counterinsurgency strategy has failed, but that is hasn't really ever been tried. There are risks with either strategy, be it reinforcement or withdrawal, but I'd like to hear from the critics why their alternative is better in light of its likely implications, which to me seem pretty awful. Given how bad things would likely get in Afghanistan if we adopted Will's prescriptions, shouldn't we at least give McChrystal's plan a decent period of time to work before pulling the ripcord?

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Israel has Iran in its sights

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Micah Zenko - Aug. 30 (Opinion) - Iran has until late September to respond to the latest international proposal aimed at stopping the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear weapon. Under the proposal, Iran would suspend its uranium enrichment program in exchange for a U.N. Security Council commitment to forgo a fourth round of economic and diplomatic sanctions.

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Could Afghanistan Become Obama’s Vietnam?

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Peter Baker - Aug. 23 (Opinion) - Maybe Barack Obama will win his domestic battles. Maybe the economy will bounce back. But his presidency may ultimately be defined in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan.

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Afghanistan Votes

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - Aug. 21 (Editorial) - The next president will need full support from the United States, NATO and the Afghan people to defeat the Taliban.

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Fighting for Afghanistan's women

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Heather Harvey - Aug. 18 (Opinion) - It is not the main reason for troop presence, but Nato and the US must ensure Afghan women?s rights aren?t traded for politics In case we?re tempted to think otherwise, the government has taken to repeating the mantra that Afghanistan is a war for our own security about once every half an hour. Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth insists that the dreadful attrition rate in Helmand is about . For the doubters and those quick to cry "mission creep", the implication is clear: it?s not about curbing the heroin trade, it?s not about defending women?s rights and it?s not about having a neo-imperialist military boot print in the unstable Af-Pak zone. It?s not even about defeating the Taliban for its own sake. Beating the Taliban is deemed important ...

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The fog of war

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Economist - Aug. 13 (Opinion) - ONE year after the Georgian war, its outcome is as debatable as the cause. Depending on where you stand, the war can be seen as the sinister culmination of a systematic provocation by a neo-imperialist Russia or as a murderously aggressive gambit by a

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Army stronger

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Times - Jul. 22 (Editorial) - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced Monday that the Army plans to add an additional 22,000 troops to its ranks, growing to 569,000 soldiers. The force will be the largest it has been since the 572,000 in 1993, during the post-Cold War reduction in force, but far below the 1.57 million soldiers under arms in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War.

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