June 08, 2010 | Posted by Ryan Anderson
It’s time for the progressive movement to counter the pressure from conservatives and set our foreign policy on a new path -- starting with the escalating war in Afghanistan. Read More »
May 28, 2010 | Posted by Daniel Pollitt and Ryan Anderson
Finally, some common sense seems to be taking root in the U.S. Senate. Eighteen members of the Senate, including the 2nd and 3rd ranking Democrats in the chamber, voted yesterday in favor of an amendment to the supplemental war spending bill that would have marked an important step in ending our military commitment in Afghanistan. Introduced by Senator Feingold Read More »
May 05, 2010 | Posted by Ryan Anderson
When it comes to the 2nd Amendment and your right to pack a Colt .45 everywhere you go, just in case you need to shoot something, right wingers will back you to the end. Which, when everyone is armed, could come rather quickly. But if Joe Lieberman and John McCain get their way, the Constitution and its guarantee of basic rights will become optional. And when Glenn Beck becomes the most rational voice on the Right, you know we've taken a wrong turn... Read More »
April 08, 2010 | Posted by Ryan Anderson
A former UN envoy to Afghanistan, Peter Galbraith, recently became the second former diplomat to recommend that the United States begin to withdraw from Afghanistan. And, like former State Department official Matthew Hoh before him, Galbraith describes in an OpEd in today's Washington Post the futility of our endeavor to prop up the incredibly un-credible President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai. Read More »
April 07, 2010 | Posted by Tom Andrews
When it comes to Afghanistan, “military victory” is an oxymoron. Even President Obama and his Defense Secretary Robert Gates say so. Repeatedly. The only path to peaceful resolution to the Afghanistan conundrum, they point out, is by winning the “hearts and minds” of the Afghan people. That is why the grim news from Afghanistan about a cover up of the a botched US military raid of a baby shower near Gardez is so devastating... Read More »
April 01, 2010 | Posted by Danielle Belton
A news report takes a look at how the Afghan police are bearing the brunt of Taliban attacks in Kandahar with an average of six officers being killed per day. Read More »
March 30, 2010 | Posted by Danielle Belton
President Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan over the weekend where he spoke to troops and met with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai. Read More »
March 26, 2010 | Posted by Danielle Belton
A helpful primer from the Center for Study of Working Class Life. Read More »
March 22, 2010 | Posted by Danielle Belton
In an effort to win over the rural population during the war, troops are now choosing not to destroy poppy fields, used to make opium. Read More »
March 17, 2010 | Posted by Danielle Belton
Michael Brenner writes in Huffington Post about how the nature and the reason for the surge in Afghanistan will change even as it becomes more and more apparent that we need to be working towards a political solution there over a military one. Read More »
March 10, 2010 | Posted by Danielle Belton
Watch here this video from Politico where Rep. Patrick Kennedy berates the press for being more preoccupied with various political scandals than the war in Afghanistan. Read More »
March 10, 2010 | Posted by Danielle Belton
Even though it's unlikely to pass, Rep. Dennis Kucinich forces Congress to go on the record and actually debate the war in Afghanistan. No rubber stamps for an unnecessary war. Read More »
March 10, 2010 | Posted by Danielle Belton
Right now Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman are floating a bill that would allow for American citizens to be detained without charge. Sure it's unconstitutional, an affront to our values and an invasion of government into our lives -- something conservatives always claim to be against -- but that's never stopped them before. Read More »
March 02, 2010 | Posted by Danielle Belton
FireDogLake wonders if the battle in Marja was more about confidence building than strategy. Glenn Greenwald digs deeper in the case of a "mysterious" pro-civilian deaths Op-Ed in The New York Times. Juan Cole reports that some Afghan senators want to execute NATO and US troops responsible for civilian casualties. Get briefed in the round-up. Read More »
March 02, 2010 | Posted by Danielle Belton
The Young Turks re-examine the press surrounding the troop escalation in Afghanistan. Watch. Read More »
February 26, 2010 | Posted by Tom Andrews
Congress should hold hearings on alternatives to major escalation. A troop surge in Afghanistan is not the answer. General Stanley McChrystal's classified report on the war in Afghanistan concludes that we need 500,000 troops over five years. That's too many troops and too much time that we don't have. We can't afford to escalate the war in Afghanistan. Here's why. Read More »
February 23, 2010 | Posted by Tom Andrews
Congressional Democrats beware: Unemployment at home + casualties abroad = defeat at the polls in 2010. The President's plan to continue to escalate the war in Afghanistan while economic problems are still a major issue at home is a risky one. Read More »
