Swans in flight in Washington State. From National Geographic.
As Politics of War Shift, Risks for Obama Ease from the New York Times
"When President Obama expanded the Afghanistan war a year after taking office, Republicans fiercely criticized his deadline to bring troops home. But his decision on Wednesday to accelerate their withdrawal came with few reprisals, a sign of a remarkable shift in the politics of war."
Obama Sides With Gates Over Petraeus (Yochi J. Dreazen and Marc Ambinder) from the National Journal
"Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Kabul, was adamant they stay until the end of 2012. The deadlock was broken by outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who sold Obama and his top civilian aides on a compromise plan that will leave most of the reinforcements in Afghanistan through next September but ensure they’re back well before the November elections."
Drawing Down, With a Vigilant Eye on Pakistan (David Sanger) from the New York Times
" Though the president could not say so directly, one of the constraints on America’s retreat from a hard and bloody decade is the recognition that, more than ever, the United States will be relying on Afghanistan’s help to deal with the threats emerging from Pakistan."
Afghan Troop Withdrawal: Beginning Of The End For Petraeus Counterinsurgency Strategy (David Wood) from the Huffington Post
"President Barack Obama's decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan signals the beginning of the end for the ambitious counterinsurgency strategy that Army Gen. David Petraeus designed and has single-mindedly pursued in Iraq and Afghanistan."
A similar take:
In Declaring Drawdown, Obama Takes Back Control of Afghan War (Michael Cohen) from the Atlantic
"For the first time in ten years, the light at the end of the tunnel of the U.S. war in Afghanistan is suddenly visible"
Andrew Sullivan's take on Obama's speech:
"We Stand Not for Empire" (Andrew Sullivan) from the Daily Beast
"There is, as with the Iraq withdrawal, no triumphalism. But destroying half of al Qaeda's leadership, including Osama bin Laden, as Americans struggle in a stubbornly sluggish economy, is good enough. ... And Obama's pragmatism - his refusal to embrace either the Full McCain Jacket or the impulse to just get the hell out of there ASAP - has helped him."
What follows are two articles that cover ANOTHER reason we're hittin' the bricks in Afghanistan:
In Pakistan, Denial is Easier than Heartbreak (Nzaar Ihsan) from Christian Science Monitor
"Pakistanis have long revered their Army as heroic and pure. Now, they're coming to terms with the fact that it might not be as awesome as they thought. Denial is a natural reaction."
The Radicalization of Pakistan’s Military (Fareed Zakaria) from the Washington Post
"As U.S. forces are gradually withdrawn over the next three years, it is Pakistan’s 600,000-strong army that will become the dominant military force in the region and will try to shape its future. But that military is undergoing a deep internal crisis of identity, its most serious since Pakistan’s founding in 1947. How it resolves this crisis will determine its future, the future of the Afghan war — and much else."
Syria's Cultural Revolution from the Guardian [of the UK]
"In their peaceful uprising young people have found art, comedy and music to be weapons Assad fears."
The multi-dimensional, multi-cultural impacts of the 'Arab Spring' are really startling. It seems like a pent-up torrent has been loosed across the middle east.
The Things They Carried: The Tahrir Square Irregular (Max Strasser) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"Hazem Marghany, a 25-year-old architect, spent 18 days in Cairo's Tahrir Square during the revolution and has come back every Friday since. Here's what he packs in his black Adidas laptop bag."
China Unrest Becoming Commonplace from the Editorial Board of the China Post [of Taiwan in English]
"How did it come to this, that despite record-high government spending on internal security, China is still having to fight these brush fires of social unrest? The answer may be found in an observation made in a Qinghua University report on social management last year — that the methods used to maintain stability tend to breed even greater instability."
I'm curious that this story out of China has received so little attention in western media.
It's Not that Europe No Longer Matters, It's That It Will Matter Differently (David Rothkopf) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"in the emerging multipolar world in which shifting alliances among major powers will tip the balance in all international affairs and in which a chastened, economically-strapped United States will require true partners to get anything done and in which our strong natural affinities and common interests are with Europe, it is short sighted and a mistake to write off what will remain an absolutely central relationship to the United States for decades to come."
The GOP’s Growing Isolationist Rift (Patricia Murphy) from the Daily Beast
"With hawkish veterans like John McCain on one side and budget-conscious freshmen on the other, Republicans are divided over Obama’s Afghanistan troop-reduction plans, the war itself, and using billions in war money at home. The split has led to some unusual GOP-Democratic alliances, reports Patricia Murphy."
Mitt Romney and the GOP: Don’t Expect Republicans to Choose Electability Over Ideology (Ed Kilgore) from the New Republic
"The steady drumbeat of conservative media claims that Obama is a disastrous president—half Jimmy Carter, half Herbert Hoover—whose policies were decisively repudiated by the American people in 2010 has created a steady undertow of belief that virtually any credible GOP nominee could beat him."
I suspect that this tea-party narrative will diminish as the primary cycle quickens. I sense a deeper thread of pragmatism emerging -- but who knows? When it comes to elections, Obama has always been lucky when he needed to be. Maybe this is where it will show up in '12.
Florida or Bust: Huntsman's Unorthodox Path to the GOP Nomination from the National Journal
"By laying down stakes in Florida, Huntsman significantly raises expectations of his performance in the nation’s fourth-largest state, which has never before been home base to a major Republican presidential campaign."
Jon Huntsman Sees Independents as Key from Politico
"In an interview with POLITICO, Huntsman made clear that he plans to capitalize on election rules in New Hampshire and South Carolina that allow independent voters to cast ballots in the GOP presidential primary."
Who called it?! I have no idea how Huntsman will fare in the primaries -- but make no mistake, he is smarter than the average GOP bear.
Michele Bachmann's Holy War (Matt Taibbi) from Rolling Stone Magazine
"The Tea Party contender may seem like a goofball, but be warned: Her presidential campaign is no laughing matter."
Sarah Palin Reportedly Quits Bus Tour Halfway Through from Talking Points Memo
"Former half-term Gov. Sarah Palin has reportedly packed in her bus tour...halfway through."
Palin has since DENIED that her tour is over.
Palin Cancels Trip to Sudan (Amy Gardner) from the Washington Post
"Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has canceled a trip next month to war-ravaged Sudan, one of the most unstable nations in the world and the focus of passionate advocacy within the U.S. evangelical community. Palin scrapped her visit to the North African country for scheduling reasons, several sources close to her said."
Yeah -- she now needs to show the "lamestream" media that her bus tour was NOT canceled. Much better to resume the bus tour than waste her precious time in foreign countries like Africa.
South Africa Embraces Mrs. Obama With Fervor from the New York Times
"The prickly ambivalence that South Africans often show toward the United States, which is often perceived here as an overbearing superpower, seems to have been suspended for Mrs. Obama. South Africans have embraced her with stirring emotion since she arrived on Monday, and she has been hugging them back, one by one, stop after stop."
E-BOOK PUBLISHING NUGGET!!
Self Publishing Writer Becomes Million Seller from the Daily Telegraph [of the UK]
"An entrepreneur has turned the writing world upside down by becoming the first author to sell more than a million electronic books without a publishing deal."
KIDS ACTIVITIES NUGGET!!
11 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do (PHOTOS) from the Huffington Post
"The original idea for a whole book about dangerous things you should let your children do was a bit of a fluke. But after spending a weekend watching kids lick a 9-volt battery for the first time (at Maker Faire Bay Area) or reading about families who blog their way through the book (like the Johnsen Clan, featured in this slideshow) it's clear that what kids needs these days is... more danger in their lives!"
LOCAL AUDIO NEWS NUGGET!!
The Pittsburgh Speakers Series -- Now Available as Podcastes and Streaming from WQED Pittsburgh
The series has included notables such as Mark Shields, Karl Rove, and Thomas Friedman. Check'em out!
No comments:
Post a Comment