Gen. David Petraeus cautiously endorsed President Obama's exit plan for the Afghan war on Tuesday, leaving himself room to recommend changes or delays as he interviewed for the job of commander of the stalemated war.
A deteriorating relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan could precipitate a loss in the war in Afghanistan, according to a new think tank report.
U.S. officials and a former Afghan foreign minister are expressing skepticism over Pakistan-brokered talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and al Qaeda-affiliated groups, saying Islamabad appears to be trying to install its proxies in a future government in Kabul.
Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who was forced out last week as the top U.S. general in the stalemated Afghanistan war, has told the Army that he will retire.
The top U.S. military official said last night that Taliban leader Mullah Omar could conceivably be part of a political settlement in Afghanistan.
Confusion reigns over the administration's Afghanistan policy, particularly regarding the timetable for withdrawal of American forces. "There has been a lot of obsession" about the issue, President Obama explained over the weekend. If people are preoccupied with the topic, the president only has himself to blame.
Now that President Obama has replaced the top general in Afghanistan, some key senators said Sunday he needs to consider reshuffling his diplomatic leadership there as well.
Leaders of the world's 20 most powerful economies said this weekend that they must control deficits in the long run but not stifle a nascent economic recovery in the short term, in what President Obama described as "violent agreement" on principles.
The inappropriate comments by Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal and his staff about civilian leaders reflected a widespread frustration with White House infighting over the general's one-year-old war plan.
