Topic - David H. Petraeus

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  Mullen: Pace of Afghanistan withdrawal undecided

  The top U.S. military officer says Gen. David H. Petraeus has not yet made his recommendation on the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, but it will come in the next few weeks and move rapidly after that.

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  Cautiously optimistic Petraeus briefs NATO on Afghan war

  NATO's top commander in Afghanistan offered a cautiously optimistic assessment of the transition of security duties to Afghan forces during a briefing with alliance representatives on Wednesday, a U.S. official said.

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  BOOK REVIEW: When 'good war' became his war

  Here comes Bob Woodward again, no longer needing to invent improbable deathbed conversations (former CIA director William J. Casey in "Veil") or create oddly named composite characters who like to use potted geraniums to signal furtive meetings in dark parking garages.

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  U.S. rescuers may have killed Briton in Afghanistan

  NATO will investigate whether a grenade thrown by American military forces killed a British aid worker during a rescue attempt in Afghanistan last week, an alliance spokesman said Monday.

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  Payoff seen in Afghan surge

  The U.S. military is starting to see signs that the troop surge in Afghanistan is working on a timetable similar to the Iraq reinforcement campaign in 2007, according to an outside adviser and military sources.

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  U.S. apologizes for attack on Pakistani soldiers

  The United States apologized Wednesday for a recent helicopter attack that killed two Pakistani soldiers at an outpost near the Afghan border, saying American pilots mistook the soldiers for insurgents they were pursuing.

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  Go-for-broke time on Afghanistan war's anniversary

  The war in Afghanistan enters its 10th year Thursday with key players hedging their bets, uncertain whether the Obama administration is prepared to stay for the long haul, move quickly to exit an increasingly unpopular conflict, or do something in between.

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  Petraeus fights time, enemy in Afghanistan

  Army Gen. David H. Petraeus trudges across a gravel helicopter-landing area with his aides, looking purposeful but a bit grim, as he reaches a village outpost in the violent Afghan province of Helmand.

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  Afghan 'peace council' draws fire

  A "peace council" established Tuesday by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to negotiate with the Taliban includes the man who is thought to have invited Osama bin Laden to Afghanistan and another who served as a mentor to the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

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  DE BORCHGRAVE: Nuke outlaw as Pakistan's president?

  Pakistan's nuclear weapons renegade, who sold nuclear secrets to America's enemies (Iran, North Korea and Libya) and spent the best part of the last decade under house arrest, is still Pakistan's most popular man. Two weeks ago, Abdul Qadeer Khan, now a free man, was a guest on ARY, one of Pakistan's most popular TV channels, with a strong anti-U.S. bias. A frequent guest on ARY is another notorious anti-American, Gen. Hamid Gul, long retired as a former Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) chief and self-appointed adviser to Pakistan's anti-U.S. Islamist political parties. Not only did he get 90 minutes of airtime, but Mr. Khan talked openly of when he might be president or prime minister, enough to give official Washington conniption fits.

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  PIPES: 'Rushdie Rules' reach Florida

  Pastor Terry Jones' plan to burn copies of the Koran at his church in Gainesville, Fla., let it be emphasized, is a distasteful act that fits an ugly tradition. That said, two other points need be noted: Buying books and then burning them is a legal act in the United States. Second, David H. Petraeus, Robert M. Gates, Eric H. Holder Jr., Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama pressured Mr. Jones to cancel only because they feared Muslim violence against Americans if he proceeded. Indeed, despite Mr. Jones' calling off the Koran burning, five Afghans and three Kashmiris died in protests against his plans.

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  Petraeus issues guidance for Afghan contracting

  The NATO command has issued new guidelines for awarding billions of dollars worth of international contracts in Afghanistan, saying that without proper oversight the money could end up in the hands of insurgents and criminals, deepen corruption and undermine efforts to win the loyalty of the Afghan people at a critical juncture in the war.

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  FIELDS: American tolerance and Islam at odds

  Summer fades into autumn, and with it comes the seasonal focus on ancient faith. Muslims fast for Ramadan, seeking mercy and forgiveness, closing the last day of the observance with prayer and celebration on Eid al-Fitr. Jews blow the shofar, with its piercing cry ringing in the New Year, first with the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, when we nibble apples dipped in honey, hoping for sweetness in the days ahead, and then the solemn fasting on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

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  KUHNER: Obama's Koran-burning hypocrisy

  Liberals love the Koran. This is the message that was sent in advance of Rev. Terry Jones' planned burning of the Koran to commemorate the nine-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The Florida minister had planned to deliberately desecrate the Muslim holy book to draw attention to the violent barbarism of radical Islam.

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  PRUDEN: Having a little fun with the pious elites

  The media created Terry Jones, the Florida storefront preacher who wanted to be Jim Jones without the Kool-Aid, but neither bloggers nor pontificators had a clue to who he is.

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