U.S. Marine Corps Engineers set up security wire at a small combat outpost in Musa Qal’eh, Afghanistan, Nov. 5, 2010. The Mrines are assigned to 1st Marine Division's 1st Combat Engineer Battalion. The Marine engineers arrived to fortify defensive positions manned by Marines assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. John M. McCallThe Taliban Don't Want To Talk Until The Foreigners Have Left -- James Fergusson, The Independent
Is the US troop surge working? There is no doubt that General David Petraeus is committed to it. As Nato leaders prepare for their Lisbon summit this week, tens of thousands of coalition troops will continue their advance into the Taliban heartlands of Kandahar.
According to a US army manual that Petraeus himself wrote, "shaping the narrative" is one of the prerequisites of successful counterinsurgency, and progress reports from Nato commanders on the ground are almost universally bullish. In September, Nato claimed that 105 Taliban leaders were killed or captured across Afghanistan – a rate of attrition so great that, according to one MoD source, the Taliban "can't replace leaders fast enough". The Taliban, for their part, deny they have been disrupted in any way.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
Petraeus gains negated by predatory, corrupt and ineffective Afghan governance -- Michael Hughes, OpEdNews
The West Has Lost Its Moral Compass In Afghanistan -- Dr Ehsan Azari Stanizi, Eurasia Review
Pinning down an Afghan timetable -- Doyle McManus, L.A. Times
Obama arrives home to a new reality -- Carol Lee, Politico
White House Push-Back on Asia Trip Failure Meme -- Chip Reid, CBS News
Insecurities beneath China's prosperous exterior -- Jim Hoagland, Washington Post
A release to celebrate – but this is not a 'Mandela moment' -- The Guardian editorial
Hillary's Troubling Silence On The Plight Of Iraq's Christian Community -- Reza Aslan, The Daily Beast
The students' storming of Millbank Tower was just a taste of the unrest ahead -- Matthew d'Ancona, The Telegraph
Full Frontal Nudity Doesn’t Make Us Safer: Abolish the TSA -- Art Carden
I Believe I Can Fly -- Thomas Friedman, New York Times
The end of cheap oil -- Le Monde Diplomatique
Clarice's Pieces: Restoring American Stature Abroad -- Clarice Feldman, American Thinker