In Central Asia, A New Headache For U.S. Policy -- Andrew Higgins, Washington PostBISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN - Beset by mounting casualties on the battlefield and deepening disquiet at home over the United States' longest war, President Obama's Afghan policy now faces another big headache: the unraveling of central authority in Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian nation that hosts a U.S. air base critical to the battle against the Taliban.
Just a month after agreeing to extend for a year a $60 million lease on a U.S. air base here, Kyrgyzstan's generally pro-Western but increasingly impotent president, Roza Otunbayeva, has retreated from U.S.-backed security programs that Washington hoped would help fortify a fragile Kyrgyz government. These include a counterterrorism and anti-narcotics training center and an international police mission.
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
An Example of Progress in Northern Iraq -- Tom Vandal, Real Clear World
Turkey's Silent Crisis -- Henri J. Barkey, Financial Polciy
Obama's Israel-Palestine Peace Talks Will Fail: -- Yossi Beilin, Bloomberg
Abbas faces a mission impossible -- Sami Moubayed, Asia Times
The New Rules: The Changing Food Security Equation -- Thomas P.M. Barnett, World Politics Review
While the world looks elsewhere, a nation is dying in silence -- Gordon Brown, The Independent
Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials On President Obama's Iraq Speech
A Bush-Like Address -- Yahoo News/The Daily Beast
A Tiny Treasury of Responses to Obama's Address on Iraq -- Steve Huff, New York Observer
Securing Our Interests, and Iraq’s -- National Review editorial
As Obama declares end of combat in Iraq, its citizens move forward with uncertainty -- Leila Fadel, Washington Post
Iraq Through the Looking Glass -- Victor Davis Hanson, National Review
Obama's Iraq speech: a salute, not a victory lap -- Greg Sargent, Washington Post
A Fragile Turning Point -- Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times
FACT CHECK: Is Iraq combat really over for US? -- Yahoo News/AP
Reflections on Iraq: A Vacuum of Authority -- Dexter Filkins, New York Times
Analysis: Has Iraq war really ended for Obama, US? -- AP
McCain: Iraq Milestone No Thanks to Obama -- CBS News
Iraqis Judge America’s Seven Years in Their Country -- Stephen Farrell And Baghdad Bureau, New York Times
Obama Claims End to “Combat Operations” in Iraq -- Thomas R. Eddlem, New American
A grim speech for a grim war -- Roger Simon, Politico
Does Bush deserve more credit for Iraq? -- Stephen Dinan, Washington Times
Iraq: By The Numbers -- NPR (Audio)
The US Army has left Iraq. Now what? -- Rozzaq al-Saiedi, GlobalPost
Iraq pullout unlikely to push down war spending -- Yahoo News/AFP
Analyzing President Obama's Iraq speech -- NECN
Analysis: Obama makes clear Iraq's future is its own -- USA Today
Obama sees Iraq vow fulfilled -- Washington Times
Obama Speech Offers Opportunity for Healing -- Bob Beckel, FOX News
Obama's frustrating, unfocused speech on Iraq. -- Fred Kaplan, Slate
By overthrowing regional order, US unleashed a genie -- Paul Salem, The National
Who won in Iraq? -- The Telegraph editorial
Obama's Oval Office speech was good, but the gravitas was great -- Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
The truths about Iraq that Obama couldn't utter -- Joe Conason, Salon
Our view on Iraq: Combat mission ends, but Iraq's fate remains uncertain -- USA Today editorial
My Comment: The final note/comment on the Iraq War for America should (and probably will be) the following .... US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,416.