Veterans Affairs Secretary Says Troops Are Returning Home With 'Invisible Wounds'

“Invisible wounds are as debilitating as the physical trauma sustained on those battlefields," said Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki during a mental health summit in Washington, D.C. "Warriors suffer emotional injuries just as they do physical ones.” (0:19)

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Kerry Supports McChrystal's Recommendation For Strategy Change In Afghanistan

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) says Gen. Stanley McChrystal's recommendation for a change of strategy in Afghanistan "hit the nail on the head." (0:17)
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Kerry: Deploying Additional Troops Alone Won't Result In Sustainable Gains

Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) states that deploying additional troops in Afghanistan will not result in sustainable gains without security, civilian and governance capacity. (0:19)
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Gibbs: U.S. Is Still Working With The Afghan Government To Ensure Nationwide Security

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says the U.S. is still dealing with the government of Afghanistan and that the Afghans must provide a candidate that will work to make their country secure. Gibbs says the U.S. is still implementing a policy that the President introduced in March. (0:39)
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Counter-Terrorism Prime Purpose For Intervention In Afghanistan, Says Former CIA Deputy Director

Dr. Paul Pillar, former Deputy Director of the CIA's Counter-Terrorist Center, says the purpose for U.S. intervention in Afghanistan is counter-terrorism. (0:14)
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Counterterrorism Strategy In Afghanistan Should Compliment Counterinsurgency Efforts

Former Army Vice Chief of Staff General Jack Keane says counterterrorism operations are valuable, but must be used to compliment a "fully integrated, civil military counter-insurgent strategy" in Afghanistan. (0:11)
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More U.S. Troops Needed In Afghanistan, Says Former Army Vice Chief Of Staff

Retired Vice Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army, General Jack Keane, says the only way to "stop the bleeding" of the current situation in Afghanistan is to send more U.S. troops. He says this must be done to aid the development of the Afghan National Security Forces. (0:26)
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Pelosi: Safety of American People Is Top Priority

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says she will respond to the President’s decisions regarding Afghanistan as they are made, but the safety of the American public was a top priority. (0:32)



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McCain Advocates Surge In Afghanistan

Senator John McCain said today during a press conference that he agrees with General McChrystal that there needs to be a surge of American troops in order for there to be success in Afghanistan. (0:31)
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Analyst Urges Enhanced Cooperation Among Afghan And Coalition Forces

Research Analyst at the Institute For the Study of War, Jeffrey Dressler comments on his view on the lack of coordination between Afghan forces and the Coalition in Afghanistan. He says that Coalition and Afghan forces have not coordinated "mutually beneficial" operations. (0:42)
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Ambition And Resources Have Been An "Overstretched Fabric" In Afghanistan, Says Expert

President of the New America Foundation Steve Coll testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Thursday and said that the lack of resources and soldiers in Afghanistan when the U.S. entered led to the “crisis that now confronts the Obama administration.” (0:50)
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Kerry Cites Poll Showing That Pakistanis Consider U.S. An Enemy

In a hearing on Afghanistan’s Impact on Pakistan Thursday, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) says that Pakistan is a “central focus of our policy considerations.” Kerry also says that the 2/3 of Pakistani citizens regard the U.S. as an enemy, according to a survey by the PEW research center. (1:00)
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McCain Says Obama May Have To Go Against The American Grain In Afghanistan

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says that President Obama, "like leaders before," may have to go against public opinion when implementing U.S. policies and military presence in Afghanistan. :48
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McCain Says Core Military Strategies Used In Iraq Can Apply To Afghanistan

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says that while Afghanistan is not Iraq, the military principles on how to create strategies in the countries "still apply." :36
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McCain Laments Lack Of Plan For Sending More Troops To Afghanistan

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says waiting to deploy troops to Afghanistan because of lack of a plan adds to the time it already takes to get military bases started. :44
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Additional Security Forces Necessary For Civil Development In Afghanistan, Says Former Ambassador

Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and Pakistan Ryan Crocker explains that additional security forces in Afghanistan will be needed to secure the development of civil institutions. (0:24)
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House Republican Blames Politicians For Publics' Diminishing Support Of Afghanistan

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) says support for the war in Afghanistan is declining among the public and lays the blame on politicians. Wolf announced at a press conference Wednesday that he is urging President Barack Obama to appoint a bipartisan group to asses and bolster success in Afghanistan. (0:21)
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House Republican Says Afghanistan Elections Are Worsening Insurgency

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) says the recent results of Afghanistan's troubled elections are strengthening the insurgency. Wolf announced at a press conference Wednesday that he is urging President Barack Obama to appoint a bipartisan group to asses and bolster success in Afghanistan. (0:19)
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Cato Analyst Says Afghanistan Will Never Be "Central Asian Version Of Arizona"

Cato Institute Vice President of Defense and Foreign Policy Studies Ted Galen Carpenter says the U.S. should stop operating under the illusion that Afghanistan will someday be the "Central Asian version of Arizona." (0:20)
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Analyst Says U.S. Should "Scale Down" Forces In Afghanistan

Malou Innocent, a foreign policy analyst at The Cato Institute, says she believes U.S. special forces should be used for specific military targets in Afghanistan, rather than large scale deployments. (0:15)
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