Pelosi Says She Sees Little Support For Additional Troops In Afghanistan

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that she sees little support for sending more troops to Afghanistan. Pelosi is the highest-ranking Democrat to say a push for more troops will be resisted by Congress. (0:08)
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Utah Man Says Cultural Differences, Not Administrative Differences, Could Be Reason For Delayed Democracy in Afghanistan

Dallas Hanks of Utah says the United States should not pull out of Afghanistan, and should instead be patient with cultural differences that could be stalling democracy in the country. (00:17)
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Washington D.C. Native Fears Leaving Afghanistan Could Be An Invitation To The Taliban

A Washington, D.C. man says pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan could lead to the rise of the Taliban. (0:08)
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West Va. Resident Says American Troops Need To Get Out of Afghanistan

Debbie B. of West Virginia says she believes American troops should get out of Afghanistan because the U.S. is "not solving any problems." (0:17)
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Public Backtracks On Afghanistan Support

Karen Newhouse of Pasadena, Maryland agrees with a poll from mid-July saying 53 percent of Americans feel the war in Afghanistan is not worth fighting and the soldiers should come home. (0:10)
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Taliban Threats Won't Quell Afghanistan's Elections, Says Afghan Media Figure

Taliban forces have attempted to use scare tactics to prevent Afghan citizens from voting in the upcoming presidential elections next week. “I even heard one Taliban threat that said ‘we will cut your finger off if you go to vote’,” Radio Free Afghanistan Director Akbar Ayazi, who will moderate Sunday's presidential debate, says. “These kinds of intimidations and the violence...really affect the elections and its results, but the Afghan government [and] the Afghan nation have decided to vote.” (0:35)
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International Community Commits 20,000 Troops To Secure Afghan Presidential Election

In addition to Afghan police and the national army of Afghanistan, the international community has committed up to 20,000 troops, mostly Americans, to help secure Afghanistan’s 27,000 polling stations during the country's presidential election next Friday, says Akbar Ayazi, Director of Radio Free Afghanistan. (0:27)
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Link Farmers With Urban Production Facilities in Afghanistan, Advises Expert

"More value needs to be added in the country," said Mildred Callear, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF). Callear suggested that economic development in Afghanistan will improve by linking up rural farmers with urban processing, distribution, and warehousing facilities. (0:25)
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Adm. Mullen: U.S. Must Protect Afghan People

Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the United States' main objective in Afghanistan is protecting the Afghan people. (0:11)
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Adm. Mullen: U.S. Has 18 Months To Turn Tables On Taliban

Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says that the United States must turn the tide against the Taliban in the next twelve to eighteen months. (0:17)
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Petraeus: 'You Gotta Beat The Bad Guys To The Headlines'

General David Petraeus, Commander of the U.S Central Command, mentioned cooperation with the media as an essential part of the fight against terrorism and insurgencies. Petraeus explained that the U.S military should be the first to make a truthful announcement to the media before the terrorists or insurgents do, so as to prevent propaganda. (0:36)
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Petraeus: Cooperation With The Afghan Populations Crucial

General David Petraeus, Commander of the U.S Central Command, talks about the role of the military amongst the populations of the countries in which U.S troops are stationed. Petraeus says that troops must make sure the populations in areas where insurgents hide do not think the U.S military are against them but rather serving them, and that protection of the civilians must remain a priority, no matter what the conditions are like. (0:40)
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Petraeus On Counterinsurgency: You Have To Clear And Hold

General David Petraeus, Commander of the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), explains that the U.S army has learnt not to simply clear an area off its insurgents and leave from its experience in Iraq. Petraeus says that the U.S army should instead leave only when the area is fully secured and hold as long as necessary, particularly in Afghanistan. (0:36)
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1,287 Recommendations Made For Iraq And Afghanistan Reconstruction, Many Ignored

According to Michael J. Thibault, co-Chairman of the Commission on War Time Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, there have been 1,287 recommendations have been made to improve oversight of the reconstruction effort in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of the recommendations have been ignored (0:38).
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Iraq And Afghanistan Reconstruction Lacks Oversight

Christopher Shays, the co-Chairman of the Commission on War Time Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, says that there is a significant lack of oversight for the reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sub-contractors, which make up 70% of the reconstruction effort, are not subjected to direct oversight from the U.S. (0:23)
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Afghan Police Needs Strong Judiciary

Ali Jalali, the former Afghan Interior Minister, discusses how the Afghan police force cannot do its job effectively because of the immense distrust between them and the court systems. He talked about how police used to come to him and complain about how the people they arrested were often released the next day. (0:37)
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Illiteracy Epedemic In Afghan Police

Karen Hall, the Afghanistan Police Program Manager for the State Department, talks about how the Afghan police force has a 75 percent illiteracy rate which makes even the simplest tasks, such as filling out a police report, nearly impossible. She cites this as one of the main reasons why the Afghan security forces have been so ineffective in their own country.
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Mullen: Reestabling a Relationship with Afghanistan and Pakistan

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen said in a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing Thursday that the U.S. has a tough road ahead in reestablishing its relationship with Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also explains the need for patience in doing so. (3:24)
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Mullen: Deadline For Afghanistan?

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen answering the question of when we could judge whether the mission in Afghanistan has been successful or not. Mullen explains that the upcoming elections are paramount in determining this deadline, but also the experience gained through policy learning from Iraq. (1:01)
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Clinton Will Discuss Sri Lanka With UK Minister

By Kayleigh Harvey - Talk Radio News Service

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a brief statement to the press today with The Right Honorable David Miliband, M.P., Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland prior to their bilateral meeting which will discuss issues such as humanitarian issues in Sri Lanka and action in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.

Clinton said, “He and I have already forged a close working relationship on not only out bilateral issues but on so many of the global concerns that we both care greatly about.”



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