We have to accept the realities of Afghanistan

vice president of defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute Ted Galen Carpenter says that the U.S. has to accept that Afghanistan will not be a western style democracy. (0:54)
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Rice: Iraq has distracted us from central front in war on terror

Speaking to reporters after the first presidential debate, Obama campaign advisor Susan Rice says that McCain was involved in the decisions that led to a focus on Iraq, distracting our forces from the central front in the war on terror, Afghanistan and Pakistan. (0:46)



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U.S. seeks more leverage for fighting heroine in Afghanistan

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell says that the U.S. military in Afghanistan is seeking more leverage to go after "kingpins" and "large labs" that use Afghanistan's huge poppy crop to make heroine. (0:50)
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Gates: Two considerations about Afghanistan

At the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on the Situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says “think about how heavy a military footprint the United States ought to have in Afghanistan, and are we better off channeling resources into building and expanding the size of the Afghan National Army as quickly as possible, as opposed to a much larger Western footprint in a country that has never been notoriously hospitable to foreigners regardless of why they are there.” I think that’s one question that we, and the next president, will have to weigh. In terms of the number of forces we have on the ground, a second consideration is that without changing deployment patterns and length of tours, we do not have the forces to send three additional brigade combat teams to Afghanistan at this point, but that we will probably have the availability to do so in the spring or summer of 2009. The President made a promise to send troops, but that’s obviously going to be up to his successor. (1:43)


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Gates: War on terror must end where it started

At the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on the Situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says during this time of political turmoil in Pakistan it is especially crucial to maintain a strong and positive relationship with the government since any deterioration would be a setback for both Pakistan and Afghanistan. “The war on terror started in this region; it must end there.” (0:19)
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Gates: We have entered the endgame in Iraq

At the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on the Situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says that he agrees with the President that the reduction in troops is a return on success, but would expand on that. The changes on the ground is reflective of a fundamental change in the nature of the conflict. No matter how you think about the origins of the war in Iraq, “we must get the endgame right,” and he says he believes that we have entered that endgame and that our decisions today are critical to region security and national security interests for years to come. (0:33)


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Gates: We have not neglected Afghanistan

During a trip to Afghanistan, the Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says that the United States has not neglected Afghanistan and lists the troop deployments the U.S. has sent there. (0:33)
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IEDs cannot be eliminated

Lieutenant General Thomas F. Metz tells the House Armed Services Committee that we cannot completely eradicate IEDs but we can remove their strategic importance (0:23).
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IEDs are DoD's main concern

Lieutenant General Thomas F. Metz tells Vic Snyder (R-Ark.) that there has been no formal discussion of expanding the scope of the Joint IED Defeat Organization to include other asymmetric weapons (0:22).
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When is Afghanistan a "must"?

Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) asks Defense Department officials when and under what conditions will Afghanistan become a military priority. (0:23)
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Mullen: We can't kill our way to victory

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen says that the U.S. can't kill it's way to victory in Afghanistan and that the development is a key to victory as well. (0:32)
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Cost of Afghan troops exceed government's revenue

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee both the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Micheal Mullen and the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, express concern about the cost of building up the Afghan army. Gates says that training and equipping more troops will cost several billion dollars while the government of Afghanistan only brought in about $7 million in revenue. (0:52)
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Veterans express their support for Obama

The Obama Campaign held a conference call today with veterans of the war in Iraq to discuss why they have chosen to support the Illinois Senator (26:24).
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Pakistan border security an everyday problem says Reid

During a conference call from the Middle East Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says that while the Taliban activities have increased in Afghanistan so has the ability of the U.S. coalition to deal with them. He also speaks about the problems found in southern Afghanistan on the border with Pakistan where militants are able to cross into Afghanistan. (0:53)
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Reid: all the attention was diverted to Iraq

In a conference call with reporters, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that the U.S. had a presence in Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001. He said that all the attention was diverted to Iraq and that Afghanistan might be better off had more attention been paid to that conflict. (0:28)
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Troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan not necessarily correlated

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell says that the U.S. has global force commitments and that choices about troop levels are made considering all those commitments. He says that the military has the means to draw troops from locations beyond Iraq to increase force levels in Afghanistan, but does not comment on a time line. (1:13)
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DoD spokesman: The sky is not falling in Afghanistan

During a press breifing at the Pentagon, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell says that the situation in Afghanistan is "not precarious, not urgent; the sky is not falling in Afghanistan," and says that the strategic combat reserves will not be deployed to supplement troops in Afghanistan. (0:37)
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New York Democrat: DoD let Bin Laden escape on purpose

Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) says that former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is responsible for the escape of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. (1:01)
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Iraq the priority of Pentagon and Bush administration

During a press briefing at the Pentagon, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell says that it is no secret that, of the two fronts, Iraq is the priority for the Pentagon and the current administration. He says that the U.S. does not lack committment to Afghanistan and it is a matter of timing when more troops will be sent to Afghanistan. (0:52)
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Major General Cone says Afghanistan future 'very optimistic'

Major General Robert W. Cone says that he is 'very optimistic' about the future of Afghanistan's security. Cone says he believes that Afghans serving in the army and police are patriots and committed to the defense and security of their nation. Cone says he is excited to see the new capabilities the Afghan forces are demonstrating. (0:32)
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