Kissinger: U.S. Should Negotiate With Afghanistan's Neighbors Before Taliban

During a panel discussion at the Woodrow Wilson Center Thursday, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger critiqued the adminstration’s current strategy of negotiating with the Taliban, noting that they should first negotiate with the surrounding countries. (0:46)

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Afghanistan Peace Initiatives Include Taliban

Susan Rice, US Ambassador at the United Nations, tells the Security Council the Obama Administration is redoubling its efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Afghanistan, including reaching out to the Taliban. (00:17)

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Terrorists Are As Creative As They Are Evil, Says Lawmaker

Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Penn.) describes during a discussion with the Ripon Society on Homeland Security the difficulties facing the government in dealing with enemies as creative as they are evil. (0:14)

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Taliban Will Only Negotiate If Their Organization Is Disrupted, Says Expert

Security Expert and non-resident senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security Dr. David Kilcullen says the United States will have to disrupt the Taliban organization before steps are taken towards reintegration. (0:20)

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Low-Level Insurgents Will Be Reintegrated Says Defense Undersecretary

Defense Undersecretary for Policy Michele Flournoy says that the United States supports an Afghan led reintegration plan where low-level insurgents will be allowed to re-enter the country and participate in Afghan society. (0:36)
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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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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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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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Pakistan Realizing Taliban Threat

Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) visited Pakistan with the Congressional Delegation and commented on Pakistan's effort to overcome Taliban threats. Senator Carper praised the mayor of Karachi for his efforts in uniting the country around the issue of the Taliban. (0:19)
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Retired Lt. General calls for change in Afghan War

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

While testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Retired Lt. General David Barno said that in his opinion the Afghan war at the beginning of 2009 was "drifting towards failure", and that a change in strategy is necessary. He defined success for the United States in 5 ways. First, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda being defeated in the region and denied usable sanctuary, preventing them from engaging in future attacks on the United States and its allies. Secondly, Pakistan would become a long term ally of the United States, and no longer would serve as a terrorist base. Next, success for NATO is important to the US mission, as is establishing a stable and sustainable Afghan government which is legitimate in the eyes of its people and can govern and control its territory. Finally, the people in this region should be confident in U.S. as a friend in helping them combat extremism. (2:12)
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Reconciliation between Karzai and Taliban unlikely

Daniel Markey, senior fellow of India, Pakistan, and South Asia, says that recent discussions regarding a reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Taliban is unlikely (0:31).
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Afghanistan-U.S. relationship will improve under next president

Ambassador of Afghanistan to the U.S. Said Jawad says that the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship will improve no matter who the next president is. He also says he is impressed by both candidates. (0:55)
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Taliban rises again

Foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute Malou Innocent discusses how the Taliban and al-Qaida have been able to takeover the tribal lands on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.(0:30)
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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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"A stronger, more resilient enemy"

Testifying at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on the Middle East and Southeast Asia, retired Lt. General David W. Barno explains the nature of "the new Taliban." (0:26)
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Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte Discusses Spreading Violence in Pakistan at Senate Foreign Relations Committee

At a hearing entitled “U.S. Policy Options in Post-Election Pakistan,” Negroponte discusses the threat posed by violence spreading out of the "FATA" (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) into the 'settled' areas. However, he also notes the recent election and other indications from the Pakistani people of their interest in stability, democracy, and combating such threats of violence within their borders. (0:39)
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Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte Calls Afghanistan and Pakistan 'Flip Sides of the Same Coin' at Senate Foreign Relations Committee

At a hearing entitled “U.S. Policy Options in Post-Election Pakistan,” Negroponte discusses the importance of the Afghanistan/Pakistan border in winning the fight against terror, stressing that problems on one side can't be solved without addressing those of the other. (0:34)
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Senator Bernie Sanders on War with Iran and Increased Taliban Presence

Senator Bernard "Bernie" Sanders (I-VT) hopes that President Bush does not go to war with Iran and that it could lead to a crisis. Regarding Afghanistan, he believes the Taliban presence is on the rise and supports sending troops out of Iraq and into Afghanistan to defeat this threat.
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