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Hillary Clinton: All nations must play a part in Afghanistan mission

This week, President Barack Obama reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to our core goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and prevent their return to either country. The US is sending an additional 30,000 personnel to Afghanistan, significantly increasing our civilian aid to the Afghan people, and broadening our partnership with Pakistan.

Today in Brussels, I will discuss the way forward with our allies. And I will thank those nations that have pledged additional troops. This is a crucial test for Nato. After September 11, the alliance invoked Article 5 of its charter for the first time, affirming that the terrorist attacks planned in Afghanistan and perpetrated in the US were attacks on every Nato member. The members of the alliance have paid a steep price in lives, but we must remain firm in our resolve.

For countries in the region, the stakes are particularly high. Civilians of every faith have been murdered, but Muslims have paid the highest toll. Troops from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other Muslim-majority nations are fighting extremism in Afghanistan and their participation is vital to our mission.

Along with the extra American troops, more international forces will help to deny al-Qaeda a safe haven; reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government; and strengthen the capacity of the Afghans to take responsibility for their own security.

full article at www.telegraph.co.uk

Taliban leader says U.S. faces defeat in Afghanistan

 

As President Obama prepares to unveil his long-deliberated war strategy, the Taliban's supreme commander declared Wednesday that U.S.-led forces would find only defeat, dishonor and "a bed of thorns" in Afghanistan.

The statement came as the White House announced that Obama will deliver a televised speech about the war Tuesday from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He is expected to announce higher troop levels for Afghanistan and detail a plan for ultimately withdrawing U.S. forces.

"We're in the ninth year of our efforts in Afghanistan," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in announcing the speech, which will air at 5 p.m. "The president will want to walk through his decision-making process and give people a sense of the importance of our efforts, but reiterate for them that the president does not see this as an open-ended engagement.

"Our time there will be limited," Gibbs said, "and I think that's important for people to understand."The Taliban warning, contained in a statement by Mullah Mohammed Omar, the movement's reclusive leader, was issued on the eve of one of the year's most important Muslim holidays, Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice. It marks the end of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that is made by millions of observant Muslims.

In his missive, which was punctuated by the flowery phrases and high-flown rhetoric typically employed in such messages, Omar urged Afghans to disavow the "puppet" government of President Hamid Karzai, who was sworn in last week to a second term after an election clouded by massive vote-rigging. "Break off all relations with the stooge administration in Kabul!" Omar urged, saying that the Karzai government was a partner to "the evil process of colonization and occupation.

full story at www.latimes.com

Will talk of Afghan 'off-ramps' prompt Taliban to hang tough?

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will unveil his long-awaited Afghanistan strategy in a prime-time address from West Point, N.Y. , on Dec. 1 , the White House said Wednesday, but the administration's advance remarks have sparked concern that talk of an eventual U.S. withdrawal will encourage Islamist insurgents to persevere.

full story at news.yahoo.com

Renouncing Islamism: To the brink and back again

A generation of British Islamists have been trained in Afghanistan to fight a global jihad. But now some of those would-be extremists have had a change of heart. Johann Hari finds out what made them give up the fight

full story via www.independent.co.uk

Afghanistan elbows into Obama talk with India's Manmohan Singh

Washington - President Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh used a White House press conference Tuesday to dispel doubts about the direction of a fledgling strategic partnership between the US and India. The two leaders emphasized growing bilateral cooperation in economic, security, climate, and development affairs.

full story at www.csmonitor.com

The five ages of al-Qaida

The five ages of al-QaidaFrom low-key beginnings in the late 1980s to a worldwide ideology that has inspired countless terrorist attacks, the idea of al-Qaida has passed through five distinct phases.

full story at www.guardian.co.uk

Lawyer: 9/11 defendants want platform for views

NEW YORK – The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said.  Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said Sunday the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks but "would explain what happened and why they did it."

The U.S. Justice Department announced earlier this month that Ali and four other men accused of murdering nearly 3,000 people in the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. will face a civilian federal trial just blocks from the site of the destroyed World Trade Center.

full story at news.yahoo.com

Why we can’t walk away

There is certainly a lot of hand-wringing, chin-rubbing and forceful exhaling going on these days over the increasingly challenging war in Afghanistan, where nearly 70,000 U.S. troops are duking it out with the Taliban, al-Qaida and war lords.

full story at www.armedforcesjournal.com

Obama | On Afghanistan from the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh

President Barack Obama responds to a question about Afghanistan at the G-20 conference. He clarifies his administration's goals for Afghanistan, including dismantling al Qaeda's network.