A flawed strategy and a failed war in Afghanistan

Posted by , 27th May 2010
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Katrina vanden Heuvel
5/26/2010

The author makes a case against the war in Afghanistan, calling President Obama’s approach “fundamentally flawed” and far too costly in lives and money. The numbers from last month’s Pentagon report indicate that the counterinsurgency, intended to win over the Afghan people, has not been successful. Vanden Heuvel supports an alternative strategy of gradual troop withdrawal and diplomacy, but the president has asked for $32 billion for the troop surge in Afghanistan. As the Senate votes on this bill next week, perhaps it will demonstrate the growing opposition in Congress and among American citizens to “a flawed strategy and a failed war.”

Katrina vanden Heuvel is editor and publisher of The Nation and writes a weekly column for The Post
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Two Theories of Change

Posted by , 25th May 2010
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David Brooks
5/25/2010

There were two periods of enlightenment, Brooks says, which include the French and British Enlightenments. Americans have never figured out which they are children of. Brooks looks at each vision of change and compares them. He says the core question in American politics is whether our nation’s founding was a radical departure or an act of preservation. Brooks adds that this was a source of dispute between Jefferson and Hamilton and between and within political parties today.

Brooks is a New York Times columnist.

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A hollow ‘reset’ with Russia

Posted by , 25th May 2010
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Robert Kagan
5/25/2010

The Obama administration and the media are hailing the president’s successful “reset” diplomacy with Russia, claiming Obama’s approach has resulted in Russia’s agreement to a UN Security Council resolution against a nuclear Iran. But the author notes that Russia’s verbal agreement with the US about Iranian nuclear proliferation is nothing new. In fact, the Bush administration elicited similar agreeable responses from Russian leaders in 2006, 2007, and 2008. This latest agreement could very well be just another round of “Charlie Brown and the football,” says Kagan.

Kagan, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, writes a monthly column for The Post.

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The Mosque at Ground Zero

Posted by , 25th May 2010
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Bret Stephens
5/25/2010

The conservative blogosphere is buzzing with outrage over plans to build a 13-story mosque and Muslim cultural center just a few hundred feet from Ground Zero. As a resident of lower Manhattan, Stephens sees it differently. The center–to be known as Cordoba House if it is built–might yet serve as an excellent test case for Muslim tolerance. That is how the concept is being advertised by Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Kuwaiti-born imam whose brainchild this is and who sees it as as a step toward the Americanization of the Muslim community. Stephens questions the arguments of those who oppose the project and the consideration the would-be builders of the center have given to toleration themselves.

Stephens writes ‘Global View’ for the Journal.

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American politics of late: Now that’s entertaining

Posted by , 20th May 2010
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George F. Will
5/20/2010

America’s political shenanigans may never have been this entertaining, says Will. Democrat Mark Critz touted conservative ideals (such as being pro-gun and anti-Obamacare) and won Pennsylvania’s congressional election. Connecticut’s senatorial candidate, Democrat Richard Blumenthal, discussed his apparently false claim that he fought in a foreign war. Scott Cohen, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, broke down over accusations of domestic battery and steroid use. Will cites other examples of this entertaining political scene, noting that the Republican party is nominating more conservative or libertarian candidates (from Kentucky’s Rand Paul to Utah’s Mike Lee) amid accusations of being “unhealthy.”

Will is a twice-weekly columnist for The Post, writing about foreign and domestic politics and policy.

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