[Individual-members-EL] Obama's Speech Puts More Pressure on Pakistan

Fri Dec 4 03:40:56 CET 2009

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PADF WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

December 3, 2009
Vol 11, No 43
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Speech Puts More Pressure on Pakistan

FINANCIAL TIMES

US President Barack Obama's landmark speech on Afghanistan and his decision to send
30,000 additional troops to fight the Taliban received a cautious welcome from Pakistan,
but experts said he was also signalling that Washington would put more pressure 
on its south Asian ally.

"We welcome President Obama's commitment to the region and to Pakistan's interests,"
said Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to Washington, on Tuesday night. "We 
have to consult with all stake holders in Islamabad before we come out with a formal
response".

Talat Masood, a retired general and security analyst in Islamabad, said: "The message
to Pakistan could not have been stronger. Clearly, President Obama has told Pakistan:
You have got to shape up and reorient your policy." Read more here... [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102848015797&s=23764&e=001xj1QDwDuXN_HzZIotPEG_j9ThKGbOcnGVdf7f3HDIHaDO7Fgmq0QFepGXdN1dv820mEd58lUE7LTs82Y_06-fIe5bKON2hnggcZ19CSlE3DdE_qPhCmhsIrjIDsH5exrEWRlFpfzMIaBA44Nt0gErfuy_42EoItQkg0rsCIAuBDADhUZa_GGNA==]
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Pakistani News Outlets Condemn Obama's Plan

NEW YORK TIMES

President Obama's speech at West Point was broadcast here on Wednesday, so coverage
and comment in the Pakistani press crested on Thursday. In this nation, where sentiment
is strong against America, most of the headlines were ominous.

Jang, the most widely read Urdu daily, led with the headline "Approval of increasing
drone strikes in Pakistan," while adding that the United States would "increase 
pressure on a weak Zardari government" and be "expanding covert operations."

Two newspapers, Express and Nawai Waqt, a popular Urdu daily with a nationalist 
bent, led with Mr. Obama's vow to focus on Al Qaeda inside Pakistan. In its editorial,
Nawai Waqt criticized the government of President Asif Ali Zardari for its weak-kneed
response to American intentions toward Pakistani nuclear weapons and warned that
 Pakistan had the capability of giving a befitting reply to the United States for
harboring an evil eye on the country's nuclear program.The paper also claimed that
the presence of American troops in Afghanistan threatened the independence and territorial
integrity of Pakistan. Read more here... [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102848015797&s=23764&e=001xj1QDwDuXN-I75KxMh61Rq5x-WnkYZD_PNS0NTEx4l2nFc0KceDQvTS8iw3K7Y0is_w0Z4rVm9dyVT0SRvmoC2wILvVpSH2WfyFvs84WN46DdtNsGD9Dj6iv_g1akxlZKA4IIrar3WwEGU-r2LF6W81ynuK589UWph1hgNoffY4HDekObQZGOaZGjyEwFNCybDz5mBeiD7U=]
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Battle for Hearts and Minds No Nearer Victory

FINANCIAL TIMES

Helmandwal, an elder who lives in one of the mud-brick villages dotting southern
 Afghanistan, buried four relatives last month, killed, he believes, in a Nato bombardment.

The prospect of thousands more US troops pouring into his native Helmand province
with a mission to protect the population and train security forces strikes him as
absurd.

"People in the west are dreaming," he says. "If you ask anyone in Afghanistan what
the Americans can do for the country, they will start laughing at you."

Hamid Karzai, Afghan president, has welcomed the pledge by Barack Obama, his
US counterpart, to send 30,000 more troops.

But many Afghans are sceptical. In a country that has endured Soviet invasion, warlord
infighting and Taliban rule, the US plan for a temporary surge has been met with
 cautious support, hostility and, in many cases, indifference. Read more here...
 [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102848015797&s=23764&e=001xj1QDwDuXN9j33W0KSB13FrwTo7EsNfnOfywl2-lsS-5rei-2NPLImROg6FMRvB46VcMrDENHFNlyO2OmnYaTEQVXBd5ewUkGMLbB0BTHekFmYb9VlQL8B4l7CPBt8fP3XI-ASWkZKrvzUFO8inoZmS3IFyEBVRdLNlkKIy5pxoqmwVepQTQUQ==]
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Afghans See Sharp Shift in US Tone

NEW YORK TIMES

For Afghans, the change in tone was unmistakable. Unlike Bush-era speeches pledging
unending support, President Obama suddenly introduced a timeline and a period of
 18 months before the start of a drawdown of troops.

The timetable set off alarm here. It was the subject of television discussions and
journalists' questions to the American ambassador, Karl W. Eikenberry, a retired
 lieutenant general, as well as to Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the commander of 
American forces here.

If Tuesday night was about President Obama sending a message to the American public
that the war in Afghanistan would not be open-ended, then Wednesday in Kabul was
 about reassuring the Afghans of America's long-term commitment.
Read more here... [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102848015797&s=23764&e=001xj1QDwDuXN-KJXqZJRloVYD1Hsmm30yfQIRon_fL1fRszdAQRJn6l7Yjlxo7c_CXRUuR8qx_RrBod1pBws3-a0wCaoG5oJtDa9Rg8mrD7dCJdcOBptoDUOJY6a1id-18qz-xdt0VRQonWiwnbFtqkgRDlaEXwR11r4TwHuod33c=]
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Clinton to Press NATO Allies on Afghan Effort

NEW YORK TIMES

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that she was encouraged 
by European responses to the administration's plans to send more troops to Afghanistan.
When President Obama made public his revised Afghan strategy on Tuesday night, he
took a middle path between domestic critics on the right and left, offering both
 a surge of 30,000 additional American troops as well as a July 2011 deadline to
 begin drawing them back down.

Since then, Mrs. Clinton and other administration officials have stressed that the
timing and pace of withdrawing troops would depend on conditions on the ground. 
Mrs. Clinton said she would offer NATO allies clarifications on the target of 2011
for the start of troop withdrawals. Read more here... [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102848015797&s=23764&e=001xj1QDwDuXN-VboLcjn1lYmTtgXWyYWU6jAqYrzIGsZmZkYpus9jYIWC-C5FDQS1eAMC4-3kxHgSuOj-LhMpGwL072j63oMyhkriGQQlp9qSb6m3JZ53Dtpd1kd1otDTSViTx2I1cbA6D8fsgIscUEmpD5PDBItbP]
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Ten Fears Over President Obama's Plans to Send More Troops into Afghanistan

NEW YORK TIMES

Nothing about the hard slog in Afghanistan has ever been easy - nor will it be in
the future. Here are 10 obstacles facing 30,000 more American G.I.s heading to the
war zone:

1. Weather and terrain
U.S. forces fight on the home turf of the Taliban, who know every goat trail snaking
up hardscrabble peaks rising 14,000 feet or higher. Our adversaries travel light
 and are used to altitudes that slow Americans down.

2. Enemy tactics
Well-funded enemies have become experts at rigging bombs that can devastate a foot
patrol or even heavily armored vehicles. Suicide bombers are also a new weapon since
2005, and ambushes are mounted when superior numbers can overwhelm small U.S. units.

3. Collateral damage
The more troops entering the fight, the more air support they need. Increased air
strikes - despite Herculean efforts to avoid it - often cause civilian casualties,
because the enemy hides in villages and sometimes enlists women and children to 
aid them in battle. Read more here... [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102848015797&s=23764&e=001xj1QDwDuXN_PD3katx2LUP_B3WWk720vUTBhFirvc9Y7_W0UjZG5ntZkxLA7LWoj-qvVsw18PjwUMe09_UfPnadkmrb1I_eGQxKnoI474tjjM_altHtoALt-PLQkwsVHJbLqnl40aw_PsPCz8-IontFJP03L9uNZmHUflcewgg3khgmF706rE8Rsu9tSlre7I4lV53AX4VReCQHBU5DCs_E920bY9XP-CdYGtaLqrJ3s36xiWAr1d0jogqW6AvEI]
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Text of Admiral Mullen's Prepared Testimony

NEW YORK TIMES

Chairman Levin, Senator McCain and distinguished members of the Committee, thank
 you for the opportunity to testify on the subject of the President's newly announced
strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The President's Tuesday evening announcement at West Point of our strategy and increased
military resources for Afghanistan culminates a process of deliberate strategic 
review that began with the arrival of General McChrystal's interim assessment in
 early September. I believe this national-level review has been sober and essential.
The challenges we face in Afghanistan and Pakistan are great, and our interests 
there are significant. This Administration needed to take the time to look at all
the options and craft a balanced and sustainable approach. I believe that the review
has met this aim.

I support fully, and without hesitation, the President's decision. Read more here...
[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102848015797&s=23764&e=001xj1QDwDuXN-NOovf8AlaQSm6S4N7BmPuiAG588Lqe7gjmSmu--D87tR1oUhxAWhQ2_OBVtDAnkQaJKDAifQs_59GSmjtkcGKj9LOrhpU_EXdXGAgkxMYOVxAzVTEm5fejH6yK6tOyTOFcGA9OU2n_FJvBxxclOTe4uhtqWqbbFOISnbDg7V2KQ==]
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Most New US Forces for Afghanistan Will Be Sent to Taliban Stronghold in South

NEW YORK TIMES

An American military official said Wednesday that the bulk of new combat forces 
approved by President Obama would be sent to southern Afghanistan, an area including
Helmand and Kandahar Provinces that is the financial and spiritual base of the Taliban
as well as the deadliest part of the country for American troops.

Two combat brigades, one from the Marines and one from the Army, will go to the 
south, while another Army brigade will be sent to eastern Afghanistan, the official
said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Army combat brigades usually comprise
about 5,000 soldiers.

The flow of forces will begin "in earnest" next month, the official said, and a 
majority of troops will be deployed by next summer. Read more here... [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102848015797&s=23764&e=001xj1QDwDuXN_VC7ILx6Ja8XZwJPVxQFf7k_9Z1qixIh1TMoruvhEWDdZpWQ3HEngGyE4PQLxrezxVlSbEMQ9srjGA2eURqHA3Ef9mbpPZv4aXT67E-wWTMJQUFcS1KT1u8fsyOZ4PzjQFOgIkEtgsJrN9jVfdlHAx64DvgKoseIMM0t5lJSwobA==]
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