Related Content: Afghanistan
Charting Obama’s Journey to a Shift on AfghanistanEssential Reads It was just one brief exchange about Afghanistan with an aide late in 2009, but it suggests how President Obama’s thinking about what he once called “a war of necessity” began to radically change less than a year after he took up residency in the White House. |
Supply Lines Cast Shadow at NATO Meeting on Afghan WarEssential Reads President Obama was struggling to balance the United States’ relationship with two crucial but difficult allies on Sunday, after a deal to reopen supply lines through Pakistan to Afghanistan fell apart just as Mr. Obama began talks on ending the NATO alliance’s combat role in the Afghan war. |
May 04, 2012Weekly Show The U.S. and China continue to negotiate over activist Chen Guangcheng's travel to America. Plus, President Obama visited Afghanistan on the one year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death. Also, new unemployment numbers and the 2012 presidential race. Joining Gwen: Martha Raddatz, ABC News; Peter Baker, New York Times; David Wessel, Wall Street Journal; Charles Babington, Associated Press. |
Recovered Bin Laden Letters Show a Divided Al QaedaEssential Reads Sitting in his secret refuge, hiding from the world, Osama bin Laden spent the last months of his life rethinking strategy, worrying about his legacy and struggling to maintain control over the sprawling terrorist network that operated in his name. He had grown disgruntled with far-flung offshoots theoretically under his umbrella and fretted that too many of the “brothers” were alienating Muslims with attacks on fellow believers. |
The Advantage of IncumbencyGwen's Take Mitt Romney’s May Day plan seemed pretty reasonable for a man who had been systematically and successfully clearing his path to the Republican nomination for more than a year. Republicans had been quietly dinging President Barack Obama throughout the previous weekend for appearing to be taking a victory lap leading up to the anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden. |
Romney Team May Have Stirred Storm Over Gay AideEssential Reads It was the biggest moment yet for Mitt Romney’s foreign policy team: a conference call last Thursday, dialed into by dozens of news outlets from around the globe, to dissect and denounce President’s Obama record on national security. |
Secrecy Paramount on Obama’s 36-Hour Secret Afghan TripEssential Reads The cryptic call summoning reporters to the White House came at 12:19 p.m. Sunday from a private number and lasted only 25 seconds. By the following night, Air Force One was in the air. In the next 36 hours, the 13-member pool of reporters who travel wherever the president goes would spend almost 28 hours in the air, fly in dual-rotor Chinook helicopters across the Hindu Kush mountain range, visit the presidential palace in Kabul, cover an address to the nation. All of it done under a cover of darkness. |
Bin Laden and BallotsEssential Reads We're far enough away from it now that we can probably all agree: It was a mistake for George W. Bush to land on that aircraft carrier in a flight suit to proclaim "Mission Accomplished." And not just because the war in Iraq was far from over at that point. Every president crows about his successes in war — assuming he has anything to crow about. But he should try to seem modest and statesmanlike while doing so. |
Charlie Wilson's War; Obama's PeaceEssential Reads Embedded deep within President Obama's appearance in Afghanistan on the one-year anniversary of the special forces raid that killed 9/11 architect Osama bin Laden was a post-Cold War commander-in-chief's declaration he wouldn't repeat the mistakes of his Cold War predecessors. Obama didn't say it in so many words, but his 11-minute address to the nation from Bagram Air Base was a promise to wage Charlie Wilson's war under the guise of Obama's peace. |
In Kabul, Obama Highlights Foreign Policy RecordEssential Reads President Barack Obama answered political taunts with presidential muscle Tuesday, addressing the nation from Kabul as Republicans said he's overdoing the celebration of Osama bin Laden's death one year ago. The president's secret flight to Afghanistan — where he signed off on details for withdrawing U.S. troops from the decade-long war there — was the type of campaign counterpunch that may play out many times in his re-election battle against Republican Mitt Romney. |
