Related Content: Afghanistan
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. |
Obama is Both Commander, Campaigner in Chief Ahead of bin Laden AnniversaryEssential Reads Rarely has a president blended the role of commander in chief with that of campaigner in chief quite as vividly as President Obama has done in the days surrounding the first anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death. |
The Backstory: 9/11 and the Death of Osama bin LadenWeb content Martha Raddatz, ABC News Senior Foreign Affairs Correspondent, recalls a personal conversation with her son on the night Osama bin Laden was killed. She also discusses how September 11th changed Americans and changed journalism in Washington Week's "The Backstory." |
Panetta Apologizes for PhotosOn The Radar Secretary of Defense sorry for photos of U.S. |
Details Emerge on Coming U.S. Offensive in Eastern AfghanistanOn The Radar A campaign that will likely be the last major U.S. offensive of the Afghan War is set to begin later this year in eastern Afghanistan, the region where the conflict began and where senior NATO officials hope their involvement will effectively come to an end. U.S. officials in Kabul and Washington have provided National Journal an array of details about the coming push, which represents a high-stakes -- and politically complicated -- attempt to better secure Kabul as well as Afghanistan’s porous border with Pakistan before the American exit from the country accelerates. |
Afghanistan Shooting Suspect to Be ChargedOn The Radar Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will be officially charged with 17 counts of murder. |
Military Accident Caught on TapeOn The Radar Martha Raddatz on the video of an apache helicopter crashing in Afghanistan. |
