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Obama's strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan

IceCreamYou's picture

<a href="http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/03/27/obamas-strategy-for-afghanistan-and-pakistan/">CSMonitor</a> wrote:

President Obama unveiled a new Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy Friday that includes new troops — beyond the 17,000 additional US soldiers the president has already ordered ­ new civilian development personnel, and new aid.

But the plan also for the first time sets benchmarks – or, as the president preferred to call them, “metrics” – for US involvement in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, suggesting the military engagement is not open-ended and that both the Afghan and Pakistani governments must deliver on particular objectives. Those include reining in corruption for the Afghans and closing down Al Qaeda and Taliban safe havens for the Pakistanis.

Obama makes video appeal to Iran

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<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090320/pl_nm/us_obama_iran_1">Yahoo!</a> wrote:
U.S. President Barack Obama issued an unprecedented videotaped appeal to Iran on Friday offering a "new beginning" of diplomatic engagement to turn the page on decades of U.S. policy toward America's longtime foe.

Gates: Pakistan Question is "Most Worrisome"

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U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday that he knows from experience that Afghani resistance forces' lawless hideouts in Pakistan will be the most difficult obstacle for U.S. forces in Afghanistan because the U.S. used similar Pakistani bases to support Afghan rebels in the 1980s.  Obama's administration is set to send almost 20,000 troops to Afghanistan as the war in Iraq winds down.

Iran's Nuclear Program Has Enough Uranium for Atomic Bomb

greenhattedamigo's picture

According to a recent report from atomic inspectors, Tehran controls one-third more enriched uranium than was released.  According to the officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency, this newly-released amount—more than a ton—is sufficient to create a nuclear weapon, if the uran

Hamas Seizes Gaza Food Aid

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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon demanded that Hamas stop stealing international aid to the people in Gaza.  There is speculation that some of the stolen aid was supposed to go to Fatah-supported groups; recently (Fatah) Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad proposed a new, more efficient way to provide aid to the Palestinian people by directing it through Fatah or private banks.  The aid is particularly important right now, following the recent war with Israel, especially since the Israeli military and navy have restricted aid that can pass through with the goal of blocking arms smuggling.  And the news comes as two Gaza rockets hit Israel two days before Israeli elections expected to instate a more defense-oriented government.

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