Author Archives: admin

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Afghan withdrawal not even close to halfway done

Posted on July 24, 2012 by admin

If you read only the news headlines, you missed the big Afghanistan story this week. The Associated Press headline reads: “US Afghan withdrawal halfway done.” The first paragraph clarifies that withdrawal planned for this summer is halfway done. That means … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged Afghan security forces, aid, drawdown, Public opinion, War costs | 2 Comments

Afghanistan Weekly Reader: Congress Backs Spending Billions on Afghanistan War

Posted on July 20, 2012 by admin

For a brief time, the war in Afghanistan took center stage this week as the U.S. House of Representatives started debate on next year’s defense spending levels. A number of amendments to the defense spending bill call for speeding up … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged Afghanistan Weekly Reader, aid, strategy, timetable, War costs | Leave a comment

Money as a Weapons System

Posted on July 17, 2012 by admin

In the war in Afghanistan, money, the good ol’ American greenback, is used as a primary tool in the U.S. arsenal — a means to winning the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan and buying our frenemies’ “loyalty”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged aid, defense spending, drawdown, strategy, War costs, withdraw | Leave a comment

Afghanistan Weekly Reader: Afghanistan Drawdown Will Cost Billions

Posted on July 12, 2012 by admin

While there are still a lot of unanswered questions about what the U.S. presence to Afghanistan will look like after 2014, the U.S. took a step towards clarifying its commitment this week by designating Afghanistan a major non-NATO ally. International … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged Afghanistan Weekly Reader, aid, drawdown, exit strategy, War costs | Leave a comment

U.S. Commits to Billions in Afghanistan Aid

Posted on July 10, 2012 by admin

At the international aid conference in Tokyo there was another sign that the U.S. will continue to spend billions on aid to Afghanistan, despite serious questions about how aid dollars are spent. At the conference donor nations pledged $16 billion … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged aid, defense spending, diplomacy, drawdown, economy, strategy | Leave a comment

Afghanistan Weekly Reader: Moving Supplies to Afghanistan Cost $2.1 Billion

Posted on July 6, 2012 by admin

In good news for U.S. operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan reopened its border crossings to NATO supply convoys this week. The eight-month closure had a high price: over $2.1 billion transferred from other defense programs to pay for moving supplies through … Continue reading →

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Afghanistan war costs come at the expense of other defense programs

Posted on July 2, 2012 by admin

When Pakistan closed its border crossings to NATO convoys after a NATO airstrike mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, the war in Afghanistan got more expensive. Only now, months later, are we learning just how expensive. The Pentagon is requesting congressional … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged defense spending, Pakistan, strategy, War costs | Leave a comment

Afghanistan Weekly Reader: Moving Defense Dollars to Fund the War

Posted on June 28, 2012 by admin

The closure of Pakistan’s supply routes last fall caused a spike in the costs of supplying NATO troops in Afghanistan. Now the Pentagon is seeking congressional approval to transfer $100 million per month from other defense programs to the cover … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged Afghanistan Weekly Reader, COIN, exit strategy, Pakistan, War costs | Leave a comment

Seeking Responsible Policymakers on Afghanistan

Posted on June 26, 2012 by admin

Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s “Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan”, released today, lends new support to critiques of the Obama administration’s handling of the Afghanistan war. According to Little America, the administration squandered a chance to end the war … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged COIN, Congress, Public opinion, strategy, War costs, withdraw | Leave a comment

Afghanistan Weekly Reader: $11 billion for Afghanistan Aid for the Next Decade

Posted on June 21, 2012 by admin

The spring offensive in Afghanistan continues with more insurgent attacks against U.S. and Afghan troops. The uptick in violence has raised fears about the capability of the Afghan security forces. But both Afghan President Karzai and U.S. General John Allen, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog | Tagged Afghan security forces, Afghanistan Weekly Reader, strategy, War costs | Leave a comment ← Older posts Newer posts →