Drama For Obama

Holy s--t, Batman, the danger is imminent:

Barack Obama, the US president, is to be told that to avoid a repeat of the devastating 9/11 attacks on America or Britain he must dramatically step up aid to Pakistan.

A team headed by Bruce Riedel, a former CIA Middle East expert, asked to overhaul US policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan, has concluded that stabilising Pakistan is now the higher priority, a source familiar with the discussions has revealed.
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Recent "apocalyptic" intelligence on the situation in Pakistan has sent shockwaves through the upper echelons of the Obama administration and convinced Mr Riedel's review team that radicals trained in Pakistan are the greatest threat to Western security.

One White House aide emerged from an intelligence briefing on Pakistan three days after Mr Obama's inauguration to exclaim: "Holy s--t!"

Most Britons don't buy their government's argument for keeping a military presence in Afghanistan, a poll published Monday shows.

A BBC-commissioned ComRes poll showed that 60 percent of Britons don't believe their leaders have made the case for keeping troops in the war-torn country.
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The poll also showed that nearly three-quarters of Britons believe there should be an official inquiry into the decision to go to war in Iraq once Britain removes most of its remaining forces from the country there in July.

Afghanistan won't be winning American Idol this week either. USA Today:

Afghan war hits peak of disfavor
In poll, more call action 'a mistake'

WASHINGTON — American support for the war in Afghanistan has ebbed to a new low, as attacks on U.S. troops and their allies have hit record levels and commanders are pleading for reinforcements, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows.

In the poll taken Saturday and Sunday, 42% of respondents said the United States made "a mistake" in sending military forces to Afghanistan, up from 30% in February. That's the highest mark since the poll first asked the question in November 2001 when the U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban government that sheltered al-Qaeda terrorists responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

In other news from London:

THE TALIBAN leader, Mullah Omar, has given his approval for talks aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan and has allowed his representatives to attend Saudi-sponsored peace negotiations.

“Mullah Omar has given the green light to talks,” said one of the mediators, Abdullah Anas, a former friend of Osama Bin Laden who used to fight in Afghanistan but now lives in London.

One of those negotiating for the Afghan government confirmed: “It’s extremely sensitive but we have been in contact both with Mullah Omar’s direct representatives and commanders from the front line.”

The breakthrough emerged after President Barack Obama admitted that US-led forces are not winning the war in Afghanistan and called for negotiations with “moderate Taliban”.
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A Sunday Times poll published today found that 64% of respondents favour talking to the Taliban to achieve a deal. Some 69% said the aim of stabilising Afghanistan was not sufficiently worthwhile to risk the lives of British troops and 64% thought the war could never be won.

...Russia supports US operations in Afghanistan and is ready to contribute to stabilising the country, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published Monday during his visit to Kabul.
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"At this stage the presence in Afghanistan of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), uniting basically the US military contingent and NATO allies, is a factor restraining terrorism and in this regard is in Afghanistan's interests," Lavrov said according to the transcript.

"On this basis Russia decided to allow the use of its territory for over-land transit of non-military supplies to ISAF," he said.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said Moscow will begin a comprehensive military rearmament from 2011.

Mr Medvedev said the primary task would be to "increase the combat readiness of [Russia's] forces, first of all our strategic nuclear forces".

Explaining the move, he cited concerns over Nato expansion near Russia's borders and regional conflicts.

Senior military officials have submitted three separate reviews to the White House: those from Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of American forces in the region; and Lt. Gen. Douglas E. Lute, of the National Security Council. That work has contributed to the final package being assembled by Bruce O. Riedel, a former C.I.A. analyst who is chairman of the administration’s strategic review. Others involved in the review include Richard C. Holbrooke, the special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Michele A. Flournoy, the under secretary of defense for policy.

Administration officials said Mr. Obama would probably announce the findings late next week or the week after, in advance of an international conference on Afghanistan that is scheduled for the end of the month in The Hague. Drafts of the final strategy are expected to be reviewed by a cabinet-level panel of Mr. Obama’s national security team next week. A senior Pentagon official said the review would set out specific goals over the next three to five years.

The poll found more optimism about the war in Iraq... A majority, 51%, said the war is going well there, about the same as in September. Those saying it is going badly declined to 43% from 47% in September and a peak of 71% in January 2007.

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