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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! November 19, 2009 Mop needed. Plumber, tooBy GreyhawkWhen it comes to Afghanistan - America's top national security concern today - the "leaks" from the administration have amounted to a flood, with new and seemingly contradictory reports appearing daily in the global media. It's been going on for months, but now President Obama says it's "not appropriate". Here's a look back at the history of the problem.
CBS - Obama: I'd Fire Afghan Decision Leakers.
In the same interview, "the president said it's still several weeks before he makes a decision on how many more troops to send to Afghanistan." He told CNN "we are very close to a decision" on Afghanistan, and "I will announce that decision, certainly in the next several weeks."
Earlier this month, sources revealed to ABC News that "as of now President Obama will likely announce his decision about a new strategy in Afghanistan at some point between the Afghan run-off election, November 7, and the president's departure for Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, November 11." But almost immediately afterward other sources revealed that it "appears increasingly likely that Obama will not announce his new Afghanistan strategy until after returning to the United States on Nov. 20." But late last week a leak from senior U.S. officials revealed that Ambassador Eikenberry's memos expressed "deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until President Hamid Karzai's government demonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption and mismanagement that has fueled the Taliban's rise, senior U.S. officials said." ...and that could be cause for further delay. The Gates comparison from the CBS story ("Reid says he asked the president if he's as angry as Defense Secretary Robert Gates about all the leaks...") was in reference to a recent report headlined "Gates Lashes Out at Leakers" in which the secretary was quoted as saying "I am appalled by the amount of leaking that has been going on." "If I found out who" was involved, he said, "it would probably be a career ender." He also expressed concerns over the complexity of the president's approach to Afghanistan: "How do we signal resolve, and at the same time, signal to the Afghans and the American people that this is not open-ended?" However, the fact that those were actually administration concerns wasn't officially leaked until the following day: One senior administration official, who requested anonymity in order to reflect the details and tone of confidential deliberations, said these concerns had added to the president's insistence at a White House meeting on Wednesday that each military option include the quickest possible exit strategy. As for possible troop numbers, while late October leaks had indicated the president was leaning towards a smaller number, ("...what one official described as "McChrystal Light''), in early November McClatchy declared Obama leaning toward 34,000 more troops for Afghanistan - but noted that "the officials, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss internal administration planning, cautioned that Obama's decision isn't final. CBS quickly trumped that story with the dramatic announcement that "informed sources tell CBS News [Obama] intends to give Gen. Stanley McChrystal most, if not all, the additional troops he is asking for". That report prompted an administration response CBS described as "attributed to White House National Security Advisor James Jones": Reports that President Obama has made a decision about Afghanistan are absolutely false. Last week, McClatchy revealed that according to their sources (no less than six military and administration officials who had requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly), those leaks had "deprived Eikenberry and other officials of the ability to tell Karzai that no more American troops will be forthcoming if he doesn't agree to implement reforms." And worse...
However, they added in perhaps unintentional hilarity, "The official, like others who were interviewed for this article, requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly. However, according to a half-dozen U.S. military and administration officials..." So that might explain why the president is starting to get upset about leaks. Meanwhile, Spencer Ackerman recently described a dramatic scene inside the White House...
...however, unlike most reporters who have been recipients of leaks, Ackerman later retracted the story: "My original source for the post stands by the account provided. The individual, a National Security Council staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity, has provided truthful and verified information on past stories, and so I trusted the source for this one..." But "White House spokesman Tommy Vietor says he checked with Amb. Eikenberry's office and the teleconference call reported in this post did not occur." General McChrystal's Afghan report was leaked on September 21. In conjunction with the leak, And Three officers at the Pentagon and in Kabul told McClatchy that the McChrystal they know would resign before he'd stand behind a faltering policy that he thought would endanger his forces or the strategy.Shortly after, One Pentagon source said that the leak of the assessment probably came from McChrystal's staff and represented an increased effort by counterinsurgency-focused officers in theater to pressure the administration to raise troop levels, in light of what they see as Obama's wobbling on the issue.But "The secretary of defense does not believe that General McChrystal or his team was responsible for leaking this sensitive information," Morrell continued. "Nor are we wasting our time playing Washington parlor games trying to figure out who did it. ... We have better things to do." Meanwhile, in an attributed quote, Hillary Clinton announced "there are other assessments from very expert military analysts who have worked in counter-insurgencies that are the exact opposite." Unfortunately, she didn't name them. Shortly after, a 'leak' from 'officials' revealed Joe Biden* as head of the opposition (a role he would never confirm or deny): Among the alternatives being presented to Mr. Obama is Mr. Biden's suggestion to revamp the strategy altogether. Instead of increasing troops, officials said, Mr. Biden proposed scaling back the overall American military presence. There were actually multiple 'leaks' in this story before the McChrystal report was 'leaked', but that leak was required to really get people's attention. In August, a leak revealed the due-date of McChrystal's report was changed in a secret meeting: The timing of Gen. McChrystal's primary assessment remains in flux. It was initially due in mid-August, but the commander was summoned to a secret meeting in Belgium last week with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and told to take more time. Military officials say the assessment will now be released sometime after the Aug. 20 vote. A separate leak revealed that "President Barack Obama next month will send Congress a new plan for measuring progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in an effort to build confidence among wavering Democrats and give sharper direction to a costly and increasingly bloody war, White House officials told POLITICO on Saturday." The same story predicted additional leaks could follow: The document will include specific metrics under nine broad objectives -- some of them classified, and divided roughly half for Afghanistan and half for Pakistan. The list has not been released, but is likely to leak after it goes to lawmakers. Shortly thereafter, the London Times revealed that "The United States should send up to 45,000 extra troops to Afghanistan, a senior adviser to the American commander in Kabul has told The Times." His name was actually given in the report, however, other reports suggested that "several officials who have taken part in Gen. McChrystal's 60-day review of the war effort said they expect him to ultimately request as many as 10,000 more troops". But according to sources, McChrystal had been told to separate the troop request from his assessment explaining how the numbers were determined. Regardless of how he resolves the internal debate on troop numbers, Gen. McChrystal's coming report won't include any specific requests for more U.S. troops. Those numbers would instead be detailed in a follow-on document that is set to be delivered to Washington a few weeks after the assessment. So following the leak of the assessment, as September came to an end "General McChrystal's troop request, which has not been made public, was given to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, by the general in a meeting in Germany on Friday." Actually, a secret meeting in Germany that was revealed to Fox News (and other sources) via a leak. The story also repeated previous leaks that McChrystal's request would include a large number, a medium number, and a small number of troops, with each figure tied to a probability of success. The New York Times would credit multiple sources ("officials", "people briefed on the discussion", "White House aides", "some advisers", "other officers", "an Army official, who asked not to be identified because General McChrystal's troop request had not been made public", and "others") for its story headlined "Plan to Boost Afghan Forces Splits Obama Advisers", a story that also said "General McChrystal is expected to ask for as many as 40,000 additional troops" for Afghanistan. Meanwhile, "officials" leaked additional details of what other officials claimed was the Biden* plan: Among the alternatives being presented to Mr. Obama is Mr. Biden's suggestion to revamp the strategy altogether. Instead of increasing troops, officials said, Mr. Biden proposed scaling back the overall American military presence. Rather than trying to protect the Afghan population from the Taliban, American forces would concentrate on strikes against Qaeda cells, primarily in Pakistan, using special forces, Predator missile attacks and other surgical tactics. And "...a senior defense official said that Defense Secretary Robert Gates now worries that counterinsurgency might no longer be a viable approach for countering the Taliban violence roiling once-stable parts of north and west Afghanistan." As October began, the Washington Post headlined that according to leaks they'd received, "White House Eyeing Narrower War Effort".
However, in a report on General McChrystal's London speech, the UK's Telegraph would attempt to break the Guiness record for number of vaguely-sourced leaks in one story:
Within days, a New York Times headline declared "Obama Rules Out Large Reduction in Afghan Force". They identified their source for that leaked information from a closed-door meeting between the president and congressional officials as "White House officials".
The story also cited "several people in the room", "one administration official, who, like others quoted in this article, requested anonymity to discuss the closed-door meeting", "participants", and "those in attendance". Meanwhile, back at the Washington Post, Rajiv Chandrasekaran revealed that "With the costs now clearer, some officials at the National Security Council and the State Department who voiced support for counterinsurgency in March have started to consider other options." "It was easy to say, 'Hey, I support COIN,' because nobody had done the assessment of what it would really take, and nobody had thought through whether we want to do what it takes," said one senior civilian administration official who participated in the review, using the shorthand for counterinsurgency. Shortly thereafter the president won the Nobel Peace Prize. The following day, the London Times quoted a "senior official" who said that "President Obama is prepared to accept some Taleban involvement in Afghanistan's political future and is unlikely to favour a large influx of new American troops being demanded by his ground commander".
And while George Stephanopoulus might have thought his leak (describing "key questions tied to any troop recommendation" revolved around the future of the Afghan Government) was a scoop... Several Administration officials tell me that President Obama's national security team will generate new military and strategic options for Afghanistan beyond the recommendations already presented by General Stanley McChrystal...- Joe Klein had already revealed at least part of it a few days before Several of the principals involved in Obama's strategy review have told me that their ultimate position on troop levels will depend on whether a plausible government, newly committed to reform, emerges when the Afghanistan election process is finally completed. However, Martha Raddatz had quite a bombshell: "The troop request on the desks of the president and his national security team outlines three options, according to a source familiar with the document." That was hardly news, but the newly-leaked numbers were:
And "Other sources who have seen the request say the high number of troops requested is 80,000." That was certainly different than Klein's (and everyone else's) earlier report: "...the military's all-in option, a request for 40,000 more troops, is just that: an option. It is the upper end of three options that McChrystal has offered the President, I'm told; the low option was 10,000 troops, and the middle one was 25,000." Meanwhile, Newsweek reported (in a long cover story on Joe Biden*) that everything you'd heard about "his" plan for Afghanistan ("Mr. Biden proposed scaling back the overall American military presence... American forces would concentrate on strikes against Qaeda cells, primarily in Pakistan") was wrong: Biden has been incorrectly characterized as a dove who wants to pull out of Afghanistan. In fact, according to his "Counterterrorism-Plus" paper, he wants to maintain a large troop presence. He also favors a greater emphasis on training Afghan troops--and defending Kabul and Kandahar--than on chasing the Taliban around the countryside, and he wants more diplomatic efforts to try to peel away those Taliban who can be bought with money or other inducements (like political power). However, they did not reveal their source for (or publish) "his Counterterrorism-Plus" paper". In England, leaks had become so confusing that The Guardian would report "Obama quietly deploying 13,000 more US troops to Afghanistan" - a story based on original leaks to the Washington Post, but completely wrong. As the end of October neared... However, A "senior administration official who has participated in the Afghanistan policy review and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss it" told the Washington Post that Obama had requested data on provincial governments. ...the Post reports the request for detail "reflects the administration's turn toward Afghanistan's provincial governors, tribal leaders and local militias as potentially more effective partners in the effort than a historically weak central government that is confronting questions of legitimacy after the flawed Aug. 20 presidential election". Earlier in the month, Republicans had begun earnestly attacking the president for what they considered "dithering" on Afghanistan. And that brings us to November, where our story began with reports of 40,000 troops approaching Afghanistan, according to officials. Last week the New York Times reported: ...say so, at least, on the condition that their names not appear:
As far as that "series of questions" goes, Bob Woodward (who you may recall started all the fun in the first place) "revealed that the President has no fewer than 32 issues on the table that need answers before he can decide how to go forward on Afghanistan. We're not sure who he heard that from. And while we've barely scratched the surface of leak reports over the last few months, now that the leaking has stopped perhaps the president will get on to the other 31. Update - the Washington Post today: President Obama will not announce his decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan before the Thanksgiving holiday, senior aides said Thursday. *Footnote: Joe Biden is Vice President of the United States. Posted by Greyhawk / November 19, 2009 11:49 AM | Permalink 3 TrackBacksTrackBack URL: http://www.mudvillegazette.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/16972 Some in the White House might get a bit wobbly in the knees reading this Washington Post story, but in the end author Rajiv Chandrasekaran only provides some additional details of how the Obama administration wasted a year "focused" on "the Karzai prob... Read More If you haven't read this and this, and this yet, now would be a good time to do so. The story defies logic and belief, but unfortunately if the US State Department (or the White House) hasn't responded clearly and forcefully to unequivocally deny the a... Read More Headlined "Obama plans to send 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan" - this news from McClatchy...President Barack Obama met Monday evening with his national security team to finalize a plan to dispatch some 34,000 additional U.S. troops over the next yea... Read More 1 CommentLeave a comment |
February 3, 2010Dawn Patrol 02/03/2010 [Mrs Greyhawk]
Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. Hat Tips to the Dawn Patrol are greatly appreciated.Refresh for updates.
AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTANPentagon Behind Obama Schedule for Deploying Troops to Afghanistan -- [FOX] Mullen: Afghanistan success window small -- [Washington Times] US Marines facing a 'different war' in Afghanistan -- [AFP] Predators pound terrorist camp in North Waziristan -- [Long War Journal - Bill Roggio] Eyes in the Sky -- [Army Live] Revenge on the Taliban, from 10,000 feet -- [Washington Post] Pakistan blast kills US soldiers (Video) -- [BBC] 3 G.I.s Killed in Pakistan. Now Can We Start Treating This Like a Real War? -- [Danger Room - Noah Shachtman] Never take it for granted -- [One Marine's View - in Afghanistan] It's the Economy, Undergraduate -- [At War] Around ANA Land -- -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan] Dari Keyboard -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan] Taking Tea with the Taliban -- [Commentary Mag - Michael Rubin] New Afghan police officers graduate -- [Helmand Blog] U.S. military officers could face punishment over ambush in Afghanistan -- [Washington Post] Afghans protest to Iran over border killings -- [Reuters] IRAQBomb kills 20 in Iraqi Shi'ite city of Kerbala -- [Reuters] Obama, Biden meet with Iraqi VP -- [AFP] Iraq court lifts ban on hundreds of candidates -- [Atlanta Journal Constitution] Blair Called a Liar in Iraq Inquiry -- [NY Times] U.S. AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLDMultiple Air Force crews, Landstuhl staff team up to save Peace Corps member injured in Kazakhstan -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany ] Iran hints at prisoner swap for 3 U.S. hikers -- [Washington Times] US Denies Speaking to Iran About Prisoner Swap -- [Voice of America] Ahmadinejad backs deal to remove bulk of enriched uranium from Iran -- [Washington Post] US wary as Iran president agrees nuclear deal terms -- [BBC] Emergency Assistance Still Hasn't Reached Many Haitians -- [Washington Post] China's threat to sanction US firms in arms sale could backfire -- [Los Angeles Times] Corrected: Obama to meet Dalai Lama despite Chinese warnings -- [Reuters] WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISMPanetta: Terror Attack in US Likely Soon -- [Military.com/AP] Would-be LAX terrorist's prison sentence overturned as too lenient -- [Los Angeles Times] Bill Would Forbid Civilian 9/11 Trials -- [Military.com/Atlanta Journal-Constitution] DOJ's New Tool Against Criticism: New Media -- [FOX] Brennan: All Transferred Detainees Who Returned to Terrorism Were Released by Bush, No Recidivism for Those Released by Obama -- [ABC News] Is there an adult in there somewhere? Bueller? Bueller? -- [The Armorer] MI5 hunting breast implants of death -- [WND] SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOTImpact of deployment on kids -- negative reporting and troop bashing hurts them too -- [You Served] Interview with Lorrie Nichols of The Journal of An Army Wife -- [Army Wives Lives] The Predictably Unpredictable Army Strikes Again.... -- [SpouseBuzz - Andi] They Ache -- [SpouseBuzz - Sarah] Military OneSource Tax Filing Services -- [Military OneSource] Wounded Warrior returns to West Point as WTU Commander -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany] MILITARYLaw barring lies about military medals faces test -- [Washington Post] Why Stolen Valor doesn't violate 1st Amendment -- [This Ain't Hell...] Air Force Academy creates worship area for pagans, Druids -- [USA Today] The Wiccan Cross -- [Greyhawk]
WELCOME HOMEArrival at Home- Final Post -- [Doc H - home from Afghanistan] I have been home for a few days now. Tricia and the kids met me at the airport around midnight. It was a joyous reunion that was just a little overdue. Amazingly the kids went to school and continued their activities the next day. There was a nice banner on display in the house welcoming me back home. Our trip to home was even more circuitous as time went by. Due to a heavy snowstorm in Baltimore, our transatlantic flight diverted to JFK airport in New York. We had a night in a hotel nearby and completed our journey to Baltimore the next day Shorn -- [OPFOR - Lt Col P - heading home from Afghanistan]
THE MEDIA/SOCIAL MEDIAIf Not Now, When?: Duty and Sacrifice in America's Time of Need Wins 2010 Colby Award -- [PR Newswire] CSI: Miami - Promoting the Good in Iraq -- [A Soldier's Perspective] Jeremy Renner nominated for best actor in 'The Hurt Locker' 'The Hurt Locker' may rewrite script on Iraq war movies -- [NY Daily News] Charlie Brooker - How To Report The News
POLITICSSeeking balance: the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review -- [Foreign Policy Review] Don't ask Don't Tell -- [Greyhawk] The Case Against Gays in the Military -- [Wall Street Journal] Credit Where Credit is Due -- [BlackFive - Grim] Marine Ilario Pantano for Congress! -- [BlackFive] HUMOR / SATIRE'Gays Too Precious To Risk In Combat,' Says General -- [The Onion]
Iraq, Afghanistan, War, Terrorism, Military, Politics, Media, MilBlogs, dawn patrol Mudville
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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
  
 
 I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email. Original content copyright © 2003 - 2009 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed. Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com  |
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President Obama is going to surprise everybody. The Right the Left and the Middle. In the first week of December he will speak to the nation and inform us of his Afghanistan plan. First he will fire Ambassador Karl Eikenberry then he will announce that he is sending in 48,000 additional troops into Afghanistan over the next 3 months. He will also state that a major offensive is currently underway and that we are taking back provences currently under Talban control. In addition he will inform America and Europe that 100's of drone, cruise missiles, and bombers are currently bombing strong hold positions in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Allahu Akbar! Now back to your regularly schedule programming. Hey a person can dream right?