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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.
Poll: 7 in 10 Afghans support US forces -- [Washington Post]
AP KABUL -- Nearly seven in 10 Afghans support the presence of US forces in their country, and 61 percent favor the military buildup of
Irony - White House "Chafes" At Afghan Surge's "Slow Pace" -- [BlackFive - McQ]
The president that decided to again change strategies in Afghanistan after announcing his "new" and "comprehensive" strategy soon after taking office and then dithered for months before making a decision on the "surge" is now concerned that the troops he's committed aren't magically going to be there and ready when he wants them there.
Michael Yon: Trouble With the TSA & the Future of the War in Afghanistan -- [PJTV]
Michael Yon delivers his latest Afghanistan dispatch directly to Instapundit Glenn Reynolds.
Stop Making Sense -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
It is proving impossible to get a read on "the Afghan street" since our Commander in Chief articulated the new set of tactics for Afghanistan at his speech at West Point. It is clear the dynamics on the ground have changed and that this change is being driven by the fact that our great communicator placed an arbitrary date on when we will be done and start going home. Of course nobody in Afghanistan or any place else on planet earth believes we will start to pull out in 18 months but that is not the point. Afghans currently populating positions of power have paid hefty sums to be appointed to those positions and are insisting on getting a good return on their investments before the gravy train leaves the station. My military friends have seen the same thing as they fight endless battles on the Niper net to get the food allowances and other petty cash paid to their Afghan Army soldiers without getting the Afghan senior officers they mentor fired for bringing the problem up in the first place.
Chief Master Sgt To Guam Airmen: Get Ready To Secure Afghanistan -- [Guam News]
In a written commentary to Airmen that was posted on the Andersen Air Force Base website recently, Chief Master Sgt. James A. Roy commended U.S. Airmen for a job well done in the Central Command Area of Responsibility (CENTCOM AOR), which includes Iraq and Afghanistan.
But the high-ranking official absolves noone of any imminent responsibility.
Recognizing that while plans may be in the works to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq in 2011, Roy said President Obama's recent deployment of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan underscores the critical role the Air Force will play in the region for the foreseeable future.
Roy is the official in charge of the U.S. Air Force's enlisted men and women and represents their interests on multiple fronts.
US airstrike kills 4 Taliban fighters in North Waziristan -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
The US killed four Taliban fighters in the latest strike on a Taliban camp in Pakistan's tribal agency of North Waziristan. The strike targeted a Taliban training camp in the village of Ismail Khan in an area west of Miramshah. The compound is said to be run by Rasta Barkhan, a tribesman closely linked to the Taliban. At least one unmanned strike aircraft fired two missiles into the training center, AFP reported. Five unmanned aircraft were said to be operating in the area prior to the attack. The missile strike took place in territory run by Hafiz Gul Bahadar, the Taliban commander who administers North Waziristan. The Pakistani military signed a peace agreement with Bahadar even though he continues to shelter al Qaeda leaders and fighters, and sends his forces to battle the US and NATO in Afghanistan. The last three strikes in Pakistan have taken place in tribal areas run by Bahadar.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal Says Tide Is Turning in Afghanistan -- [ABC News]
Gen. Stanley McChrystal believes the U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan has already blunted the Taliban's momentum and the tide is turning against the Taliban.
In an exclusive interview with ABC's "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said he believes he is making good on his promise of a "quantum shift" on the battlefield.
Provincial Governor, TF Lethal Warrior Visit Western Kunar Districts -- [PRT-Kunar - in Afghanistan]
...Pearl praised the elders for their strength and asked them to use it to improve their districts. "Thank you for supporting our soldiers," he said. "Since you are the elders and you're a strong group, I ask that you protect my soldiers as they protect you and your families."
At the Manogai shura, Pearl used an analogy for security that brought a hearty hurrah from the group. "Coalition Forces, the government, ANA, ANP and the elders cannot do it alone. We are like five fingers going five separate ways," he said. "But, when we come together we are like a fist and we can do great things."
Wahidi said the trip was a good opportunity to see the progress being made in the districts since his last trip nearly a year ago.
Marines Interact With Locals in New Territory -- [ISAF]
Laki, a village in Afghanistan, located in the southern portion of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment's area of operation in the Garmsir District of Helmand province has never had a conventional coalition force visit or even walk down its streets.
The Marines and sailors of Weapons Company and Jump Platoon, 2/2, were the first to break this streak as they entered the village and patrolled the streets of Laki Jan. 4-7, 2010, to familiarize themselves with the local populace and to begin providing security in the area.
One such patrol began in the mid morning hours of Jan. 5, as Marines and local members of the Afghan National Army set off with the hopes of meeting with the local village elders of Laki.
Vt. Guard Members Deploy To Afghanistan -- [WPTZ]
Many hugs, kisses and tears marked the last sendoff ceremony Sunday for 500 Vermont National Guard soldiers deployed to Afghanistan.
Back to my ol' stumping grounds -- [Afghanistan My Last Tour - in Afghanistan]
Just when I thought I finally said goodbye to my former camp, we got tasked with a last minute mission to go there today. Last night around 8:30 pm, we received verbal notification that we were rolling to Camp Blackhorse in the morning. I was rather excited until I was informed we would have to wake up at 4 am. Our goal was to be on the vehicles at 5 am and depart by 5:30 am.
Cordesman on Flynn -- [Flit]
...On the other hand, any assessments of Afghan force capability were by definition unclassified. I'm not complaining, it's the main reason I have been able to be so frank here and elsewhere about what I did, but... the lack of a classified alternative meant that any such assessments risked becoming sugar-coated almost beyond recognition, for fear that, you know, someone somewhere might read them -- since anyone can read the unclassified stuff -- and see them as disparaging to Afghans. And since the tendency for something to be read (or at least, the fear that it might be) rises in parallel to the rank level of its author, the sugar coat would grow thicker with each level in the chain of command. That would have been fine, just good PR really, if there'd been a classified equivalent where higher-ups could say what they really thought. But there wasn't.
So you had this bizarre situation where junior officers could offer their candid assessments, in effect confident that they likely would be filtered out of higher aggregated information, because it was unclassified. Decision makers only saw the sugar, and the only really accurate assessments of what the Afghans were capable of that anyone in the leadership outside of the combat zone would see were those of leakers and independent journalists, who were often criticized for their pains as defeatists.
How a Plugged-In DC Think Tank Published a General's Brutal Intel Critique -- [Danger Room]
In military circles, the talk all week has been about how and why the top intelligence officer in Afghanistan wound up publishing a scathing critique through a small-but-influential think tank. Now, we've got the answers. When Maj. Gen. Michael Flynn published his tough assessment of the military's spy agencies in Afghanistan, it caught Pentagon officials by surprise -- not least because Flynn distributed it through Center for a New American Security. While Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said through his press secretary that he thought Flynn's findings were "spot on," he made it clear he was a bit uncomfortable with the conduit Flynn used to distribute the report. Reuters, quoting Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, said Gates had "real reservations about the general's choice of venue for publication." So how, exactly, did the think tank get picked to publish the report?
Building a Sustainable, Legitimate, Effective Afghanistan Security Force -- [SWJ]
The purpose of this paper is to provide our observations and preliminary thoughts concerning the way ahead for NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (NTM-A/CSTC-A) based on our work as part of the Quick-Look Assessment team from 3-19 December 2009. We both had the pleasure to work closely with members of the command whose professionalism and enthusiasm were deeply inspiring. The command confronts great challenges as it pursues a mission vital to coalition success. We are qualified optimists about the potential success of the mission. The most important source of our optimism for eventual mission success comes from our observations of the tremendous talent and dedication of the individuals assigned to this command. We were also heartened by our interaction with individuals from other commands and with many impressive Afghan partners.
Sustainability -- [Doc H's International Adventure - in Afghanistan]
One of the things I am considering is Sustainability. In particular how will Afghanistan be able to sustain what has been started. In general the best approach to most issues or problems is to find a low cost-high return solution(IE not always the way we do things in the US). There is much effort being placed on Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) force generation and infrastructure development. What I have not seen or heard about is economic development or income programs for the country of Afghanistan.
Pfinish -- [Embedded in Afghanistan... - in Afghanistan]
"Finish" was one word our ANA knew in English. They'd been around Americans long enough to pick up that one very useful word at least. They pronounce it kind of like "pfinish", but the point is they knew what it meant. The word itself actually became a powerful camaraderie-building tool for us, as it really allowed the ETTs and the ANA to communicate directly with each other without the need for a terp, albeit in a very limited way, though one might be surprised how far that one word can go....
Key area residents 'feel ignored' -- [UK Press Association]
More British support is needed to help push insurgents out of a remote but strategically important area of Afghanistan, the assistant district governor has said.
Local people in the Kajaki area of northern Helmand feel as if they are being ignored, he said.Many villages surrounding the British base in the area were deserted in 2006 after the Taliban threatened to kill anybody who was seen co-operating with coalition troops.
Speaking through an interpreter, Torjan, who uses only one name, said if the situation was to improve there would need to be more help from both coalition forces and the Afghan government.
Drone Flights Leave Military Awash in Data -- [NY Times]
As the military rushes to place more spy drones over Afghanistan, the remote-controlled planes are producing so much video intelligence that analysts are finding it more and more difficult to keep up.
8 Jan 2010 -- [Military Consciousness - in Afghanistan]
well, woke up at 0500 to the sound of more BOOMs- not sure what they were but apparently one of them was a dud, or didn't fully explode...kin of a THUD and not so much a BOOM ...I think there were three this time ...as far as I know, no injuries or damage...and that started my day off-couldn't really get back to sleep...work was just another boring day at the barn...pressure washed a couple generators and drove them over to the other side so they could be rebuilt or whatever...
Nothing. -- [Sgt Danger - in Afghanistan]
Don't have much to write about. We're off the road for a little while. How about some pictures?
How the CIA Can Improve its Operations in Afghanistan -- [Washington Post]
In terms of loss of life, the bombing of the CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan, may be the most costly mistake in the agency's history. So it's important to look carefully for clues about how it happened and lessons for the future. CIA veterans cite a series of warning signs that the agency wasn't paying enough attention to the counterintelligence threat posed by al-Qaeda. These danger signals weren't addressed because the agency underestimated its adversary and overestimated its own skills and those of its allies. The time to fix these problems is now - not with a spasm of second-guessing that will further weaken the CIA but through the agency's own adaptation to this war zone. As the Khost attack made painfully clear, the CIA needs better tradecraft for this conflict. By getting a suicide bomber inside a CIA base, the al-Qaeda network showed that it remains a sophisticated adversary, despite intense pressure from CIA Predator attacks. "They didn't get lucky, they got good and we got sloppy all over Afghanistan," says one agency counterterrorism veteran. This shouldn't have been a surprise
From Baghdad to Beirut -- [Michael Totten]
What Iraq's capital should aspire to--and what it should fear.
I recently made my seventh trip to Iraq to try to answer an important question: Will the country explode after American soldiers withdraw? But the answer may lie 600 miles to the west--in Beirut, where I traveled from Baghdad. The best-case scenario for Iraq may be that it becomes a more backward version of Lebanon. The two countries share encouraging traits that neither has in common with any other country in the Arab world: ethnic and religious diversity, more or less free and fair elections, and at least some degree of freedom of speech.
Hingham cheers on soldiers bound for Iraq -- [The Patriot Ledger]
By Anonymous About 700 people came out before the sun this morning to say good luck and goodbye to 70 National Guard members on their way to Iraq.
Bomb wounds 3 guards of Iraqi lawmaker -- [AP]
A bomb attached to a car in the Iraqi capital wounded five people Monday, including three bodyguards of a Shiite lawmaker, officials said.
A police official at the scene told The Associated Press that the legislator, Izzat Ashabander, was not in the convoy when it was targeted. He said the two other people wounded in the blast were bystanders.
Personal Delivery -- [Shortimer - in Iraq]
Just before Christmas Capt. Chris Hassan, a platoon leader with the 3-21st Infantry, went above and beyond reasonable expectations in completing what amounts to a final Iraq mission.
Let me explain: Jessica Hoffman and I traveled in Strykers under Hassan's command on a mission at FOB Normandy. The photo shows the captain briefing soldiers before we joined Iraqis searching a palm grove used launching rockets at Warhorse. When we shifted back to the 1-25ths headquarters we ...
Iraqis Say They Were Forced to Take Blackwater Settlement -- [Los Angeles Times]
Several victims of a 2007 shooting involving American private security guards employed by the firm formerly known as Blackwater alleged Sunday that they were coerced into reaching settlements, and they demanded that the Iraqi government intervene to have the agreements nullified. The Iraqis said they were pressured by their own attorneys into accepting what they now believe are inadequate settlements because they were told the company was about to file for bankruptcy, that its chairman was going to be arrested and that the U.S. government was about to confiscate all of the firm's assets. This would be their last chance to get any compensation, the victims said they were told.
Groundhog Day, Revisited -- [Ramblings from a painter - in Iraq]
...This afternoon we had our routine broken up. We were rousted out of our offices because there was a "suspicious package" right outside and the EOD guys were on their way. The package, of course, turned out to be a big nothing, but it required a couple of hours to determine that. I took advantage of the break to make a quick run to the mini-BX next to the DFAC. This mini-BX is, literally, a trailer ... the kind you see behind every 18-wheeler in the country.
Iraq hostage Peter Moore tells Met Police of capture -- [BBC News]
The IT expert from Lincoln's account of his capture in Iraq in 2007 is likely to be crucial to inquiries into the murder of three of his bodyguards.
Counting down the Days -- [In the Narmy - in Iraq]
Not much new and exciting going on out here. It has gotten a little bit colder, but not much. Temp is in the low to mid 70's during the day, and the 40's at night. I expected a little more rain, but there hasn't been much. I finished my college classes up. They went pretty smoothly overall. Hopefully I will follow up on that when I get home. Last week, I told you about meeting the football players, particularly about the guy behind me having a picture of Brian "The Boz" Bosworth getting trucked by Bo Jackson. I ended up bumping into the guy the other day and asked him how it went, and he said The Boz was really cool about it, and signed the picture "Bo Knows The Boz". Our relief should be getting here in a month to do turnover. It's all down hill from there.
Three Days of Violence in Karachi Kill 35 -- [Voice of America]
Three days of violence in Pakistan's commercial hub, Karachi, have killed at least 35 members of various political parties. The French News Agency (AFP) on Sunday quoted an anonymous senior security official as saying the targeted killings by unidentified gunmen began Thursday after police discovered the headless body of a worker from the city's dominant political party, the Mutahida Qaumi Movement. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the killings are the handiwork of those who want to undermine the provincial government and "destabilize the country."
Israel Reacts Angrily to U.S. Threat of Sanctions -- [Voice of America]
The stalled Middle East peace process is continuing to raise tensions between Israel and the United States. Israel says Washington is blaming the wrong party. Israel reacted angrily to a threat by the United States to impose sanctions on the Jewish state. In an American TV interview, Middle East envoy George Mitchell said the United States could withhold loan guarantees if Israel fails to advance the peace process. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded that the Palestinians have refused to resume peace talks despite Israeli concessions. The Palestinians have demanded a complete freeze on settlement expansion before returning to negotiations and reject Israel's offer of a partial freeze.
CIA bomber appears in video with Pakistani Taliban leader -- [McClatchy]
Pakistani officials fear that a video that appears to link the suicide bomber who struck a CIA base in Afghanistan last week to the Pakistani Taliban will prompt the Obama administration to step up pressure on them to take more aggressive action against extremists and intensify U.S. drone attacks on targets in Pakistan.
In the video, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, is sitting alongside the attacker, Jordanian Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al Balawi, with automatic weapons on their laps, against a dark backdrop and an Islamic verse. The video appears to indicate that the Pakistani Taliban played a significant role in the attack on the U.S. base and to provide new evidence of the Pakistani group's ties to al Qaida.
Father of C.I.A. Bomber Speaks -- [NY Times]
Khalil al-Balawi said that he was not surprised by his son's actions...
Al-Qaeda has a new strategy. Obama needs one, too. -- [Washington Post]
oddly enough for a terrorist movement supposedly on its last legs, al-Qaeda late last month launched two separate attacks less than a week apart -- one failed and one successful -- triggering the most extensive review of U.S. national security policies since 2001. Al-Qaeda's newfound vitality is the product of a fresh strategy that plays to its networking strength and compensates for its numerical weakness. In contrast to its plan on Sept. 11, which was to deliver a knock-out blow to the United States, al-Qaeda's leadership has now adopted a "death by a thousand cuts" approach. There are five core elements to this strategy.
Yemen Offers to Strike a Deal with al-Qaeda Fighters -- [The Times]
The President of Yemen said yesterday that he was willing to strike a deal with al-Qaeda if militants laid down their weapons, amid warnings that dozens of foreign fighters were streaming into the country. Ali Abdullah Saleh's offer to negotiate with members of the terror network came as officials said that several al-Qaeda operatives, including Saudis and Egyptians, were travelling from Afghanistan to join fighters in the lawless tribal lands in central and southern Yemen. Among those said to be in hiding in the area is Anwar al-Awlaki, the influential Yemeni preacher.
Yemen to Make Deal with al Qaeda, Saleh -- [Jawa Report]
President Saleh's willingness to negotiate with al Qaeda is not new. In 2005 it became clear that Judge al Hittar's dialog program was an early release mechanism and little else, and the program was discontinued. In June 2006, President Saleh and intelligence chief Gamal al Qamish began direct negotiations with al Qaeda, promising government jobs, more prisoner releases and an easing of travel restrictions in exchange for no attacks within Yemen on government facilities.
Yemeni president vows crackdown on al-Qaeda branch -- [Washington Post]
Yemen's president vowed over the weekend to track down al-Qaeda militants who refuse to renounce terrorism, as President Obama affirmed in a magazine interview that he has no plans at the moment to send troops to Yemen
Obama Plays Down Military Role in Yemen - [New York Times]
President Obama said he has "no intention of sending U.S. boots on the ground" to Yemen and Somalia amid mounting concern about terrorist cells in those countries. In excerpts of an interview with People magazine released on Sunday, Mr. Obama said that the "border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan remains the epicenter of Al Qaeda," though he acknowledged that the group's branch in Yemen has become "a more serious problem." But his administration is seeking to emphasize international cooperation, rather than military action, to confront the problem in Yemen. "I never rule out any possibility in a world that is this complex," said Mr. Obama. But,
Detroit bomber 'singing like a canary' before arrest -- [Telegraph]
President Barack Obama is under fire over claims that the Christmas Day underwear bomber was "singing like a canary" until he was treated as an ordinary criminal and advised of his right to silence.
Eight Years in Guantanamo -- [Counterterrorism Blog]
On January 11, 2002, the first prisoners from the war on terror in Afghanistan arrived at the United States Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay on an Air Force cargo plane, wearing orange jump suits, face masks, shackles and manacles. On that first day, about 23 suspected enemy combatants were locked into the wire cages of the now-abandoned "Camp X-Ray."
According to public records available on the Pentagon web site, 23 men were processed into the detention camp on January 12, their weights and heights recorded. On January 12, the New York Times reported that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld implied that there was nothing special about these prisoners
"Significant increase" in spinal injuries in Afghanistan not seen in Iraq -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
Insurgents have responded to the military's use of heavily armed MRAPs with massive IEDs which are easily buried under the unpaved roads of Afghanistan. And while the MRAPs can often protect the troops from the types of blast injuries sustained in Humvees in Iraq, back and spinal injuries have increased significantly. The newer all-terrain MRAPs with improved shock-absorbing seating and more complex harness designs have begun to arrive in theater, and doctors are providing engineers with patient data for further design improvements.
Army to increase medevac support, add new CAB, more UAVs -- [Army News Service]
The Army's top operations officer said yesterday that not only will the Army add a new combat aviation brigade to the warfight, it will also increase the number of aircraft in medical evacuation companies.
Soldier's life altering injury turns into unique war love story -- [Army News Service]
When Capt. Sam Brown was injured in Afghanistan, he saw everything he had planned for his future disappear. Little did he know that what he went through, in fact, helped him discover one part of his life he thought he would never find.
When Capt. Sam Brown was injured in Afghanistan, he saw everything he had planned for his future.
Win your Deployed Spouse a Sony Touch Reader for Valentine's Day -- [Hooah Wife and friends]
I was contacted by a PR company on behalf of Borders Books to demo the Sony Touch Reader. Being a gadget dork, this was a very exciting opportunity. Believe it or not, I've never really played with one because I'm still "old school" when it comes to wanting to touch and feel the paper between my finger. 2010 is the first year without a written date planner, so maybe I'm ready for this too. The enticing opportunity about this demo, was not only a free reader for my family, but the opportunity to give one to the deployed spouse of one of my readers for a Valentine's Day gift. A win win situation for everyone.
Operation Overseas Mardi Gras 2010 -- [Soldiers Angels LA]
It's that time again in Louisiana where the festivities have begun and the spirit of Mardi Gras is in the air! We are officially kicking off "Operation Overseas Mardi Gras 2010". This will be our third year in a row and we hope to double what we did last year! Our goal is 1,500 care packages stuffed full of Mardi Gras cheer. These packages will go to our deployed units from Louisiana, stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
'Special angel' at USO inspires all -- [The News Journal]
She went to the Gulf Coast in 2005 to support troops deployed there after Hurricane Katrina. And she has been overseas, too, to assist far-flung USO sites.
Knitting To Support Troops -- [WBNG-TV]
If we can at least keep their ears warm then we will have done some small measure of letting them know that the people at home support them," said Nash.
From Battlefield to Ivy League, on the G.I. Bill -- [NY Times]
Perhaps nowhere is this new wave more striking than at Columbia, which more than any other Ivy League institution has thrown out a welcome mat for returning servicemen and women. There are 210 veterans across the university, integrating a campus whose image-defining moment in the past half-century was of violent protests against the Vietnam War.
...The campus still tilts heavily to the left, with many students displaying the arty, jaded aura befitting their Manhattan surroundings. But now, students largely welcome the vets, who are both admired and considered something of a curiosity.
The veterans in the undergraduate program attend classes side by side with fresh-faced 18-year-olds, but do not often socialize with them, preferring to gather instead at their own watering hole. In contrast to their classmates, many -- though certainly not all -- lack stellar high school records, which is what propelled some of them to the military in the first place.
Welcome Home! Not So Much -- [In Iraq Now (at 56) - home from Iraq]
All the time we were in Iraq and using internet at dial-up speeds we thought how great it was going to be to get back to America and have real high-speed internet. We would also have cell phones and text messages and voice mail and all of the lovely ways to keep in touch that we missed.
Around 300 area soldiers will return home Monday -- [WQOW]
Approximately 290 Soldiers, mostly from the Wisconsin Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry, will return to Wisconsin Monday (Jan. 11) from Iraq following a year-long deployment.
Operation Welcome Home -- [ABC30.com]
Details of the Governor's 20 million dollar plan called Operation Welcome Home will have 9 regional offices. Fresno County will be one of those nine tasked
British journalist Rupert Hamer killed in Afghanistan -- [Defense News]
It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm an incident in Afghanistan involving two UK journalists from the Sunday Mirror newspaper, embedded with the United States Marine Corps.
The two journalists - the newspaper's defence correspondent Rupert Hamer and photographer Philip Coburn - were accompanying a patrol to the north-west of Nawa, when the vehicle in which they were travelling struck an improvised explosive device.
Despite the best efforts of medics at the scene and subsequently Mr Hamer died of his wounds. Mr Coburn remains in a serious but stable condition.
The Label Factor: Is Obama a Wimp or a Warrior? -- [NY Times]
Like every Democratic president since John F. Kennedy, President Obama is battling the perception that he's a wimp on national security. It's not just coming from Republicans ...
Afghanistan and Iraq Polls: "Where Things Stand" -- [ABC News]
As part of its award-winning "Where Things Stand" series, ABC News has sponsored five national public opinion polls in Afghanistan since 2005 and six in Iraq since 2004. Its coverage of these unique surveys has won several national news awards, including two Emmys, the first in the history of the news Emmys to cite public opinion polls.
Each of these surveys has been conducted through face-to-face interviews, in Dari, Pashto, Arabic and Kurdish, by trained interviewers with random national samples of Afghan and Iraqi adults. Question subjects have ranged from living conditions and experience of violence to personal aspirations, economic and emotional well-being and political and social attitudes.
Gates to remain at Defense at least another year -- [LA Times]
Reporting from Washington - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has committed to remaining in his post for an additional year, keeping him in office at least through the next crucial Afghanistan strategy review this year.
In Pentagon circles, speculation about Gates' intentions had been intense. When President Obama first announced that he intended to keep Gates as Defense secretary, some experts predicted he would stay on only for the first year of the administration.
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