The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged david petraeus

Senate Unanimously Confirms Petraeus to Lead Afghan War

By | 06.30.10 | 12:54 pm

Elena Kagan can only hope it’ll be this easy for her:

Gen. David H. Petraeus was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate Wednesday as the new Afghan war commander, replacing Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal after his ouster over controversial remarks in a Rolling Stone magazine article.

The 99-0

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Despite GOP Support for Obama’s Handling of McChrystal/Petraeus, a Few Challengers Dissent

By | 06.24.10 | 12:25 pm

Even though virtually all congressional Republicans — including the party’s Senate and House leadership — praised President Obama’s handling of the removal of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his selection of Gen. David Petraeus to replace him as commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, a few Republican congressional hopefuls used the More…

With Petraeus Pick, Obama Clarifies His Afghanistan Strategy

By | 06.23.10 | 2:20 pm

“This is a change in personnel,” President Obama said, announcing Gen. David Petraeus’ takeover of the Afghanistan war, “but not a change in policy.” Yes and no.

As I wrote earlier, Petraeus’ return to theater command indicates that an ambiguity in that policy has been clarified. It’s never been More…

McChrystal Speaks on His Resignation/Firing

By | 06.23.10 | 2:04 pm

The cashiered commander of the Afghanistan war just emailed this to reporters:

This morning the President accepted my resignation as Commander of U.S. and NATO Coalition Forces in Afghanistan. I strongly support the President’s strategy in Afghanistan and am deeply committed to our coalition forces, our partner nations, and the

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Obama Unlikely to Use McChrystal Flap to Change Course on Afghanistan

By | 06.23.10 | 6:00 am

By the time you read this, Gen. Stanley McChrystal may very well have lost his command in Afghanistan. McChrystal is headed to a White House Situation Room meeting with President Obama on Wednesday; Time’s Joe Klein reported Tuesday afternoon that the general offered to resign after making disrespectful comments More…

‘Angry’ President Will Meet McChrystal Tomorrow, but Strategy Likely to Remain the Same

By | 06.22.10 | 1:43 pm

“He was angry,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said just now about President Obama’s reaction after reading Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s comments to Rolling Stone disrespecting several senior administration officials. Gibbs said he didn’t want to “prejudge” tomorrow’s Situation Room meeting between the general and the president to see More…

#GenPetraeusBlogger

By | 06.21.10 | 4:24 pm

U.S. Central Command’s website launches a new blog — woo, let’s party like it’s 2005* – complete with an introductory post penned by its commanding general, David Petraeus. It’s a straight-forward welcome-to-the-blog here’s-what-t0-expect post, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But now that the general is contesting my battlespace, I More…

Military Task Force Tackles Thorny Issue of Contractors in Afghanistan

By | 06.21.10 | 6:00 am

It has an uncertain budget, a team of fewer than two dozen military officers and civilians, and barely a year to make its mark on counterinsurgency in Afghanistan before the U.S. begins its transfer of security responsibilities to Afghans. In that time, a new military task force will attempt to More…

Petraeus: ‘Double Digits’ of al-Qaeda Fighters in Afghanistan

By | 06.17.10 | 8:12 am

Something that couldn’t fit into my piece yesterday but bears mentioning: Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East and South Asia, told a Senate panel that al-Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan numbered in the “double digits.”

In a somewhat heated exchange with Sen. Lindsey Graham More…

To GOP Senators’ Dismay, Petraeus and Flournoy Affirm July 2011 ‘Inflection Point’ in Afghan War

By | 06.16.10 | 5:00 pm

At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday on strategy for the war in Afghanistan, a discussion of the Obama administration’s approach to securing the southern Afghan city of Kandahar — a crucial test for the escalated war — was overshadowed by a partisan dispute over the meaning of the More…