White House to Hold Last-Minute Af-Pak Meeting Tonight
Chances are President Obama will announce a readjusted Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy shortly after the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s very likely that strategy announcement will come paired with an announcement of a troop escalation. Before that happens, however, Obama will host one last all-hands-on-deck meeting with his national security team. Just added to the White House calendar is this parley, scheduled for 8 p.m. tonight, with the following attendees:
“„Vice President Biden
“„Secretary of State Clinton
“„Secretary of Defense Gates
“„Ambassador Susan Rice, Permanent U.S. Representative to the United Nations
“„Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg
“„Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
“„Under Secretary of Defense Michele Flournoy
“„Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
“„General James E. Cartwright, USMC, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
“„General David Petraeus, U.S. Central Command
“„General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Commander in Afghanistan (via videoconference)
“„Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan (via videoconference)
“„Anne Patterson, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan (via videoconference)
“„General James Jones, National Security Advisor
“„Tom Donilon, Deputy National Security Advisor
“„John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security
“„Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, Special Assistant to the President for Afghanistan and Pakistan
Earlier in the day, Obama will meet separately and privately with Biden and Clinton. Interesting omission in light of questions about how much the increase will cost: Peter Orszag, the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
