Afghanistan War News Updates -- September 23, 2009

HIVE HIKERS - U.S. troops walk up a mountain during a visit to Afghan beekeepers in the Dara district of Panjshir, Afghanistan, Sept. 7, 2009. The stroops are assigned to the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team. The program, sponsored by the Panjshir Ministry of Agriculture, began in July, 2008, with the delivery of 900 hives. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael B. Keller

Obama Is Considering Strategy Shift in Afghan War -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Obama is exploring alternatives to a major troop increase in Afghanistan, including a plan advocated by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to scale back American forces and focus more on rooting out Al Qaeda there and in Pakistan, officials said Tuesday.

The options under review are part of what administration officials described as a wholesale reconsideration of a strategy the president announced with fanfare just six months ago. Two new intelligence reports are being conducted to evaluate Afghanistan and Pakistan, officials said.

Read more ....

MORE NEWS ON AFGHANISTAN

Obama Considers Strategy Shift in Afghan War -- FOX News
Less Peril for Civilians, but More for Troops -- Washington Post
US Pulls Back in New Afghan Strategy -- the Australian
Congress Presses on War Plan -- Wall Street Journal
McCain Challenges Obama on Afghan Troop Increase -- CBS News
McCain: More troops needed in Afghanistan -- AP
McChrystal leak backlash -- Politico
At Pentagon's Request, Post Delayed Story on General's Afghanistan Report -- Washington Post
Report: Pentagon Urges Top US General in Afghanistan to Delay Call for Troops -- Voice of America
Roadside bombs kill 12 Afghan civilians -- Yahoo News/AP
Afghan Officials Live in Fear of Taliban Assassins -- AP
British Afghanistan Mission: Options and Recommendations -- Times Online
Australia's Kevin Rudd Mulls Afghan Boost -- The Australian
Opposition Grows to Sending More Troops to Afghanistan -- U.S. News And World Report
Wicked Problems for Afghanistan’s Civilian ‘Surge’ -- The Danger Room

US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 764 -- New York Times/AP

COMMENTARIES AND ANALYSIS

Is It Amateur Hour in the White House? -- Newsweek
If Obama nixes more troops for Afghanistan, what is Plan B? -- Christian Science Monitor
The general and his Afghan labyrinth -- Asia Times
Vietnamization Is Not an Option -- Korea Times
The Battle on Capitol Hill -- Weekly Standard
Chest deep in Afghan quagmire -- Toronto Star