Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- January 11, 2010

General Stanley McChrystal, 55, is the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan.

'Killing the Enemy Is Not The Best Route to Success': SPIEGEL Interview with General Stanley McChrystal

General Stanley McChrystal, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, talks to SPIEGEL about his new approach to the war, negotiations with the Taliban and the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

SPIEGEL: General McChrystal, a couple of months ago you said, "Since 9/11, I have watched as America tried to first put out this fire with a hammer, and it doesn't work." What did the Americans do wrong in Afghanistan?

Stanley McChrystal: At the end of the day, a counter-insurgency is decided by people's perceptions and by how people feel. I think any war like this is not a battle between material. It's not about destroying the enemy's cities. It's not even about destroying their army, their fighters. You have to weaken the insurgency. But it's really about convincing the people that they want it to stop and they ultimately will. The most effective way for us to operate is to be really good and effective partners with our Afghan counterparts, because it's not a technical problem, it's a human problem.

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials

Exclusive: Iran offers nuke fuel deal -- Laura Rozen, Politico

How the CIA Can Improve its Operations in Afghanistan -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

Obama's Havoc to the Intel System -- Washington Times editorial

Let's Take Bureaucracy Out of Intelligence -- John Bolton, Wall Street Journal

Don't Panic. Fear is al-Qaeda's Real Goal -- Fareed Zakaria, Washington Post

The Terrorist Mind: An Update -- Sarah Kershaw, New York Times

Money Talks Louder Than al-Qaeda in Yemen -- Victoria Clark, The Times

Why it's Wrong to Rule Out Nation-building in Yemen -- Washington Post editorial

U.S. Ambition Alone Won't Forge Mideast Peace -- Jackson Diehl, Washington Post

Privatized War, and Its Price -- New York Times editorial.

More Balanced Nuclear Pact in South Korea -- Lee Byong-chul, Korea Times

The New Rules: Globalization's Next Wave of Integration -- Thomas P.M. Barnett, World Politics Review