Afghanistan War News Updates -- November 16, 2012

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, nominated to be the next commander of the Afghanistan war, speaks in February at Eglin Air Force Base, February 2012. Photo: U.S. Marine Corps

General: We’re Staying in Afghanistan, No Matter What Obama Said -- Danger Room

Remember how President Obama said on the campaign trail that he would “responsibly end the war” in Afghanistan in 2014? Or when Vice President Biden said the president’s plan was “to end the war in 2014?” The general they want to lead that war is singing a much different tune.

During his confirmation hearing to take command in Kabul, Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that the U.S. needs to present a “clear and compelling narrative of commitment” to Afghanistan, beyond the 2014 timeframe for turning over security to the Afghans. Step one is to negotiate the contours of a post-2014 U.S. force in Afghanistan, to “create momentum for that narrative that I was alluding to.”

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

ISAF Joint Command morning operational update, Nov 16 -- ISAF

Afghan roadside bomb 'kills 17 wedding guests' -- AFP
Roadside bomb in Afghanistan kills 17 en route to wedding -- L.A. Times
Roadside Bomb Kills 17 in Afghanistan -- Voice of America
Roadside bomb kills 17 after wedding in western Afghanistan -- Reuters
Roadside bomb kills Afghan civilians -- Al Jazeera

New U.S. commander in Afghanistan confirmed -- Foreign Policy
Dunford sees some U.S. forces in Afghanistan post-drawdown -- Washington Post
Obama pick for Afghanistan commander describes US role beyond 2014 -- Washington Post/AP
Pick for Afghanistan command declines to set withdrawal pace -- Reuters
Afghan command nominee vague on troop withdrawal timetable -- Reuters
US General Gives Mixed Assessment of Afghanistan War -- Voice of America
General tapped to replace Allen out of loop on Afghan planning -- CNN
Gen. Dunford Excluded from Allen War Review -- Foreign Policy

U.S., Afghanistan start talking to reach security pact -- Washington Times/AP
US, Afghanistan begin talks to craft agreement on American footprint in the country after 2014 -- Washington Post/AP
U.S. in Talks With Afghans on Presence After 2014 -- New York Times

Pakistan to restore NATO's Afghan oil supply line after 12-month hiatus -- Threat Matrix
Something In Afghan Soil Is Killing American Troops -- Business Insider
Afghanistan: The Taliban Pile Onto Petraeus -- Daily Beast

War in Afghanistan has 'failed' and is 'not worth the life of one more soldier', says Paddy Ashdown -- Daily Mail
Get troops out of Afghanistan now, says Paddy Ashdown -- The Guardian
Withdraw British troops from Afghanistan now - Ashdown -- BBC

Petraeus’s flawed Afghanistan legacy -- By Anne Penketh, The Hill
Cut (a Deal) and Run. It's past time to negotiate with the Taliban. -- Michael Cohen and Michael Wahid Hanna, Foreign Policy