Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Afghanistan War News Updates -- December 5, 2012

U.S. Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington on November 15. Radio Free Europe

New Commander Faces Challenge Of Winding Down Afghanistan War -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, who takes over as head of international forces in Afghanistan next year, faces the challenge of winding down a war in a country where he has little experience using a strategy he did not devise.

Dunford, whose nomination was confirmed by the Senate on Monday night, will be the fifth commander of the International Security Assistance Force since President Barack Obama took office, a leadership churn that worries Afghan war analysts.

Friends and colleagues describe Dunford, the Marine Corps assistant commandant, as a calm and thoughtful leader who earned the nickname "Fighting Joe" on the battlefields of Iraq by creating conditions for success with careful planning and harmonious execution.

But analysts expressed mixed views on his selection to replace Marine Corps General John Allen.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

ISAF Joint Command operational update, Dec 5 -- ISAF
Combined Force Arrests Taliban Leader in Kandahar Province -- US Department of Defense
GIs Deployed to Demolish Shuttered Afghan Bases -- Military.com/St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The Air Force – On the Ground — in Afghanistan -- Time
U.S. Commandos’ New Landlord in Afghanistan: Blackwater -- Danger Room
Differing Afghan, U.S. priorities could sabotage proposed security agreement -- Washington Post
Afghanistan Supports U.S. Efforts on Taliban Prisoner Swap
-- Bloomberg
U.S.-Taliban Peace Talks Once Again Raising Eyebrows -- US News and World Report
Clinton says crucial that countries meet Afghan funding pledges -- Reuters
At NATO, Clinton tells US allies they must fulfill aid pledges for Afghan security after 2014 -- Washington Post/AP
Senate confirms Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford as Afghan war commander
-- Washington Post
Senate Backs Obama Choice For Afghan Command -- Radio Free Europe
Is Dunford finally Obama’s No Drama general? -- Kevin Baron, Gordon Lubold, Foreign Policy
How to fight in Afghanistan with fewer U.S. troops -- David Barno and Matthew Irvine, Japan Times/The Washington Post
At least 2,031 US military deaths in Afghanistan since 2001
-- AP

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