May, 2009

 The firing of top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, came as a shock to most analysts watching the new war strategy unfold. 

In his article, Heads in the Sand, Vanity Fair contributing editor David Rose offers a recent history of how the Sunni Awakening came to be and why it did not happen sooner.  The self-proclaimed revelation of the article is that:

 Karin von Hippel was on Radio WTOP to discuss the change in command for U.S. troops in Afghanistan from Gen. David McKiernan to Lt. Gen.

CSIS's Anthony Cordesman wrote an op-ed in today's Washington Post warning that the gains in Iraq could be lost if we rush our exit.

U.S. officials have long resisted putting a timeframe on the Afghanistan mission. Thus, it is noteworthy that today's Washington Post quotes an anonymous administration official suggesting the mission has "about two years" to succeed:

See Unclassified Metrics for Afghanistan, April 2009.

 USAID is increasing its staffing in Afghanistan as part of the civilian surge and expanding assistance programs. As a result, a number of professional opportunities are available.

 Most of us think and rightly so, that it is our [Pakistan’s] war and that we will have to be ready to fight a series of battles to turn the ultimate outcome in our favor.

                              &n

Social Facilitation, Development and the Diaspora: A Proposal for USAID on Sustainable Health Services  Concern grows as the Taliban gains ground | Tell Me More on NPR

How tough are the issues the U.S. faces in Afghanistan and Pakistan?  Rob Reynolds for al Jazeera asked PCR Project Codirector Karin von Hippel that question: