NewsTrust - Presidential Election 2008 - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Mainstream)

Moving past right-wing rhetoric

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Politico - By Joe Scarborough - Jan. 18 (Opinion) - Now that the right has proved to the world that it was wronged, this would be a good time to prevent the next tragedy from destroying its political momentum. Despite what we eventually learned about the shooter in Tucson, should the right have really been so shocked that many feared a political connection between the heated rhetoric of 2010 and the shooting of Giffords?

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Text of President Obama's news conference Saturday

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Associated Press - Nov. 21 -

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Sen. Mitch McConnell Has Some Explaining to Do

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

CBS News - By Dan Farber - Nov. 13 (Opinion) - In his post-election Heritage Foundation speech, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "I re-extend an offer that's been on the table for two years to cooperate on shared goals -- because ultimately this isn't about an election; it's about doing what's best for our country." Prior to the Nov. 2 election, McConnell told the National Journal's Major Garrett, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." At the same time he said he would be willing to compromise on important issues "if President Obama does a Clintonian backflip," referring to how the former president responded after a tough mid-term election in 1994. President Obama took a swipe to McConnell's remarks regarding the 2012 election.

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US questions support for Karzai

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:20:36 -0700

BBC News - Apr. 28 - The US defence department has said that only a quarter of what it regards as key regions in Afghanistan support the government of President Hamid Karzai. The Pentagon said much of the country was either neutral to the central Afghan authorities or

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How Reagan ruined conservatism

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Financial Times - By Gideon Rachman - Mar. 01 (Opinion) - Battling my way through Sarah Palin’s book, Going Rogue, last weekend, I began to wonder how American conservatism had come to this. Ms Palin’s book is smug, lightweight, nationalistic, entirely free of original ideas. How has this woman become the darling of the American right? How has she become so popular that some bookmakers make her the favourite to win the Republican party nomination in 2012? And then I realised – the rot set in with Ronald Reagan.

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Gordon Brown and Afghanistan: The hardest call of all

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - Nov. 11 (Opinion) - Gordon Brown can be blamed for many things about the way he has run the war in Afghanistan: not having a proper strategy, failing to communicate, failing to earn the respect of his senior generals or to anticipate a critical demand for helicopters or vehicles. But what he should not be attacked for is trying to talk honestly and honourably to Jacqui Janes, whose 20-year old son James was killed fighting in Helmand. Encounters between prime ministers and voters can be pivotal. No one will forget the encounter between Diana Gould and Margaret Thatcher over which way the Belgrano was sailing when it was sunk by a British submarine. Nor when Sharron Storer nobbled Tony Blair about cancer services during an election. But this was not one of those ...

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Afghan panel rejects U.N.'s advice on security during election runoff

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:18:57 -0700

Washington Post - Oct. 29 - The announcement surprised U.N. officials, who had recommended that only about 5,800 voting centers be opened because of the danger of insurgent attacks in some areas, the likelihood of fraud in others and the short time available to prepare and staff

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Afghanistan's illusions of legitimacy

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

San Francisco Chronicle - Oct. 20 (Opinion) - It goes without saying that a legitimate government would follow the rules of the constitution. And it's in America's interest to have the most legitimate Afghan government possible: Otherwise, for what are we fighting? Unfortunately, holding a runoff election may not be the best way to provide Afghanistan with a functional government. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/20/EDIM1A7PF0.DTL#ixzz0UUI6PvVi

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White House has chance to foster Afghan future

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - Oct. 17 (Opinion) - Now that government and the administration have a chance to begin to remedy the problem -- if they do the right thing in the next few days. This weekend, Afghanistan's U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission is expected to deliver its report;

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Counterintuitive counterinsurgency

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Richard Fontaine, John Nagl - Oct. 15 (Opinion) - As the Obama administration debates whether to stick with the counterinsurgency strategy for Afghanistan, opponents point to that nation's flawed presidential election as a reason why this approach cannot work. Counterinsurgency is premised, they argue, on the presence of a legitimate national government that can win allegiance from local populations. Given credible allegations of rampant abuse in Afghanistan's August election, President Hamid Karzai's newly illegitimate government cannot play this role. As a result, the United States has little choice but to change strategies.

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Time to Deal in Afghanistan

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Fareed Zakaria - Sep. 13 (Opinion) - Success will depend on reaching out to the Taliban and Pashtun tI very much agree with this article, and we and NATO should absolutely set other goals than nation building, And specially now after an election that has not been fair and free, but steeped in fraud. Also, with hifh corruption in the country mixed with drug trafficking, makes it more important to think twice. But we have to be there, if not, we risk hardliners both in Afghanistan and Pakistan to expand both power and territory. We also risk that other militants would 'stream in' from other Arab countries or from the West, Europe and the US. What makes it so dangerous and a necessetaty to be present with a moderate 'footprint', is because after all Pakistan has nuclear weapons. To reach the different major tribes, it will take to give our soldiers a cultural education on Afghan life and traditions.ribes.

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Free speech for me, but not for thee

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Economist - Sep. 11 (Editorial) - HILLARY: THE MOVIE” is unwatchable. From the first frame, it presents a dreary caricature of Hillary Clinton as a power-crazed harpy with no redeeming qualities. She is cynical, manipulative, dishonest and ruthless—and so on for 90 excruciating minutes. Wasn’t there at least a dog she once omitted to kick, or a child whose lollipop she didn’t steal?

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From Baby-Sitting to Adoption

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Thomas L. Friedman - Sep. 06 (Opinion) - After eight years of work there, the United States still does not have a reliable Afghan partner to hand off to. It’s time to discuss if nation building is still worth doing and at what cost?

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Afghanistan isn't Obama's Vietnam -- yet

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - Sep. 06 - Afghanistan isn't Obama's Vietnam -- yet

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Time for the U.S. to Get Out of Afghanistan

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By George F. Will - Sep. 01 (Opinion) - U.S. strategy -- protecting the population -- is increasingly troop-intensive while Americans are increasingly impatient about "deteriorating" (says Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) conditions. The war already is nearly 50 percent longer than the combined U.S. involvements in two world wars, and NATO assistance is reluctant and often risible.

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Afghanistan's Sham Vote

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Jean MacKenzie - Aug. 26 (Opinion) - The dust had barely settled on the Afghan elections before the U.S. government, the United Nations and the European Union were hailing them as a success, commending voters for their heroism and election workers for their relative efficiency. This would be laughable if it were not such a great shame.

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West loses its values in Afghanistan

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Helge Luras - Aug. 25 (Opinion) - If the Afghan elections are presented as fair, any remaining moral authority the west might have will be eroded The are turning out to be a game changer for the war. It was not evident until the last few weeks before the elections that the Taliban would seriously try to undermine the process. In fact, they more or less acquiesced in the voter registration that took place during winter time. Some claim that individual sympathisers with the Taliban even registered themselves. But then again: what is and what is not a Taliban? The Battle of the Elections is not yet over. In fact, it is likely to rage for the next few weeks and could indeed mark the beginning of the war?s eulogy. As commented in the Observer on Sunday, it became clear to her ...

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Afghanistan Votes

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - Aug. 21 (Editorial) - The next president will need full support from the United States, NATO and the Afghan people to defeat the Taliban.

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Afghanistan's Election Won't Be Pretty, but It's Progress

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Post - Aug. 20 (Editorial) - IT?S EASY to enumerate all of the ways in which today?s election in Afghanistan will fall short of Western democratic norms -- or even of what Afghans themselves might have expected when they voted in the first presidential election, four years ago. Violence has been escalating all year -- civilian casualties were up by a quarter through June -- and there has been a rash of major attacks in and around Kabul in the past several days. In parts of the country it will be impossible, or very dangerous, to vote. And many may feel uninspired: President Hamid Karzai, who is leading the polls in the presidential race, has barely bothered to conduct a public campaign and instead has sought to win blocs of votes by cutting deals with the same corrupt warlords ...

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We must face reality in Afghanistan

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Financial Times - By Gilles Dorronsoro - Aug. 18 (Opinion) - America still has a limited and achievable objective in Afghanistan: securing a viable state and preventing al-Qaeda from regaining its lost base. But US planners must recognise that the public will not countenance an endless demand for more troops, says Gilles Dorronsoro

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Waking Up to Terror

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Mirwais Ahmadzai - Aug. 18 (Opinion) - The “night letters” have been coming for a while now. I saw my first one last week, posted on a door in Kunar Province, on the Pakistani border. But its message was no different than the ones that, according to press reports, have been popping up overnight in most of the eastern provinces of Afghanistan, whether posted on mosques or government buildings, or at busy road intersections, or simply scattered onto streets: do not vote on Thursday, or we will punish you. Signed, the Taliban.

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Afghanistan’s Tyranny of the Minority

Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Selig S. Harrison - Aug. 16 (Opinion) - The Taliban has gained support from many Pashtuns, Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group, because their rivals have more power.

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The insanity and enduring racism of the American right

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Independent - By Matthew Norman - Jul. 30 (Opinion) - As we gloomily maintain the deathbed vigil for a Government whose end cannot come soon enough, it is the opposite end of the life-cycle that fixates US politics. Fittingly enough, on the eve of the nine-month anniversary of Barack Obama's election,

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Why Palin Quit

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Wall Street Journal - Jul. 08 (Opinion) - People close to Sarah Palin say national political reporters and pundits have missed the real reasons for her surprising decision to resign as Alaska governor. The national media have dismissed or downplayed her real motives, which had little to do with any plans to run for president in 2012.

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Stonewall Plus Forty

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New Yorker - By Hendrik Hertzberg - Jun. 30 (Opinion) - The President has said all the right things. But there have been signs, before the election and after, that where gays are concerned his fine-tuned ear for the emotional resonance of his actions has an alloy of tin.

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