InfoAnda - Petraeus fights time, enemy in Afghanistan

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Virginity Hit a bawdy crowdpleaser | | 10 September 2010
North Korea says its rockets can hit U.S. mainland | | 10 October 2012
Kerry Washington gets lucky with 'Scandal' | | 10 April 2012

US, WTO Urge EU To Speak With One Voice At G20 Summit | 29 March 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Petraeus fights time, enemy in Afghanistan

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Africa Europe Latin America Middle East North America Petraeus fights time, enemy in Afghanistan By KIMBERLY DOZIER,Associated Press Writer - Wednesday, September 29 Send IM Story Print LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan – Gen. David Petraeus trudges across a gravel helicopter landing area with his aides, looking purposeful but a bit grim, as he reaches a village outpost in the violent Afghan province of Helmand. He's here to chart progress, or lack thereof, in a war that's running at the pace of a horse cart, in a world that runs at the speed of a text message. The only time the 57-year-old commander's smile reaches his eyes are a couple of brief moments when he stops and chats with troops. He poses for snapshots that memorialize his first months in command here, fighting a long war that he knows the American public, not to mention the White House, wants done yesterday. Petraeus does not snap when a reporter asks him a question he has answered 50 times before, and will at least another 50 this year: Do you see progress? When he replies, the pressure weighing on him shows in his voice _ quieter than when he was in charge at U.S. Central Command in Florida, or earlier in Baghdad and Mosul _ and it shows as well in the slightly hunched set of his shoulders, leaning on one arm of the chair. There is none of the showmanship described in magazine profiles that sketched a megawatt four-star commander who outmaneuvers his adversaries with political and media savvy. Instead, there is a solemn professor, patiently getting through the next order of business in a day scheduled down to the minute. To answer that "progress" question, he asks his aide for a stack of charts, leafs through to the chosen page, and then walks the reporter through his vision of the war, like a tough calculus problem he keeps having to explain over and over. Yes, there is some progress, but only some, Petraeus says. No, he will not be drawn out on whether it's a trend. Yes, things are going according to plan. But no, he won't give the plan a timeline, because yes, he knows NATO has overpromised before. His favorite expression is "only now do we have all the right inputs in place," as in only now do the United States and NATO have all the tools, from manpower to surveillance platforms to all the logistics and air support needed to fight the military side of a counterinsurgency conflict. That encompasses "stressing" the enemy through capturing and killing, and moving Army units into contested Afghan neighborhoods, to win them back from the Taliban. He's got a chart showing those "inputs," too, including one called "People," which lists Gen. Stanley McChrystal _ the man dismissed from the post Petraeus now occupies, after quotes embarrassing to the White House appeared in a Rolling Stone article. If you ask an aide why the chart hasn't been updated to say "General Petraeus," instead of "General McChrystal," the aide says: "McChrystal's name is there because the boss wants it there." McChrystal put everything into place, he explains. True to that, Petraeus brings up McChrystal's name in nearly every conversation, mentioning how everything that's happening now was jointly planned by him and McChrystal last fall. Petraeus says the burden of convincing the American public that this war is winnable is not his job _ he advises the White House on how to prosecute the war, nothing more. Yet when pressed about the dour headlines of diving public opinion polls back home, he turns to his computer and digs out the latest statistics on violence in Iraq _ only six incidents thus far that day, compared to roughly "220 a day back in 2007," which is proof, he says, that his counterinsurgency strategy worked once and will again. You get the sense the tired general keeps an eye on that rearview mirror as a touchstone, to remind himself as much as the journalist sitting before him that no one believed he would turn around that war, either. And he is keenly aware that few are convinced he can turn this one. The NATO commanders he is to visit that day do report incremental progress, mapped out in spreading blotches of color overlaid on village maps, showing where once no-go zones have been turned into safe areas. In the U.S. Army counterinsurgency manual Petraeus helped author, these blotches of territory where troops establish security are called "inkspots." The plan, a standard counterinsurgency tactic for nearly 100 years, is that the inkspots grow to meet each other. The commanders Petraeus visits explain the slow pace is because Afghans will work with NATO troops only if they see "Hesco" barriers go up. Those are the steel cages wrapped in a tough canvas burlap that troops station around their more permanent bases, filled with rocks and earth to stop car bombs and the like. In the one area on the map the general visited Thursday _ in and near the town of Lashkar Gah _ these "Hesco inkspots" had indeed grown over the past year. The barriers are a symbol, Petraeus later explains, that the NATO troops and the security they provide are there to stay, presumably to be replaced later by Afghans. Opponents of Petraeus' counterinsurgency strategy have raised doubts about whether Afghan troops will be ready to take the lead from NATO by 2014 _ Afghan President Hamid Karzai's stated deadline. And NATO officers, like Petraeus' predecessor McChrystal, have openly admitted that the local government-in-a-box that was supposed to backfill NATO efforts is not yet providing adequate services. U.S. and Afghan officials privately complain that Afghan officials extorting bribes from the people they were hired to serve also remains commonplace. Questioned about some of those obstacles, Petraeus said it was too soon to guess how much progress would be made on security, or governance, over the next year. A member of Petraeus' staff explained the thinking _ that they were "hunkered down," in "fingers-crossed" mode, because the whole plan's success depends on the Afghan government doing what now seems unthinkable: rooting out graft in a country where every level of government subsists on a latticework of bribes leveraged against impoverished Afghans. And the decision to do that is in the hands of an Afghan president whose own family is accused of benefiting from corruption. The staffer spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the strategy debates within headquarters. The most encouraging report of the day was of progress on "stressing" networks of insurgents. The commanders, American and British, painted a picture of Taliban leaders so under pressure from constant special operations night raids that they were running out of ammunition in some areas, and even trying to expand into rival Taliban territory to shake down the locals for cash to make up for their own weapons and ammunition shortfall. But on Petraeus' mind were the losses of three Navy SEALs and a Navy Special Warfare electronic engineer whose private memorial service he attended that afternoon. The Navy men were among the nine victims of a helicopter crash that week. They were not on a mission that day, a reminder that every move in war zone carries deadly risk. Petraeus' staff had tried to talk him out of going to the service, saying his days were too packed. He overruled them. Asked about the service, he calls it "tough," before adding "four times as tough," to lose them all at once. The next day, he was to attend the service for the others _ the chopper's five-man air crew from the 101st Airborne. Next on Petraeus' schedule that night was a formal dinner in the commander's dining room across from his office _ or as formal as it can be in a windowless room crammed with what looks like an oversized school table, lined by eight scuffed chairs, set with handmade place cards painstakingly penned by his staff. Petraeus would dine with his civilian counterpart, Ambassador Mark Sedwill, and guests before starting the routine again at 5 a.m. or so the following day. How are Petraeus and his staff managing the 15-hour-a-day schedule, seven days a week? "I think we've pushed it right to the limit," the general says, "and we stay there." He calls the pace "sustainable," but says quietly, as he shakes hands, "there's not much of a reserve." Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles Spain suffers travel chaos in general strike AFP - 18 minutes ago Ousted Moscow mayor slams 'Stalin-era' repression AFP - 33 minutes ago UK-World Summary Reuters - 55 minutes ago Kuril Islands 'very important' part of Russia: Medvedev AFP - 1 hour 15 minutes ago Games turn glare on millions of India's working children Reuters - 1 hour 16 minutes ago News Search Top Stories Extinction threat to one fifth of world's plants IMF boss sees low risk of 'currency war' Malaria vaccine closer than ever, scientists say Europe navigates between alarm, hope on economy Depression soars among Gulf residents after oil spill More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended Austerity whips up anger, protests mount in Europe RBS cuts 500 jobs Petrobras becomes third biggest oil firm Brazil warns of world currency 'war': report China's jailed GOME tycoon stages corporate showdown More Most Viewed » US state executes first woman in nearly 100 years US pastor puts Koran-burning on hold 'Time bomb' superbug requires global response: doctor Vitamin B 'could delay Alzheimer's onset' Austerity whips up anger, protests mount in Europe More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! Financial news on Yahoo! Finance Stars and latest movies Best travel destinations More on Yahoo! News Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Subscribe to our news feeds Top StoriesMy Yahoo!RSS » More news feeds | What are news feeds? Also on Yahoo! Answers Groups Mail Messenger Mobile Travel Finance Movies Sports Games » All Yahoo! Services Site Highlights Singapore Full Coverage Most Popular Asia Entertainment Photos World Cup 2010 Yahoo! News Network Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community | Intellectual Property Rights Policy | Help

Other News on Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Petraeus says Taliban making 'overtures' for peace
French MPs debate controversial immigration law
Afghan-Pakistan Qaeda chief 'killed by US drone'
Police give all clear after Eiffel Tower bomb alert
North Korea leader son takes key party post: report |
Egypt mogul death sentence commuted to prison term
Europe navigates between alarm, hope on economy
Web founder warns of Internet disconnect law 'blight'
Conference highlights progress towards malaria vaccine
German finance minister hospitalised: ministry
U.S.-led forces, Pakistan discuss cross-border attack |
'Father' of Iran blogging jailed for 19 years: report
Depression soars among Gulf residents after oil spill
Warlords, ex-Taliban on peace council for talks
French court charges Ryanair over employment law
Former US president Jimmy Carter hospitalized after flight
AOL buys Silicon Valley tech blog TechCrunch
Petraeus fights time, enemy in Afghanistan
Former US president Carter fine, to resume tour: official
Eiffel Tower evacuated with no bomb found |
Suicide bomber kills Afghan deputy governor
US-TECH Summary
World failing to meet 2010 HIV/AIDS care target: UN
Apple takes legal battle with Nokia to Britain
Up to 1,000 feared dead in Mexico landslide
Castro attacks U.S. while reading from 50-year-old speech |
US consumer confidence drops in September: survey
Court orders music download licence fee review
Iran says no decision yet on stoning sentence
Karzai tearful as bombing kills Afghan official
Iran's "Blogfather" gets 19 years in jail-activist
Foxconn wins EU okay to buy Dell's Polish unit
No 'tweeting' in the team room: Monty
Senior al Qaeda leader said killed in Pakistan
Apple takes legal battle with Nokia to Britain
China says dissident not suitable for Nobel prize
Long time for Google mobile to bring most revenue: CEO |
Philippines taken off OECD tax haven list
Quentin Tarantino film editor Sally Menke found dead
AOL to acquire popular tech blog TechCrunch |
Apple takes legal battle with Nokia to Britain |
Toomey Keeps Lead In Pennsylvania Senate Race
Court orders music download licence fee review |
Preschooler Caught With Marijuana in Florida
Broadcasters sue Ivi for copyright infringement |
Congress Moves To Ban Term “Retarded”
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
AOL In Talks to Buy TechCrunch
Foxconn wins EU okay to buy Dell's Polish unit |
Met Opera shows high-tech effects for Das Rheingold
"Scrubs" Final Season Released On DVD
Iran's Blogfather gets 19 years in jail-activist |
Tropical Storm Warning In Effect For Parts Of Florida
'Monster' steals show in NY Met's new Ring cycle
Chico's, Target Among Retailers Making Breast Cancer Awareness Fashionable
Former President Carter Rushed to Cleveland Hospital After Becoming "Air Sick"
"Lost" Star Maggie Grace Joins "Breaking Dawn" Film
Prosecutor In Botched Ted Stevens Trial Commits Suicide
Australian SAS in counter-terror drills on Bali
Supreme Court to hear Anna Nicole Smith estate case
Lindsay Lohan reported back in rehab |
"LENNONYC" film traces ex-Beatle's New York years
Bon Jovi and Beastie Boys make list for rock Hall of Fame |
Quentin Tarantino film editor Sally Menke found dead
Supreme Court to hear Anna Nicole Smith estate case |
Pete Doherty charged with possessing cocaine
Quentin Tarantino film editor Sally Menke found dead |
Bon Jovi and Beastie Boys make list for rock Hall of Fame
LENNONYC film traces ex-Beatle's New York years |
Pick-and-mix young designers kick off Paris fashion week
Buried director puts Indiana Jones in a coffin |
"Mission Impossible 4" to be filmed in Dubai
Small cable networks could get pushed into deals |
Broadcasters sue Ivi for copyright infringement |
Rapper Kid Cudi guilty on drug charge, avoids jail |
Gaza’s First Female Truck Driver
Petraeus fights time, enemy in Afghanistan
Spain suffers travel chaos in general strike
Taliban contacts still at embryonic stage: NATO envoy |
Nintendo to launch 3DS in Feb in Japan, March in U.S.
North Korea's first family readies for succession |
Al-Qaeda terror plot targeting Europe uncovered
Extinction threat to one fifth of world's plants
Virgin Media offers biz clients unlimited bandwidth
Japan urges resolution on nationals held in China |
British defence minister warns about 'draconian' cuts
IMF boss sees low risk of 'currency war'
Plot to attack European cities foiled: report |
App developer Pinger launches voice calling
Malaria vaccine closer than ever, scientists say
Mexico landslide less deadly than feared |
Mobile device boom sparks U.S. Net address shortage
Pentagon Admits Communication Breakdown During Cross-Border NATO Strikes
Ex-Union Leader Stern Denies FBI Corruption Probe
China lifts rare earth export ban to Japan: trader |
Al-Qaeda-linked 'terror plot' targeting Europe foiled
AOL buys Silicon Valley tech blog TechCrunch
Medvedev vows to visit islands claimed by Japan |
Carter Out Of Hospital, To Resume Book Tour
Bolivia cops suspect foul play over missing couple
Drugmakers Rouse Wall Street
Amazon launches 'Kindle for the Web'
Survey: Atheists, Agnostics More Knowledgeable Than Religious Followers
Police give all clear after Eiffel Tower bomb alert
Eiffel Tower evacuated with no bomb found |
'Father' of Iran blogging jailed for 19 years: report
Texting bans don't increase road safety: study
Rockers blasted over Indonesia tobacco deal
Fleeting glimpse of impoverished North Korea
Nintendo 3D videogame console to miss Christmas
Koreas to hold military talks this week
Breakaway S.Korean boy band release new album
Mobile device boom sparks U.S. Net address shortage |
U.S. television getting more gay friendly
Japan mulls island troops, China exports resume
New satellites seen invigorating satnav industry |
Kiwis look to Sir Hillary ahead of Delhi Games
Nintendo 3DS launch to miss year-end shopping season |
"Dancing with the Stars" puts end to Palin "boo-gate"
A tale of two games exposes China-India gulf
CBS wins TV premiere week, NBC makes biggest gains
Virgin Media offers biz clients unlimited bandwidth |
Citizens bank on gold in Myanmar's troubled economy
Paris Hilton, Hallmark cool on "hot" lawsuit
Gun attack kills five in Thai south: police
"Ferris Bueller" actor sentenced in sex offender case
Tokyo slow cafe offers soft light in neon jungle
App developer Pinger launches voice calling |
Justin Bieber dolls to hit stores for the holidays
North Korea's "first" family readies for succession
Lindsay Lohan reported back in rehab
Taiwan set to OK Carlyle Taiwan TV unit sale-source
BRIEF-Moody's Korean credit cards performing well
NZ household borrowing rises in August
S.Korea manufacturers less upbeat about Q4 -survey
Seoul shares rise as technology stocks bounce
Japan business confidence rises, but doubts remain
S.Korea bonds steady on won; c/a data shrugged off
S.Korea spotted buying dlrs to curb won -dealers
Seoul shares open higher helped by techs
Jailed Chinese tycoon loses vote over retail chain
Dancing with the Stars puts end to Palin boo-gate |
CBS wins TV premiere week, NBC makes biggest gains |
U.S. television getting more gay friendly |
Justin Bieber dolls to hit stores for the holidays |
Paris Hilton, Hallmark cool on hot lawsuit |
Ferris Bueller actor sentenced in sex offender case |
New satellites seen invigorating satnav industry
Berlusconi set to survive confidence vote
NATO: Afghan Taliban talks at 'embryonic stage'
Indian PM to issue first numbers in ID scheme
Tens of thousands march in Brussels over austerity |
Senior China official calls for stronger Iran ties
China pledges yuan flexibility ahead of US House vote
French budget makes 'historic' spending cuts
Nintendo 3DS launch to miss holiday shopping season
U.S. envoy sees Netanyahu in bid to save talks |
Eurozone confidence rises to near three-year high
NATO confirms senior al-Qaida commander killed
Ousted Moscow mayor slams 'Stalin-era' repression
Ireland to 'pump' 5.0 bln euros into Anglo Irish Bank
Legal battle looms over Moscow mayor's sacking |
AOL to acquire popular tech blog TechCrunch
NATO: Service member killed in south Afghanistan
EU gives France chance to avoid sanctions on Roma |
Bosnia court jails Croatian war crimes deputy |
Karzai tearful as bombing kills Afghan official
Petraeus fights time, enemy in Afghanistan
Russia says 15 rebels killed in Muslim Dagestan |
N.Korea heir apparent wins senior party posts
Malaysia news portal sues over printing knockback
Philippines to put more rice on plates of poor
Japan urges resolution on nationals held in China
Hanoi residents snub 1,000-year birthday party
Director Boyle to receive British film honor
Japan wants fast resolution on four held in China
"Star Wars" movies start 3D rollout in 2012
AOL to acquire popular tech blog TechCrunch |
Fox cancels "Lone Star" after second episode
Jerry Lee Lewis lost for words as he turns 75
Pakistan hikes policy rate on inflation,fiscal concerns
Soft drinks maker tops China 'rich list'
Peugeot to make Malaysia its regional car export hub
Pakistani rupee at record low; stocks up
India's fraud-hit Satyam posts loss but is on the mend
Strike looms as Philippine Airlines talks fail
China pledges yuan flexibility ahead of US House vote
Vedanta shares tumble as Indian court shuts smelter
Taiwan's Inventec to invest $95 million in solar cell
Jerry Lee Lewis lost for words as he turns 75 |
Poets poised for Nobel glory; Swede is favorite |
Star Wars movies start 3D rollout in 2012 |
Director Boyle to receive British film honor |
Fox cancels Lone Star after second episode |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01