Afghan mission is war of necessity, says Obama

October 2nd, 2009 LONDON - US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has said that 50 to 80 per cent of the Taleban would probably stop fighting if they were given jobs and added that he was all for reintegrating them into Afghan society. However, he cautioned that such a mission called for "patience, resolve and time".The situation is serious and I choose that word very, very carefully," he said, speaking at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

September 30th, 2009 White House refutes lawmaker's Afghan war commentsWASHINGTON — White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says House Minority Whip Eric Cantor's claims that the administration is endangering U.S. troops by not deciding quickly on a new Afghan strategy was a "bunch of game playing." Gibbs says President Barack Obama is moving deliberately on recommendations from commanding Gen.

September 30th, 2009 White House disputes lawmaker's Afghan war commentWASHINGTON — A senior Republican congressman said Wednesday that President Barack Obama was endangering U.S. troops in Afghanistan by spending time weighing his next move in Afghanistan.

September 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - The 66-page assessment report provided to U.S. President Barack Obama by his top military commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley A.

August 31st, 2009 Gibbs: Obama has not yet read Afghan assessmentWASHINGTON — The White House spokesman says President Barack Obama has not yet seen a new assessment of the Afghan war. Robert Gibbs said Monday that the report is making it's way "up the chain of command." Gen.

August 28th, 2009 NATO chief: mission to last 'as long as it takes'ANKARA, Turkey — NATO's mission in Afghanistan will last "as long as it takes" to ensure that the country is secure, the alliance's new leader said Friday during a visit to the Turkish capital. Thanks in part to an increase in the number of troops, the mission is making a difference in the war-ravaged and poverty stricken country, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

August 22nd, 2009 KABUL - Election monitors from the European Union Saturday described the Afghan presidential elections as "largely positive". Two days after the elections, the European Union Election Observation Mission to Afghanistan, in a statement, welcomed the elections "as a victory against those who wanted to prevent the Afghan people from deciding their own future".

August 8th, 2009 LONDON - The next chief of the British Army, General Sir David Richards, has warned that Britain's mission in Afghanistan could last for up to 40 years. "The Army's role will evolve, but the whole process might take as long as 30 to 40 years," General Richards told The Times.

July 13th, 2009 BRUSSELS - The European Union (EU) will send a 100-member team to Afghanistan to monitor the presidential and provincial council elections scheduled to take place Aug 20, according to a statement Monday. The EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) include the 17 core team experts who are already in Afghanistan and will be joined in due course by other observers, EuAsiaNews reported, citing a statement by the European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-member grouping.

July 5th, 2009 Obama to begin overseas mission SundayWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is embarking on his next foreign mission. He leaves late Sunday on a weeklong trip that takes him to Russia, Italy and Ghana.

July 5th, 2009 KABUL - A terrorist who allegedly recruited Afghan children to serve as suicide bombers has been taken into custody, US officials said Sunday. The arrest was made south of the Afghan capital of Kabul.

June 12th, 2009 BRUSSELS - NATO members states must give the Afghan police more training and better equipment to help them fight off insurgent attacks, the alliance's top official said Friday. Two-thirds of all the uniformed personnel killed in Afghanistan are police officers, and there is an "urgent need to provide them with better training, infrastructure and equipment", NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told alliance defence ministers.

June 12th, 2009 Summers says financial rescues were 'necessity'WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's economic adviser says the administration's efforts to rescue banks, insurance companies and car makers were done out of "necessity not choice." White House National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers' remarks come after government bailouts have put billions of taxpayer dollars at risk. Summers says the president "did not run ...

May 6th, 2009 Clinton kicks off Afghan-Pakistan talksWASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is kicking off two days of Obama administration talks with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan to prod them to step up efforts against the Taliban and other extremists. Clinton is meeting separately and together at the State Department with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and then Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (AH'-seef ah-LEE' zahr-DAH'-ree).

March 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday said that Pakistan's Afghan border regions had turned into "the most dangerous place in the world.