Tuesday, Obama will announce his strategy for Afghanistan

By: George Lerner

President Barack Obama has waited too long to address the instability in Afghanistan, putting at risk the efforts to stabilize the troubled country, two leading writers said Monday.

Historian Simon Schama and journalist George Packer told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that U.S. policy toward Afghanistan had drifted as the Obama administration had tried to focus on domestic priorities. The president is scheduled to unveil a new policy toward Afghanistan with a much anticpated speech at West Point on Tuesday night. He is expected to address recommendations for an additional 40,000 U.S. troops, on top of the 68,000 already in Afghanistan.

"Obama has to make the case that we need 100,000 American troops in Afghanistan, which is what it will be after this surge, in order to protect our own streets from Al Qaeda," said George Packer, staff writer for The New Yorker magazine and author of the "Interesting Times" blog. "That is the case he tried to make in March, and he's going to have to make it again, because that is his strategy.  It's not going to change very much."

Packer faulted the White House for concentrating on domestic issues, like health care reform and U.S. economic stability, and for failing to give a major speech on Afghanistan since March 2009, a silence that allowed public attention to slip.

"It's as if the White House thought one speech and then we can turn our attention to other business, because we don't really want our first year to be about Afghanistan.  We don't want the president out there continually, you know, beating the war drums when we've got all these other important issues, which are the issues that got him elected. But Afghanistan didn't care about the White House's communications strategy, and the war went downhill very fast."

Packer, said that the United States should look for success, rather than victory in Afghanistan, with "success" being defined as a relatively stable government in Kabul capable of preventing extremists from taking over or making the country ungovernable.

Columbia University professor Simon Schama, author of the multi-volume "History of Britain," urged President Obama to return to the multi-faceted role he had achieved as a candidate, willing to address many issues at the same time.

"He can't quite ever decide whether he's Mr. Focus or Mr. Multitask.  He was actually elected to be President Multitasking, I think," Schama said. "And there are certain moments in the life of our great republic, actually, when no matter what the health reform is, no matter how much in deep doo-doo the economy is, the - the nation really is hungry for the utterance of a commander-in-chief."

Schama called on the U.S. president to aspire to one of the country's greatest leaders, Abraham Lincoln, a figure who has served as a kind of touchstone for Mr. Obama. The Obama presidential campaign actually began on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, where Lincoln made his "House Divided" speech.

"Barack, you've got to be Abraham Lincoln tomorrow night," Schama said. "You've got to tell the story beautifully, truthfully, honestly and bravely.  You could do that."

Everything Christiane and Queen Rania of Jordan said during the interview on the Amanpour program.

Using: Wordle.net

A crime scene investigator stands near the bodies of some of the victims

By: Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

The Philippines this year has been the world's most dangerous country for journalists, an official of the advocacy group the Committee to Protect Journalists told CNN's "Amanpour" program Wednesday.

The killing of at least 18 reporters in a massacre that claimed the lives of almost 60 people this week means the Philippines is now even more hazardous than Iraq for journalists, said Bob Dietz, CPJ Asia Program coordinator

The massacre in the Philippines is the single worst mass killing of journalists in history, according to the CPJ.

The reporters were part of a group of more than 50 unarmed civilians traveling to register a candidate in an upcoming gubernatorial election in the southern province of Maguindanao.

Authorities in the Philippines have now declared a state of emergency in the south of the country and disbanded a government-backed militia suspected of having a role in Monday's massacre. The militia is linked to a powerful clan leader who has ties with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

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Christiane – all ears for the feedback.

The unprecedented effort of the Pentagon’s revolutionized warfare and creation of remotely-controlled drones to attack the enemy without risking the U.S. forces, caused controversy.  While most agreed with this concept, many others felt that the process could be dangerous if drones caused harm and killed innocent people.  This could lead to an extended war episode between countries and it “would be catastrophic” some said.  A few suggested it was best to concentrate the energy to find a “more peaceful” approach to deal with this situation, but overall the idea of swapping drones for soldiers appealed to most.

• Let’s not forget one important fact-"There are no Civilians in War"-if you sleep with a terrorist, have children with a terrorist-feed a terrorist-live in the same place as a terrorist-If you support a terrorist-then you are a terrorist.

- David Malaga, Spain

• Dear Amanpour:  I hope you will continue your intelligent, incisive and balanced examination of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  The points made in this article from one of the most prominent Israeli newspapers offer pertinent grist for the manpour mill.   /sj

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Sr. Writer Tom Evans

On AMANPOUR. today, we will look at the role of modern Islam as the Hajj pilgrimage begins in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Hajj started with two twists: thinner crowds amid fears of swine flu and heavy rain. But beneath the powerful symbol of Muslim unity lie deep schisms that divide the Islamic world. That’s the subject of our program today. There are also other stories making news today. Here are some perspectives on some of the headlines.

- Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

AFGHANISTAN ROW – New indications of tension in British-American relationship?

-          British defence secretary publicly criticizes Pres. Barack Obama for delays in sending more troops to Afghanistan, saying it’s made it harder for U.K. to defend the mission

-          Criticism comes after reports of serious strains between British and American commanders during the invasion and occupation of Iraq

-          Pres. Obama expected to send some 34,000 additional troops to Afghanistan; announcement likely next week

-          Reports many of reinforcements will go to southern Afghanistan, an area which is under the command of a British general

QUESTION:  Can the British and American militaries work together successfully, and without tension, in Afghanistan?
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