Laura Rozen explores who will replace Kai Eide as the head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan. She reports rumors that Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura is the "top contender" for the position and is an American favorite. At the same time, there are reports that French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner has expressed interest in the job, but other sources explain Kouchner is looking to serve as an E.U. envoy equivalent to ...

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Afghan President Hamid Karzai is defending his cabinet choices from criticism that appointees will do little to solve the country's problems.  Several of the new ministers have been accused of "wrongdoing, poor performance, and corrupt practices."  Despite these concerns, many Western governments have expressed guarded, but generally positive reactions to the choices.  The choices still must gain parliamentary approval and Al-Arabiya writes that 23 of ...

Simon Tisdall argues corruption is a larger and more difficult problem than most people realize. He cites Lorenzo Delesgues of Integrity Watch who observes that some USAID programs lose up to 90 cents on the dollar to corruption and fraud.Juan Cole relays several articles from Afghanistan translated by the USG Open source Center on economic development. Among many other topics, there are articles concerning a fatwa against poppies, the growing role of China, ...

Laura Rozen relays the latest "feud fall-out" between Ambassador Galbraith and his former boss Kai Eide, reported by the New York Times. According to a letter from Eide, Galbraith's dismissal from his U.N. post in Afghanistan came shortly after he proposed a secret mission to depose Hamid Karzai and replace him with an interim government led by someone more favorable to the U.S. But Galbraith denies discussing any "extra-constitutional solution to the ...

The Christian Science Monitor reports that all 30,000 troops of the Afghan surge will not finish deploying until November, several months after the initially announced timeline.  President Obama is expected to conduct an evaluation of the new Afghan strategy that December, leaving only a month for the surge to take full effect. In an op ed for the Telegraph, President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia explains why his country has decided to send nearly 1,000 troops to Afghanistan, ...

General McChrystal and Ambassador Eikenberry testified about the new Afghan strategy before the Armed Service Committees in both the House and Senate yesterday. They will continue their testimony on the Hill both today and tomorrow. According to Chris Good at The Atlantic, General McChrystal's prediction of success in Afghanistan was couched in "a healthy amount of humility." McChrystal argued that a combination of the resolve of the Afghans, the unpopularity of the Taliban, ...

Ambassador Eikenberry and General McChrystal are on the Hill today testifying before the Armed Services Committees in both the House and Senate. They will continue to flesh out the new Afghan strategy in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tomorrow and in the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday.Meanwhile, Secretary Gates has arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced trip, reports Laura Rozen. According to Rozen, Gates has "downplayed the need for a full-scale shake ...

On the Sunday talk shows, the administration continued to clarify the new Afghan strategy with analysts weighing in from all sides. Secretary Gates affirmed the proposed July 2011 withdrawal date is "firm," but the rate will be determined by conditions on the ground. General McChrystal and Ambassador Eikenberry will testify before Congress this week to further elaborate on President Obama's new Afghan strategy. Meanwhile, The New York Times provides interesting insight into the strategy review process that ...

As General McChrystal assured the Afghan cabinet the U.S. was not abandoning its mission,  Secretary Clinton, in an op ed for The Telegraph, called on all nations to help with the mission in Afghanistan. Ultimately, she asserts: "we recognise that only the Afghan people can decide what kind of national they want to build for themselves. And only the Pakistani people can ensure their country's democratic future." Heeding the call, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark ...

As the first of the 30,000 new U.S. troops prepare to deploy within two to three weeks, debate at home continues over President Obama's new Afghan strategy. Notably, Secretary Clinton, Secretary Gates, and Admiral Mullen testified before Congress yesterday on the new Afghan strategy and will continue their testimony today.Juan Cole relays reactions to Obama's Afghan strategy from the region. In short, Kabul is content, the Taliban are indignant, the Indians are satisfied, the Russians are ...

President Obama delivered a speech yesterday at West Point that delineated his new strategy in Afghanistan, stipulating a troop surge of 30,000 soldiers that will begin to withdraw after 18 months.  The new strategy consists of three complementary efforts of the military, civilians, and a stronger partnership with Pakistan. President Obama narrowly defined the goal of the mission as destroying al-Qaeda, explaining that he refused to "set goals that go beyond our responsibility, our means, or ...

Time reports that the first of 30,000 additional troops will arrive in Afghanistan sometime before Christmas. Meanwhile, everyone is anticipating President Obama's speech tonight that will delineate the new Afghan strategy and establish a rough timetable for withdrawal.Rep. Jane Harman (D-Cali.) has released a statement praising Obama's new strategy that will "work around" Afghan corruption, but calls the troop increase a "mistake." Chris Good at The Atlantic provides a list of political candidates against the Afghan strategy. In a similar vein, Matt ...

The Los Angeles Times reports that Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has abdicated control of the country's nuclear program, along with other powers, to the directly elected prime minister. The announcement came on the same day his amnesty from corruption charges expired, opening him up to criminal investigations. While Zardari claims the move is part of a greater plan to transfer greater powers to directly elected officials, the article suggests the unpopular Zardari ...

Marc Ambinder reports that President Obama will detail his Afghan strategy tomorrow in a speech at West Point. It is expected he will order approximately 30,000 more troops to the country with the primary goal of building up the Afghan National Army. While he will detail an exit strategy, he will not define any timetable based on political developments, nor will he "impose direct conditions" on President Karzai.Writing for the National Interest, Nikolas ...

There is an increasing consensus that President Obama has decided to announce an increase of 34,000 troops next Tuesday. In a recent press conference, Obama insisted "it is my intention to finish the job." Matthew Cooper at Atlantic's Politics blog offers suggestions for what the President should say next week. Among them, he urges the President to avoid promises of creating a "perfect democracy" in Afghanistan, but instead seek to create "relative" ...

Marc Ambinder reports President Obama conducted his ninth and final war cabinet meeting last night. According to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, "President Obama has the information he wants and needs to make his decision and he will announce that decision within days." It is increasingly expected the President will announce a troop increase somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000. Meanwhile, Ambassador Holbrooke announced that Obama has nearly tripled the number of civilian ...

According to The Washington Post, U.S. officials are  "abandoning for now their get-tough tactics with Karzai and attempting to forge a far warmer relationship. They recognize that their initial strategy may have done more harm than good, fueling stress and anger in a beleaguered, conspiracy-minded leader whom the U.S. government needs as a partner." Now, the U.S. is trying to balance pushing Karzai to undertake necessary reforms while not cornering him ...

The Financial Times is calling upon Afghan President Hamid Karzaito move beyond "good speeches" and to change his government's corrupt ways and for the international contingency to decentralize the Afghan government.  The editorial argues that while this is not a perfect solution,  "Afghanistan is still largely a feudal society hostile to any form of central government."  Foreign Policy reports that former presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani has rejected any participation or power-sharing ...

President Hamid Karzai was sworn in for his second term today. In his inauguration speech, he promised to host a loya jirga, or tribal council, to invite "dissatisfied compatriots who are not directly linked to international terrorism to return to their homeland." Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari attended the event, as did Secretary Clinton who pressed Karzai to "tackle corruption" among other issues. Corruption pervades all levels of Afghan government and society, with the ...

Transparency International  now ranks Afghanistan the second most corrupt country in the world, only edging out Somalia. Pratap Chatterjee provides some context to the ranking by dissecting the "Afghan culture of corruption" and Alex de Waal details the "political souk where buyers and sellers haggle over the going rate for renting allegiances." In response, Michael Cohen at Democracy Arsenal suggests "we need to use troop levels as the ultimate lever" ...