Summary: In Afghanistan, the five-member “Red team” is rethinking the war in Afghanistan and questioning some of the basic assumptions behind the effort to clean up corruption and gain the upper hand over the Taliban. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on September 25, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that President Barack Obama, speaking at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh on a day the Pentagon announced five more American deaths in Afghanistan, said he understood that Americans were tiring of the war in Afghanistan and that he was examining whether the U.S. was pursuing the right strategy there.

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Summary: Analysis of President Barack Obama’s political personality, leadership style, and decision-making on Afghanistan. … The Taliban’s reclusive leader, Mullah Omar, has ruled out talks with President Hamid Karzai and called on Afghans to break off relations with the “stooge” Kabul administration and continue the jihad, implying there will be no negotiations while foreign troops are in the country. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on November 25, 2008, Aubrey Immelman reported that KBR, a contractor providing services to the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, had committed serious violations of its contract, mainly by conducting inadequate inspections of electrical wiring and grounding at American bases. The Pentagon findings stemmed from the death of Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a highly decorated 24-year-old Green Beret from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who was electrocuted on January 2, 2008 while taking a shower at his base in Baghdad.

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Summary: News and analysis on the 8th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan to topple the Taliban government, destroy al-Qaida, and kill or capture Osama bin Laden and other leaders of the terrorist organization. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 28th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, examined the differences between presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain with respect to handling the war in Iraq.

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Summary: Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the eight-year conflict “will likely result in failure.” … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 12th day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported on a truck-bombing of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, that killed more than 50, and violence in Iraq, including an assassination and bombings.

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Three soldiers have been killed in an attack on a U.S. coalition base in Basra, Iraq. … Update: It has been confirmed that the three American soldiers killed in a rocket attack on a U.S. base in Basra were members of the Minnesota National Guard 34th Infantry Division Red Bulls. … Taliban commanders are threatening to execute a captured American soldier unless the U.S. military stops operations in two districts of southeastern Afghanistan. … Update: Taliban releases video showing captured soldier. … Coordinated bombings kill at least 8 and wounding 50 at the Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriott hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the third day of his 2008 campaign against incumbent U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman was interviewed by Tim Pugmire of Minnesota Public Radio, who quoted political analyst Steve Frank of St. Cloud State University as saying Immelman was “a serious candidate.”

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Summary: A study by the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) has concluded that the Taliban insurgency is widening its presence in Afghanistan and “closing a noose around Kabul.” According to the report, titled “Struggle for Kabul: The Taliban Advance,” the Taliban “now holds a permanent presence in 72 percent of Afghanistan, up from 54 percent a year ago.”

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Summary: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has offered to provide safe passage and security for the Taliban’s reclusive leader, Mullah Omar, if he agrees to enter peace talks, and said the U.S. and other Western nations could leave the country or oust him if they disagree. Taliban militants later rejected the offer, saying there would be no negotiations until foreign troops leave Afghanistan.

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Summary: On the 22nd day after losing his 2008 primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Aubrey Immelman, in line with his focus on national security, reported on the growing Taliban influence in Pakistan.

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