Clinton on Key Afghan Mission as U.S. War Fears Grow

U.S. lawmakers increasingly questioning course of war

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at a joint press availability with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, not shown, at the State Department in Washington. (Photo credit: Haraz N. Ghanbari / AP)

By Matthew Lee

July 17, 2010

WASHINGTON — As concerns grow about the war in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is heading to South Asia on a mission aimed at refining the goals of the nearly 9-year-old conflict.

U.S. lawmakers are increasingly questioning the course of the war. The number of soldiers from the U.S. and other countries in the international coalition in Afghanistan is on the rise. Corruption is a deep problem in Afghanistan, and members of Congress wonder about the utility of massive aid to both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Clinton will attend an international conference in Kabul on Tuesday where the Afghan government is expected to outline plans to improve security, reintegrate militants into society and crack down on corruption. She also plans to stop in Pakistan to push greater cooperation between Islamabad and Kabul. …

Last month was the deadliest of the war for international forces: 103 coalition troops were killed, despite the infusion of tens of thousands of new U.S. troops. So far in July, 54 international troops have died, 39 of them American. An American service member was killed by a blast in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, and an American died in a blast in the south on Friday. …

Full story

———

Related report on this site

24 Minus 8 in Afghanistan (July 14, 2010)

———

FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — July 17, 2009

3 Dead in Attack on Base in Iraq

One-year retrospective: One year ago today, I reported that three Minnesota National Guardsmen were killed in an attack on a U.S. base in Basra, Iraq.

———

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — July 17, 2008

On the Campaign Trail: Day Three

Two-year retrospective: Two years ago today, on the third day of my 2008 campaign against incumbent U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann for the Republican nomination in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, I was interviewed by Tim Pugmire of Minnesota Public Radio, who reported that political analyst Steve Frank of St. Cloud State University described Immelman as “a serious candidate.”

Excerpt:

Immelman says Bachmann showed a weakness on national security issues last year when she claimed knowledge of a secret plan to partition Iraq. …

“I did not oppose initially the invasion of Iraq because I had no reason not to trust the president and the secretary of state, Colin Powell, at the time,” he said. “And it’s only in 2004 that the truth began to come out about the cherry-picked intelligence and so on that I turned against the U.S. involvement in Iraq.” …