Summary: Richard Holbrooke, President Barack Obama’s special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, died unexpectedly at the age of 69 following surgery for a tear in his aorta. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on December 14, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that computer technicians found 22 million missing White House e-mails from the administration of President George W. Bush. The Bush White House e-mail archiving problems became publicly known in 2006, when federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald disclosed the irregularities during his criminal investigation of the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame.

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Summary: There are growing signs that the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan has worn out its welcome, with “foreigner fatigue” becoming increasingly apparent among the Afghan people. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on November 21, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that the United States government had spent $53 billion on reconstruction in Iraq since the 2003 invasion — building tens of thousands of hospitals, water treatment plants, electricity substations, schools, and bridges — but that there were growing concerns Iraq will not be able to adequately maintain the facilities once the Americans leave, potentially wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.

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Summary: Three U.S. special operations soldiers have been killed in a roadside bombing in northwest Pakistan, drawing unwanted attention to a U.S. program for intelligence gathering and training Pakistani Frontier Corps paramilitary forces to fight the Taliban and al-Qaida — a little-publicized mission because of local opposition to American boots on the ground in Pakistani. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on February 4, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that a classified Pentagon report urged President Barack Obama to shift U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan, de-emphasizing democracy-building and concentrating more on targeting Taliban and al-Qaida sanctuaries inside Pakistan with the aid of Pakistani military forces.

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Summary: Despite Pakistani protest, the Obama administration is ramping up its missile campaign against insurgent targets in North Waziristan along Pakistan’s northwest frontier with Afghanistan, where al-Qaida’s top leadership, possibly including Osama bin Laden himself, have taken refuge. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on January 17, 2009, Aubrey Immelman reported that by actually putting into practice the Neo-Conservative theories of pre-emptive war and unilateralism, George W. Bush demonstrated their failure more persuasively than could the most articulate critic.

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Summary: President Barack Obama has met with Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, as he ponders whether the U.S. should send tens of thousands more troops to crush the Taliban in a broad counterinsurgency strategy, or shift to a narrower antiterrorism focus on al-Qaida in neighboring Pakistan. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on the 24th 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 that the U.N. had declared the Pakistani capital of Islamabad unsafe for the children of its international staff, putting the once tranquil city on par with the capitals of Afghanistan and Somalia. He also reported that the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, had called for more troops to stem the deteriorating security situation.

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Summary: In Afghanistan, Taliban militants killed 20 people in a coordinated attack on three government buildings in Kabul, launching the assault after sending text messages to the leader of their terrorism cell in Pakistan. … In Iraq, 16 people were killed and 45 wounded when twin car bombs exploded at a bus terminal and market area in southwestern Baghdad.

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Summary: A U.S. spy satellite has captured an image of preparations at a North Korean missile site previously used for Taepodong-2 missile launch operations. The photograph shows North Korea assembling telemetry equipment at the site — equipment that would be needed for a launch to take place. … Taliban suicide attack kills 19 in attacks on Afghan government sites in Kabul.

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Summary: Afghanistan-Vietnam parallels: A president, eager to show his toughness, vows to do what it takes to “win.” … The nation that we are supposedly rescuing is no nation at all but rather a deeply divided, semi-failed state with an incompetent, corrupt government held to be illegitimate by a large portion of its population. … The enemy is well accustomed to resisting foreign invaders and can escape into convenient refuges across the border. … There are constraints on America striking those sanctuaries. … Neighboring countries may see a chance to bog America down in a costly war. … There is no easy way out.

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