Gen. Sekouba Konate, the Guinean military’s No. 2, spoke to soldiers during avisit to one of the capital’s military barracks among swirlingspeculation that the ruling junta is splintering. Hisappearance was the first time he had spoken to the public since theassassination attempt of military leader Capt. Moussa “Dadis” Camara.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal speaks with Charlie Rose about what”winning” in Afghanistan would mean. McChrystal’s assessment ofAfghanistan has been at the core of the new Afghanistan strategy. Hesays that the United States’ overall goal should be to give the Afghanpeople a reason to believe that they can live in peace. In a conflictcolored by political and cultural complexities just as much as combat,McChrystal says the Afghan people will ultimately determine who has wonthe war.
In a joint news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates,Afghan President Hamid Karzai stated that Afghanistan is 15 to 20 yearsaway from being able to afford a modern, expansive military force.Gates says that he does not see that long of a time frame and hopesthat Afghan forces will be able to operate on their own in five years.Al Pessin reports from Kabul for VOA News.
Former Knesset member Yossi Beilin speaks with WorldFocus’ DaljitDhaliwal about the Israeli government’s issues with West Bank settlersand peace talks with Palestinian officials. Beilin says that in theend, he is confident that settlers will comply with the government’srequests. A temporary freeze will not revive peace talks between theIsraelis and the Palestinians, however, says Beilin.
Recent attacks in Iraq have shaken Iraqi security gains after a periodof relative calm. The most recent attack, killing 170 people andinjuring hundreds more, coincided with the announcement of a newpresidential election date. Jane Arraf of the Christian Science Monitorand Global Post talks to NewsHour’s Gwen Ifill about the mood inBaghdad, Obama’s election intervention and from where this new wave ofviolence may be coming.
In a meeting in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama and TurkishPrime Minister Tayyip Erdogan discussed a wide range of topics fromenergy to Armenia-Turkey relations. Obama emphasized not only theirNATO commitments to one another, but also focused on the increasingeconomic ties between the two nations.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen speaks withNewsHour’s Jim Lehrer after having spoken with troops that will deployto Afghanistan as part of President Obama’s new strategy. Mullen saysthat he stressed to troops that they should learn about Afghan cultureto try and best understand the people they are fighting alongside. Healso again stressed that the 2011 withdrawal date is simply a target.
Vali Nasr talks to WorldFocus’ Daljit Dhaliwal about the role of Iran’srising middle class. Nasr, a professor at the Fletcher School at TuftsUniversity, says that recent protests are an illustration of Iran’seducated youth and their lean toward the West.
Russia and India continue to bolster ties through a nuclear agreement.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has stressed that nuclear cooperationbetween the two nations is only for peaceful collaboration and thatRussia does not intend to expand the nuclear club. Prime MinisterManmohan Singh was in Moscow for the leaders’ third meeting this year.
President Barack Obama’s plan to send 30,000 troops to Afghanistan bymid-2010 — with withdrawal plans for July 2011 — may provide someassurances to Afghanistan’s neighbors. Analysts say that a withdrawaldate is not necessarily the ideal situation, but will help givePakistan some idea of when an end may be in sight. VOA’s Ravi Khannareports on how a withdrawal date may be the key to a risky strategy.
Bolivia has re-elected Evo Morales for another term as president.Morales, the nation’s first indigenous leader, enjoys popular support.However some say his leadership has scared away foreign investment andcaters too heavily to the indigenous majority.
RussiaToday reports on Vladimir Putin’s longest ever question andanswer session with the Russian public. The four-hour dialogue coveredtopics such as Russia’s counter-terrorism efforts, the economy andStalin. This lengthy discourse takes place among rumors that Putin maybe considering running for president again in 2012.
Steve Clemons of the New America Foundation talks with United NationsSpecial Representative in Iraq Ad Melkert. Melkert says that Iraqis arebeginning to feel the weight of responsibility as the fate of the “newIraq” is increasingly placed in their hands. In that vein, Melkert sayshe thinks the stalled Iraqi election will take place “reasonably soon.”
Romanians are plagued by frustration as they gear up to cast theirballots in the upcoming presidential election. Critics of the candidates say,twenty years after the fall of communism, their choices for a nationalleader are disappointing at best.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet says that a strongU.S. dollar is good for a bilateral relationship with the Euro. In aDow Jones Newswire interview, Trichet stressed that the independence ofall central banks of major economies, such as the Fed, is of extremeimportance for confidence — the key factor he believes has beenlacking since the financial crisis. For more on the global impact of the dollar, read this piece from WPR contributor Daniel McDowell.
NewsHour’s Jim Lehrer interviews Defense Secretary Robert Gates aboutthe new strategy in Afghanistan. Gates says that he has signeddeployment papers for the first wave of the 30,000 troops to leave in acouple of weeks. He also says President Obama’s 2011 exit date iscontingent upon the conditions on the ground and is not necessarilyfirm.
General Stanley McChrystal brings the new Afghanistan policy toofficers on the ground in Kandahar. In his presentation, the topcommander in Afghanistan said “I think it’s the end of the beginning.”He then proceeded to lay out President Obama’s plan to add 30,000 moretroops and to focus efforts on southern Afghanistan. Al Jazeera’sClayton Swisher reports on McChrystal’s message to troops.