Iraq: On Ground Updates - September 26, 2012

Iraq: On Ground Updates

Posters of Iran’s Smiling Supreme Leader Appear all Across Iraq - U.S. and Iraq Negotiating Agreement for Return of Small Units of American Soldiers to Iraq for Future Training Missions - Iraq Prevents North Korean Plane from Entering Its Airspace on Suspicion of Carrying Weapons for Syria - Michael Gordon's New Book on Iraq - 11 Killed, 25 Injured in Insurgents' Attacks Across Iraq

Wednesday, September 26, 2011

File photo by Iranian Supreme Leader Office

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* The Huffington Post had this report posted on their website Tuesday morning and it goes in part like this. …posters of Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei first appeared in at least six Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad and across Iraq's Shiite-dominated south in August, as part of an annual pro-Palestinian observance started years ago by Iran. They have conspicuously remained up since then… "When I see these pictures, I feel I am in Tehran, not Baghdad," said Asim Salman, 44, a Shiite and owner of a Baghdad cafe. "Authorities must remove these posters, which make us angry."… In Basra, located 550 kilometers (340 miles) south of the capital, they hang near donation boxes decorated with scripts in both countries' languages - Arabic and Farsi… A senior official in Baghdad's local government said municipal workers fear retribution from Shiite militias loyal to Iran in if they take them down…

Read the rest of this report at link below…

Iran ayatollah is poster boy for influence in Iraq

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* ForeignPolicy.com had the following article posted Tuesday and it starts off like this… Has Obama fulfilled his most famous national security campaign commitment from 2008: to end the Iraq war "more responsibly" than he says we began it? According to this excerpt from Michael Gordon's new book on Iraq, the answer may well turn out to be no… Read the rest at link below…

New book raises questions about Obama's handling of Iraq

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* The New York Times had the following report posted on their website Monday and it goes in part like this. …Iraq and the United States are negotiating an agreement that could result in the return of small units of American soldiers to Iraq on training missions. At the request of the Iraqi government, according to General Caslen, a unit of Army Special Operations soldiers was recently deployed to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and help with intelligence… So even as the country leans closer to Iran and contemplates buying weapons from Russia, it still seeks the military support of the United States. This is because Iraq is still facing a potent insurgency whose frequent recent attacks have raised questions about the ability of Iraq’s counterterrorism forces to face the threat… 
Read this report in full at link below…

Syrian War’s Spillover Threatens a Fragile Iraq

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* The Washington Post had the following AP report posted up on their website back on September 21^st and it starts off like this… Iraq prevented a North Korean plane from entering its airspace on suspicion it was carrying weapons for Syria, prompting praise from the U.S. on Friday but also demands for a ban of Iranian aircraft with similar suspect cargo… Iraq’s decision could potentially close a supply line for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s embattled regime, which is fighting a civil war against rebels trying to topple him… U.S. officials have accused Baghdad of allowing Iran -like North Korea an ally of Syria - to fly weapons to Syrian forces through Iraqi airspace, a charge Iraq has denied… 
Read the rest of this report in full at link below…

Iraq bans Syria-bound North Korea plane with suspected arms load, potentiallyclosing supply line

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* The Muslim News out of the UK had the following report today, (Wednesday) and it starts off like this… A total of 11 people were killed and 25 others injured Tuesday in bomb and gunfire attacks in Iraq, the police said… Read this report in full at link below…

Iraq: 11 killed, 25 injured in insurgents' attacks

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The news out of Iraq is never ending…

AubreyJ………

ROMNEY/RYAN2012

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UPDATE: Mideast Protesters that killed Stevens' and three others found to be Al-Qaeda - Saturday a 30,000 Strong Mostly Pro American March Forced Members of the Ansar al-Sharia out of their strongholds in Benghazi

Saturday, September 22, 2012

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 Map by CIA

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* FOX NEWS had the following report originally posted on their website early in the afternoon on Wednesday 19^th and it starts off like this… A top Obama administration official called last week's deadly assault on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya a "terrorist attack" for the first time -- a statement that publicly casts doubt on administration claims it was a "spontaneous" act… "Yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy," Matt Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said during a Senate hearing Wednesday… Olsen echoed administration colleagues in saying U.S. officials have no specific intelligence about "significant advanced planning or coordination" for the attack… However, his statement goes beyond White House Press Secretary Jay Carney and Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, saying the Sept. 11 attack on the consulate was spontaneous. He is the first top administration official to call the strike an act of terrorism…

Read this report in full, with News Video at link below…

Top administration official says strike in Libya was 'terrorist attack'
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Around 6:00pm CDT on Wednesday 19^th the following explosive info came out… Fox News… obtained a three-page intelligence report showing that two days before the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya, a statement incited "sons of Egypt" to pressure America to release the so-called blind sheikh "even if it requires burning the embassy down with everyone in it."… The web statement, apparently posted on Sept. 9, was in reference to the embassy in Egypt. It preceded a throng of demonstrators breaching the U.S. Embassy wall in Cairo, supposedly in protest over an anti-Islam film. Obama administration officials claim that attackers in Libya then took their cue from Cairo and seized the opportunity to attack the consulate in Benghazi…

Read the full report at link below…

DHS report warned last week of call for 'burning the embassy down' in Cairo

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-- Early Saturday Morning: September 22, 2012 --

30,000 Strong, Mostly Pro American March, Named “Rally to Save Benghazi”, Forced Members of the Ansar al-Sharia, (they’re the Militant Group Responsible for the Deaths of Stevens' and three others,) out of their strongholds in Benghazi Early Saturday Morning.

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* Telegraph.co.uk brings us the following report that starts off like this… Up to four people were reported dead in clashes which broke out when the last and biggest militia was attacked in the early hours of Saturday morning. Earlier, members of Ansar al-Sharia, the militant group accused of responsibility for Mr. Stevens' death, were forced out of their strongholds in the city… The deaths and promises of retribution by militia leaders presage more trouble to come. But for the moment the headquarters of the freelance groups that have held sway in Benghazi since the revolution that toppled Col Muammar Gaddafi are claimed to be in the hands of police and army units loyal to the newly elected Prime Minister, Mustafa Abushagur… The protests in Benghazi on Friday evening, estimated at 30,000-strong, featured pro-American slogans and banners, unusual for demonstrations in Arab countries. Though many protesters said they were attending "for Benghazi, not for America", some held up placards commemorating Mr. Stevens, who lived in Benghazi last year while coordinating American support for the revolution…

Read the full report at link below…

Libya: Benghazi crowds drive out Islamist militants blamed for killing US ambassador

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Libyan Protesters Force Militias Out

 CNN's Arwa Damon reports from Benghazi, describing the pro-democracy group's determination to reclaim the city.

This Video posted on YouTube by CNN

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AubreyJ………

ROMNEY/RYAN2012

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US Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and Three Others Murdered During Attack on U.S. Consulate Compound in Benghazi

US Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens

Official State Department Portrait

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    At least 20 armed Muslim Protesters/MURDERERS stormed the U.S. Consulate Compound in Benghazi Tuesday supposedly angered over an American film that depicted the Prophet Mohammad as being a fraud and womanizer.

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    Around a dozen Americans were inside the Consulate at the time, guarded only by security provided by the Libyan Government. It’s been reported that for around 20 minutes, the Libyan guards fought valiantly, exchanging fire with the attackers who were also pitching firebombs inside.

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    The Libyan Security Team, our supposed friends, really did us much justice, (NOT) and by protocol MOVED our Ambassador and others to another more secure building for safety after the initial wave of protests had begun. THEN… some of the members of the Libyan Security Team went out of their way and TOLD the murderous armed mob where the hell they had just MOVED our Ambassador and the others!!!  The rest is sadly history… Four are dead… including our Ambassador.

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    It’s also worth noting that on this same day, Tuesday, September 11, 2012, yes… the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks… Egyptian protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo… tearing down and burning the American flag and replacing it with an Islamic banner!

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    I’m sorry, but I do not care what others might say on this… But I truly believe this was a well timed, coordinated attack on America. This WAS as close to an Act of War on this Great Country of Ours as you can get! Even other U.S. officials are now saying that the attacks were not the result of a protest against an anti-Islam film but instead a coordinated terrorist attack timed for the 11th Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. And I do so agree…
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AubreyJ………

Aubrey J. Fawcett

September 12, 2012

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CIA Thwarts New Ambitious Underwear Bomb Plot by Al Qaeda Affiliate in Yemen to Destroy U.S.-Bound Airliner

Monday, May 07, 2012

* LATimes.com brings us the following AP report that starts off like this… The CIA thwarted an ambitious plot by Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, U.S. officials said… The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Dec., 25, 2009. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger's underwear, but this time Al Qaeda developed a more refined detonation system, U.S. officials said…

Read the full report at link below…

CIAthwarts new underwear bomb plot against jet
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AubreyJ………

ROMNEY2012

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File photo by Rewards for Justice

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Iraq: On Ground Updates - December 15, 2011

Iraq: On Ground Updates

U.S. End Operations in Iraq

U.S. officials formally shut down war in Iraq… a conflict that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said was worth the price in blood and money, as it set Iraq on a path to democracy.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

…DoD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

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- From Fox News early this Thursday morning, stateside… The Iraq war ended without a stray shot fired - with a simple ceremony at the Baghdad airport…

Read the story at link below…
Panetta Formally Ends U.S. Military Mission in Iraq

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Panetta Concludes Iraq Mission, Noting Service, Sacrifice

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  BAGHDAD, Dec. 15, 2011 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta joined Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey and other U.S. and Iraq leaders in honoring eight years of service and sacrifice as they commemorated the end of the U.S. military mission in Iraq.

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  “No words, no ceremony can provide full tribute to the sacrifices that have brought this day to pass,” the secretary said during a ceremony here.

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  Panetta paid tribute to the Iraqi government and military for their courage, leadership and loyalty to Iraq’s future. “Your dream of an independent and sovereign Iraq is now a reality,” he said.

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  He also praised the leadership of Ambassador James Jeffrey and Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Forces Iraq, who oversaw the drawdown that the secretary called “one of the most complex logistical undertakings in U.S. military history.”

“Your effort to make this day a reality is nothing short of miraculous,” he said.

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  But Panetta reserved his highest praise for more than 1 million U.S. military members who served in Iraq since 2003. “Your nation is deeply indebted to you,” he said. “You have done everything your nation asked you to do and more. Your dedication, your commitment to this mission has been the driving force behind the remarkable progress we have seen here in Baghdad and across the country.”

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  The secretary recognized the nearly 4,500 service members who died and more than 30,000 who were wounded making this progress a reality.

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  He also acknowledged family members who have experienced the strain, sacrifice and heartbreak of watching their loved ones deploy into harm’s way time and time again.

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  The outcome being commemorated today was never certain, the secretary said. He recalled traveling to Iraq in 2006, one of the most challenging periods of the conflict, as part of President George H.W. Bush’s Iraq Study Group. Sectarian violence had spiraled out of control and Iraq was in turmoil.

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  Five years later, at great cost in both blood and treasure, “the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real,” the secretary said.

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  “The Iraqi army and police have been rebuilt. Violence levels are down, al-Qaida weakened, rule of law strengthened, educational opportunities expanded and economic growth expanding,” he said. “And this progress has been sustained even as we have withdrawn nearly 150,000 U.S. combat forces from the country.”

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  The cost has been high, in blood and treasure for the United States and for the Iraqi people, Panetta noted. “But because of the sacrifices made, these years of war have now yielded to a new era of opportunity,” for a free, independent and sovereign Iraq, he said.

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  Panetta emphasized that Iraq’s challenges aren’t over, but promised that the United States will continue to stand with Iraq as it navigates them. “Together with the Iraqi people, the United States welcomes the next stage in U.S.-Iraqi relations, one that will be rooted in mutual interest and mutual respect,” he said.

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  In addition to a significant diplomatic presence, the United States will continue to promote partnership between U.S. and Iraqi military forces, Panetta said. “We will continue to help Iraq address violent extremism and defend against external threats,” he said, helping protect “all that has been sacrificed and accomplished.”

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  “We will continue to have a robust and enduring military presence across the Middle East,” he said.

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  For Iraq, Panetta called today an opportunity for it to forge ahead on a path to security and prosperity.

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  “We undertake this transition today reminding Iraq that it has in the United States a committed friend and a committed partner,” he said. “We owe it to all the lives that have been sacrificed in this war not to fail.

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  “This is not the end,” he concluded. “This is truly the beginning.”

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  After the casing of the colors, Panetta met with about 100 service members deployed during the final days of Operation New Dawn to thank them for their service.

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  “It is because of you,” and those who served here during the past eight years, “that we are able to be here today to mark the end of this war,” he said.

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  Asked by a young service member if the United States will be able to assist the Iraqis in the future if they need it, Panetta expressed confidence that it will, in accordance with an agreement to be reached by the Americans and Iraqis.

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  “We may be ending the war, but we are not walking away from our responsibilities,” he said.

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Written by Donna Miles - American Forces Press Service

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Here’s another good read I ran across at DoD today. Click it out at link below…

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey: Iraq Campaign Was Worth the Cost

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Over the next week or so, the last few thousand U.S. troops will leave Iraq for the last time and that will be it. That is until a new Republican President is elected into the White House next year and then I can see a day when more of a U.S. presents in Iraq will be felt and by the asking of the Iraqi government too.

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Let it be known… President Obama has been anything but a close friend to the Iraqi Government and a strained relationship has ensued between us because of it.

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Just look at today’s ceremony at Baghdad International Airport… First thing I noticed was that there were hardly any Iraqi officials attending. You would have at least thought that after all we have gone through, together, over the last so many years… that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki would have showed up! But not…

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With that said…

I’d like to say this to all our men and women who severed in Iraq…

 JOB WELL DONE and THANK YOU!!!

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Welcome Home…

AubreyJ………

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-- Home at Last –

If the World only knew

I remember back in 2005, how the left and the MSM were treating our troops. Reporting and miss-reporting ANYTHING that would make the troops look bad.

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They would spin the news of the day to try and show that the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces were nothing more than cold blooded murders… who loved killing… even women, children and the elderly!

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These people still make me sick, even today, as they now try to be all that, pro troops if I may. But be not fooled by them my friends. You just let Obama lose the White House and the left lose the Senate next year… and just wait and see how they turn on the troops in full force, in any upcoming missions under a Republican led President.

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  With that said… The following is a Video I put together back in 2005 to show the true hearts of our fighting men and women…

Enjoy!!!

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AubreyJ………

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-- If the World only knew –

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Afghanistan War Ten Year Anniversary Today - October 7, 2001-2011

Afghanistan War Started Ten Years Ago Today

October 7, 2001-2011

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Here’s a look at the first days of the war…

Afghanistan - Part One

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Afghanistan - Part Two

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I also put together the following two Videos…

Afghanistan Raw Video - August 05, 2009

Note: I rate this video as MATURE

Video and more removed by me in respect of Google Ads policy rules
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Freedom (A MUST SEE)
Even though the following video is from elections in Iraq a few years back...
Afghanistan too had elections and were done pretty much the same
way... dyed index finger tips and all.
ENJOY!!!

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All above videos by me at AubreyJ818

I’ll always remember the date of Oct. 7^th

And the start of the Afghan war

For it too is my Birthday!

AubreyJ………

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In memory of all the ones that gave their all since the start of the War on Terror

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Video: Hurt and Pain

There’s a lot of HURT, Pain, Evil, Unrest, Conflict, Starvation and Massacres in the world today all caused by a few Cruel and Heartless People. Most of these cruel... heartless people do not need to be lawyered up, Mr. President. They need to be hunted down... KILLED... or tried if need be... by our military and others from around the World...
The following Video is from my YouTube Favorite Section-- Powerful Video --

. -- This Video removed by me due to Google Ad Policies -- 

This video posted on YouTube by herzin

....................AubreyJ..........

President Obama ALREADY looking for “exit strategy” in Afghanistan

Sunday, March 22, 2009
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* The New York Times had this article posted on their website today and it starts off like this… The United States must look for a way out of the war in Afghanistan, President Obama said, in a signal that the military build-up in Afghanistan will not be open-ended and will lead to the eventual withdrawal of American and NATO troops from the country.
Read the rest of the story at link below…
Obama Says a Way Out of Afghanistan Is Needed
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* AFP reports it this way… US President Barack Obama said the United States must have an "exit strategy" in Afghanistan even as it expands its military, diplomatic and economic fight against a Taliban insurgency… "What we're looking for is a comprehensive strategy," Obama said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS television's 60 Minutes show… "There's got to be an exit strategy," he said. "There's got to be a sense that this is not a perpetual drift."… Obama's comments come as he prepares to roll out a new strategy for Afghanistan, against a backdrop of rising insurgent violence that has questioned the viability of a seven-year-old US-led effort to create a functioning democracy…
Read the rest at link below…
US Afghan plan must have 'exit strategy': Obama
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* AP had this take… A comprehensive strategy in Afghanistan - including an exit plan - is key to America's "No. 1 mission" of preventing an attack on the U.S., its interests or its allies, President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast Sunday… "What we can't do is think that just a military approach in Afghanistan is going to be able to solve our problems," the president said on CBS' "60 Minutes." "So what we're looking for is a comprehensive strategy. And there's got to be an exit strategy. There's got to be a sense that this is not perpetual drift."…
Read this report in full HERE

White House file photo by Pete Souza
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AubreyJ………