National Security

Everything's Not Coming Up Poppies

By Mark Thompson | @MarkThompson_DC | November 23, 2010 | +

The Pentagon’s latest report on progress in Afghanistan, released late Wednesday afternoon, is mixed, but it starts out upbeat:

Progress across the country remains uneven, with modest gains in security, governance, and development in operational priority areas. The deliberate application of our strategy is beginning to have cumulative effects and security is slowly beginning to expand. Although significant challenges exist, some signs of progress are evident. Areas of security in Kabul and the surrounding districts have allowed for improvements in development and governance. Progress is also visible in areas where Coalition forces have been on the ground for more than six months, such as Central Helmand Province. Socio-economic development throughout the country is slowly improving, as the Afghan Government shows initial signs of improving essential service delivery, although it is limited still by the security environment in some areas. Agricultural development and productivity has also improved. Overall governance and development progress continues to lag security gains. Governance capacity and economic development are long-term efforts that will require sustained support from the international community.

But deeper into the report are lots of bleak details about the Taliban’s spread and growing clout. See the full report here.

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  • formerlyjames

    Listen, I can do this and be a star reporter at Time. Pass on Pentagon propaganda releases. Where do I apply? I try to not be overly negative but this disgusts me. Thompson and Crowley are out of their element, that of sensationalist tabloid journalism. God, how I miss KT, and relish every Klein post.

  • http://forgottenlord.livejournal.com forgottenlord

    I like the occasional forwarding to a report. I read relatively few front pages or home pages to news sites so getting forwarded the occasional document is nice. Sure, maybe it would be better if these were given to Adam so he can post as part of his collective “must reads” section, but getting the occasional highlight of gems is nice. Considering the quality Mark Thompson often provides in analysis and furthering discussion, I really don’t feel it’s fair to complain if his occasional post is just a report forwarding.
    .
    Crowley is another story.

  • deconstructiva

    I miss KT too. I hope she still reads this blog and hasn’t totally forgotten us.

  • gysgt213

    Nothing about American Taxpayers losing milions of dollars by an imposter? Due to the hopeless and impossible task of making a country stable that really is not that into it.

  • gysgt213
  • stuartzechman
  • shepherdwong

    You know what story I’d like to see? One where our elites demonstrated some competency. Any of them. Any competency at all.

  • shepherdwong

    Oh, and speaking of poppies, I hear the stuff on the street has never been purer or cheaper. What a clusterf@ck.

  • gysgt213

    Damn. That’s a good website or blog name. http://www.joekleinnotyourfriend.com

  • gysgt213

    Motor Trend and Rush Limbaugh. This is epic.
    .
    http://blogs.motortrend.com/rush-judgment-5957.html#ixzz169WENAEJ

  • gysgt213

    Knuckle heads got a team of CIA agents killed, have gave up millions of dollars to afghan front compaines posing as construction companies and transportation compaines and the latest is they gave millions of dollars to some one they had to clue of who he was. Priceless.

  • http://jcapan.wordpress.com jcapan
  • Cliff

    So I gotta ask: why did none of the “bleaker details” make the front page here?

  • Ivy_B

    OTOH, Joe came in as #30 in Salon’s War Room Thirty Hack Columnists.

    http://www.salon.com/news/war_room_hack_thirty/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2010/11/23/hack_list_19

  • Ivy_B

    Sorry, that was #19. Don’t mean to diminish the accomplishment.

  • http://erieangel.wordpress.com erieangel

    I was wondering the same thing. All we get is the so-called news and then we’re told there is “bleak news” but we never see or hear it.
    .
    Where is Time.com’s report on the Taliban imposter to whom the CIA supposedly gave millions? Then I read someplace else that no money changed hands (yeah, right). Where is the report on the corruption of the Karzi government?
    .
    And where are the state-side stories. Like the one about AZ cutting medicaid to 98 patients in need of transplants without which they’ll die. Talk about death panels!! Or how about the actual joblessness in this country? Now those are stories I’d like to see because unless the press hammers the topic nothing will change. The press needs to put a human face on the joblessness on a daily basis. That means stories about real people–from the single mother who lost her factory job to the corporate banker who lived the high life prior to the “great recession”. Every single unemployed person in this country is a tragedy. A national tragedy and a disgrace and the media should be in front of this story big time even it means embarrassing their corporate bosses.

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