Crux of Afghan Debate: Will More Troops Curb Terror? -- New York Times
WASHINGTON — Does the United States need a large and growing ground force in Afghanistan to prevent another major terrorist attack on American soil?
In deploying 68,000 American troops there by year’s end, President Obama has called Afghanistan “a war of necessity” to prevent the Taliban from recreating for Al Qaeda the sanctuary that it had in the 1990s.
But nearly eight years after the American invasion drove Qaeda leaders from Afghanistan, the political support for military action that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has faded. A war that started as a swift counterattack against those responsible for the murder of 3,000 Americans, a growing number of critics say, is in danger of becoming a quagmire with a muddled mission.
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More News On Afghanistan
Suicide Bomber Attacks NATO Base in Afghanistan -- New York Times
Taliban strike Kabul's airport -- The Telegraph
Suicide Bomb Blast Kills 3 at Airport in Afghan Capital -- Voice of America
Three dead in suicide attack on Kabul airbase -- AFP
3 Civilians Killed in Afghanistan Rocket Attack -- Voice of America
FACTBOX: Security developments in Afghanistan, Sept 8 -- Reuters
Merkel: no premature judgments on Afghan airstrike -- AP
Germany Offers Defense of Afghan Airstrike -- New York Times
Germany Faces Scrutiny Over Afghan Airstrike -- Wall Street Journal
In Germany, Political Turmoil Over Ordering Of Airstrike -- Washington Post
US Gen Stanley McChrystal rebukes Germans over Afghan strike that killed civilians -- The Telegraph
Rift widens between US and Germany over botched Afghanistan air strike -- The Guardian
Canadian general to investigate Kunduz air strike -- Canadian Press
Afghan Reaction To Strike Muted -- Washington Post
U.S. Troops in Afghanistan Accused of Misconduct in Hospital Raid -- FOX News
Aid Agency Says U.S. Soldiers Raided an Afghan Hospital -- New York Times
Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan returning home -- CBC
Alcohol banned on Afghanistan base after troops party too hard -- The Telegraph
Last Orders for Troops Arriving for Daily Duty with Hangovers -- Times Online
The Dismounted Campaign in Helmand -- Captain's Journal
US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 738 -- Washington Post/AP
AFGHANISTAN'S ELECTION
U.N.-backed commission orders Afghan vote recounts -- AP
Evidence of Ballot Fraud for Karzai Forces US Into Action -- Wall Street Journal
Afghan vote watchdog finds fraud, orders recounts -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Afghanistan commission orders partial vote recount -- CNN
COMMENTARIES, ANALYSIS, AND EDITORIALS
For Obama, A Pivotal Moment in Afghanistan -- Washington Post
Obama has yet to define U.S. objectives in Afghanistan -- Kansas City/McClatchy News
Obama's Afghan Dilemma: Go Big Or Go Home? -- National Journal
The Emerging Obama Doctrine -- Joseph Ashby, American Thinker
Opinion shifts on Afghanistan -- Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
Afghanistan: Dig in or walk away? -- Simon Tisdale, The Guardian
The Afghan Stakes -- Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal opinion.
Afghan war reaches a tipping point -- Asia Times
Will Obama Fight For Afghanistan? -- Anne Applebaum, Washington Post opinion