As the week begins after Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Barack Obama laid out his foreign policy ideology, which included a critique of Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr., "We can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace," he calls his decision on sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan his "toughest yet" of his presidency, defending his decision in a "60 Minutes" interview.
Lack of a peace movement in America, has left some remaining voices desperate for a message. American al Qaeda, Adam Gadahn, also known as Azzam the American, released an address to the west on Friday, criticize American's killing of innocents, while 5 American's who used Facebook to find radical islamic groups in Pakistan now will face attempted terrorism charges after arriving in Pakistan and being rejected by extremist groups and caught by police. Whether they will face trial in Pakistan or the United States is yet to be determined.
The new Strategy in Afghanistan, contrary to US actions after ousting the USSR from Afghanistan, and previously in this war, US plans to succeed by investing heavily and staying as partners in Afghanistan. Dealing with rampant corruption and the opium trade continues to be an ongoing internal stability concern for the nation. Allies in Europe have signed on to support and aid in Barack Obama's new strategy. Pakistan is playing both sides, refusing to turn over a strong Taliban fighter who is also a Pakistani's spy agency asset, which is just another example of the divide between America and Pakistan in fighting the Taliban.
Blackwater, know known as Xe (Zee), is on the outs with the US Government & the CIA, canceling a contract where Blackwater loaded missiles on CIA Drones, which have become the weapon of choice in Pakistan, a day after the NY Times revealed the intertwined relationship between Blackwater & the CIA. While under grand jury investigation, Erik Prince gave an interview for Vanity Fair leaving some to interpret it as the first battle of a cold-war between Prince and the new administration.
Total American fatalities since 2001 in Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, stands at 930.