Late word tonight that CBS has corroborated earlier reporting that the President will agree to a troop escalation of close to 40,000 more troops for Afghanistan, making a long-term commitment to a counter-insurgency and nation-building strategy in the troubled country. McChrystal wanted 40,000 and the president has tentatively decided to send four combat brigades plus [...]

Some good reporters at McClatchy are claiming that the President will go fairly big in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama is nearing a decision to send more than 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan next year, but he may not announce it until after he consults with key allies and completes a trip to Asia later [...]

The Washington Post reports that the Defense Department has been testing two potential troop scenarios for Afghanistan. Both of them increase troops to a significant degree. The exercise, led by Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, examined the likely outcome of inserting 44,000 more troops into the country to conduct a [...]

As Afghanistan moves to a runoff election, the latest question in the debate over escalation has moved to whether or not a decision should be made before that election comes off and a governmental partner is known. The White House and Senate leaders appeared over the weekend to balk at making any decision until after [...]

So I’m initiating a weekend feature on the site – I’m trying to shake it up! – taking a look at a single issue from a variety of angles, making connections based on the available reporting from the week. Today I’ll be looking at Afghanistan, and the changing politics around the potential for escalating troop [...]