If the Afghanistan “surge” and new comprehensive strategy are to succeed, we need to make sure civilian efforts are coordinated and thereby achieve maximum impact. This will ensure that we can apply collective international pressure on President Karzai, and that our resources achieve maximum effectiveness.
See: http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-12-17/whos-watching-karzai/
A few excerpts : 
“In his standard command briefing, Gen. Stanley McChrystal points [...]

Six Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay to be repatriated – washingtonpost.com
Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), a critic of the administration policy on Guantanamo, said Yemeni detainees pose a particular risk because of the instability of their home country.
“Stop. These men are dangerous,” Wolf said when asked about the transfer. “I believe they will be involved [...]

Iran tests long-range missile, raises ire of West – washingtonpost.com
Iran on Wednesday test-fired an upgraded version of its most advanced missile, which is capable of hitting Israel and parts of Europe, in a new show of strength aimed at preventing any military strike against it amid the nuclear standoff with the West.
Well, we can’t [...]

China and U.S. Hit Strident Impasse at Climate Talks – NYTimes.com
China, which last month for the first time publicly announced a target for reducing the rate of growth of its greenhouse gas emissions, is refusing to accept any kind of international monitoring of its emissions levels, according to negotiators and observers here. The United States [...]

Check out today’s Planet Panel featuring ASP Sr. Fellow Bernard Finel in the Washington Post. The question du jour:
Almost every key question at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen comes down to how should rich and poor countries shoulder responsibility for climate change. What would be a way of reconciling these differences?
Highlights from Dr. [...]

Climate talks stall over requirements for rich nations – washingtonpost.com
Global climate talks ground to a halt Monday morning when a large bloc of developing countries complained that rich nations are abandoning the pact that has governed climate policy for more than a decade, though work continued behind the scenes on a new agreement.
The group [...]

Drone attacks may be expanded in Pakistan — latimes.com
Reporting from Washington – Senior U.S. officials are pushing to expand CIA drone strikes beyond Pakistan’s tribal region and into a major city in an attempt to pressure the Pakistani government to pursue Taliban leaders based in Quetta.
The proposal has opened a contentious new front in the [...]

The whole post is excellent, and the conclusions a very nice summary of the key problems with COIN:
Sic Semper Tyrannis : Counterinsurgency – a much failed strategy?
COIN is a badly flawed instrument of statecraft: Why?
- The locals ultimately own the country being fought over. If they do not want the “reforms” you [...]

From Ackerman’s coverage of McChrystal Testimony:
Even Further Clarification on Afghan Security Force End-Strength « The Washington Independent
During today’s House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Afghanistan, Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) asked if an increase to 400,000 Afghan soldiers and police — that figure stands at a little under 200,000 total now — will be enough.
Gen. Stanley [...]

Arrest of Americans shows growing internationalism of Pakistani militant groups – washingtonpost.com
The arrest in Pakistan of five Americans who authorities say may have been on their way to terrorist training camps highlights the growing internationalism of Pakistani militant groups — both in their aims and their appeal.….The men, who had not been charged as of [...]