Things are heating up in Afghanistan again… The WaPo reports Defense Secretary Gates is voicing concern over the “growing level of violence” in Afghanistan and the U.S. and Afghanistan “plan to expand the Afghan army by up to 12,000 soldiers and accelerate shipments of tens of thousands of U.S. M-16 rifles, armored Humvees and other weaponry by the spring to counter a growing threat from Taliban insurgents and al-Qaeda fighters.”
In related news, Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East and South and Central Asian Affairs, which includes Afghanistan, will deliver a major policy speech on Wednesday on rescuing the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Kerry will deliver his speech at the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at 12:30 pm.
I’ll post the text of Kerry’s speech here when it is available.
UPDATE: The text of Kerry’s speech is available here: John Kerry Speaks at John Hopkins University SAIS on a Winning Strategy in Afghanistan
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I keep saying to myself over and over, “If only John Kerry was President today instead of Mr. Icompetent Bush.”