Afghanistan War 'Serious' and 'Deteriorating,' Mullen Says

from FoxNews

The situation in Afghanistan is "serious" and "deteriorating," the top U.S. military officer said Sunday, warning that the Taliban insurgency has gotten more sophisticated while the Afghan people increasingly fear for their safety.

Adm. Mike Mullen would not say whether the fight would require more than the 68,000 troops the administration has committed, but expressed concern about falling public support for the war which President Obama has called one of "necessity."

"This is the war we're in," Mullen said matter-of-factly, when asked about public perception of a conflict entering its ninth year.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the situation needs to be reversed in the next 12 to 18 months.

"I think it is serious and it is deteriorating," Mullen said. "And I've said that over the last couple of years, that the Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated." .....

Congressman Herger calls Obama plan 'threat to democracy'

By Paul Boerger

Republican Congressman Wally Herger held a health care town hall meeting Aug. 18 at Simpson University in Redding, where a partisan crowd of over 2,000 people loudly cheered Herger’s position that a public option was “unacceptable.” ....

Lawyers can question 9/11 suspect in writing

By DEVLIN BARRETT

WASHINGTON Lawyers for a Guantanamo Bay detainee will be allowed to question - in writing - accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a federal judge has ruled. The decision is a setback for government lawyers who had sought to limit the scope of detainee lawyers' challenges to the detention and prosecution of terror suspects.

In a written ruling, Judge Ricardo Urbina says lawyers for detainee Abdul Raheem Ghulam Rabbani can submit written questions about their client to Mohammed. Prosecutors say he worked for Mohammed, but Rabbani's lawyers contend he was just a menial servant, not a part of any terror network.

The ruling says prosecutors may review the answers before delivering them to Rabbani's lawyers to remove any national security information. ....

The necessary war: Americans must rally to battle terrorism in Afghanistan

A disheartening new poll says more than half of Americans think the war in Afghanistan isn't worth fighting. In increasing numbers, people are asking: Why are we even over there?

This week's election was a powerful reminder: To stop terrorists from planting their evil seed in that fertile ground ever again.

On Thursday, Afghans proved, as people repeatedly have proven throughout history, that hope can triumph over fear. They went to the polls in the face of violence and threats by the Taliban.

While fear did suppress the turnout, some northern districts reported 100% participation. In Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand Province, the center of the Taliban insurgency, hundreds cast ballots.

This is why we fight. Our terrorist enemies live in Afghanistan. But, as the week's election proved, so may our future allies. ....

Pentagon shift gives Red Cross names of detainees

By Eric Schmitt - The New York Times

Washington » In a reversal of Pentagon policy, the military for the first time is notifying the International Committee of the Red Cross of the identities of militants who were being held in secret at a camp in Iraq and another in Afghanistan run by U.S. Special Operations forces, according to three military officials.

The change begins to lift the veil from the U.S. government's most secretive remaining overseas prisons by allowing the Red Cross to track the custody of dozens of the most dangerous suspected terrorists and foreign fighters plucked off the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is a major advance for the organization in its long fight to gain more information about these detainees. The military had previously insisted that disclosing any details about detainees at the secretive camps could tip off other militants and jeopardize counterterrorism missions. ....

Outcry Over Vets' End-of-Life Guide

from FoxNews

The guide, called "Your Life, Your Choices," was suspended under the Bush administration but has been revived under the current Department of Veterans Affairs.

Specter calls for Senate hearings to scrutinize end-of-life care guide that one former Bush official calls a 'hurry-up-and-die' message to veterans. ....

Click here to read the End of Life Guide being discussed above

New York Times puts American lives at risk, again

(Michael Goldfarb) What possible value does this information have to readers of the New York Times that would justify the increased risk to the military personnel and contractors? ...

Khadafy to set up his tent in New Jersey suburb

(New York Post) A leafy New Jersey suburb will soon turn into a seething oasis of outrage when Libyan President Moammar Khadafy plops down a Bedouin tent in the middle of town next month while here for a UN General Assembly meeting. ....

White House plan emerges: Two-faced talk on purpose

(Washington Times) If it's Sunday, it's time for allies of President Obama to fan out on the talk shows. And if it's Monday, it may be time for the White House to walk back everything said on Sunday ...

Large Texas bank shut down by federal regulators

By MARCY GORDON

WASHINGTON (AP) - Guaranty Bank became the second-largest U.S. bank to fail this year after the Texas lender was shut down by regulators and most of its operations sold at a loss of billions of dollars for the U.S. government to a major Spanish bank.

The transaction approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. marked the first time a foreign bank has bought a failed U.S. bank.

The bank failure, the 10th largest in U.S. history, is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund an estimated $3 billion. ....