News Summary - September 24, 2010

In today’s news: Gates defends administration internal debate on Afghanistan and says he does not expect major changes to Afghan strategy. Karzai calls for release of detained Afghan journalists. IEC says it has counted approximately 67% of Panjshir province’s vote. US Senators call for the firing of Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction.

Afghanistan — Security

• US Strategy: At a Pentagon press conference Thursday, Sec. Gates defended the Obama administration’s internal debates on Afghanistan policy and said that while he believes “we will find some areas where we can make some adjustments and tweaks”, he does not expect “any basic changes are likely to occur”. Adm. Mullen agreed, saying that “there certainly could be some adjustments, but we think the strategy is sound." [NYT] [AP] [Reuters]
• Journalists Detained: Pres. Karzai issued a statement yesterday calling for the Ministry of Information and Culture, which regulates the Afghan press, to take action for the release of three Afghan journalists detained by NATO over the past week on allegations that they had supported Taliban propaganda efforts. Reporters Without Borders issued a statement saying “we fear that in these three cases, the journalists are being held just for being in contact with the Taliban.” [AP] [Karzai Statement]

Afghanistan — Politics and Diplomacy

• Elections: The IEC said yesterday that it had counted approximately 67% of the Panjshir Province vote, and that 4.3 million votes had been cast in last Saturday’s elections. The Guardian reports that ISAF spokesmen have acknowledged that the level of security incidents on election day exceeded last year’s presidential vote. [AP] [Afghan2010] [Guardian]

Afghanistan — Remainders

• Senators Renew Call to Fire SIGAR Inspector General [AP] [WAPO]
• Commentary: The Right Plan B for Afghanistan - “The Obama administration should use the December strategic review of the war to reverse course. It’s time to start talking.” [Gilles Dorronsoro, CEIP]
• Commentary: Warlord TV - “There is an impressive and growing breed of professional Afghan journalists, but because they face intimidation from insurgents, warlords, drug lords, and government officials who demand positive coverage, the level of self-censorship is extremely high.” [Katherine Brown and Tom Glaisyer, FP]
• Commentary: A Cab Ride Through Herat Voting - “In some places, boxes and ballot papers had become rarer and more precious than rubies, setting in motion a massive exodus of the electorate in search of voting lands.” [Fabrizio Foschini, AAN]
• Commentary: What I Saw at Afghanistan’s Elections - “For all the inspiring images I saw of Afghans at the polls, at its core Afghanistan remains a deeply dysfunctional and dispirited country.” [Michael Cohen, AOL]