Politics Today: End Game for Obama's Afghan Decision
Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in politics. Because of the holiday, the column will not appear again until Monday. Happy Thanksgiving!
**President Holds Final Meeting on Troop Levels
**Said to be Planning to Add 34,000; Announcement to Come Next Tuesday
**Obama Hosting First Official State Dinner
According to McClatchy Newspapers, which cites unnamed U.S. officials, the president will announce that he will send 34,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, slightly fewer than then 40,000 being sought by the top U.S. commander there, Gen. Stanley McChrystal. There are 68,000 U.S. troops in the country now, including the 21,000 already deployed by the president.
The president will make a primetime address Dec. 1 on the Afghanistan decision, CBS News confirmed.
"Obama is expected to announce his long-awaited decision on Dec. 1, followed by meetings on Capitol Hill aimed at winning congressional support amid opposition by some Democrats who are worried about the strain on the U.S. Treasury and whether Afghanistan has become a quagmire, the officials said," reports McClatchy's Jonathan S. Landay, John Walcott and Nancy A. Youssef.
"They said the commander of the U.S.-led international force in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, could arrive in Washington as early as Sunday to participate in the rollout of the new plan, including testifying before Congress toward the end of next week. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry also are expected to appear before congressional committees.
"In addition, a 7,000-strong division headquarters would be sent to take command of U.S.-led NATO forces in southern Afghanistan — to which the U.S. has long been committed — and 4,000 U.S. military trainers would be dispatched to help accelerate an expansion of the Afghan army and police."
"The top U.S. general and the U.S ambassador in Afghanistan have been told to prepare to testify before Congress as early as next week, according to White House and other U.S. officials," reports the Washington Post's Michael D. Shear and Scott Wilson.
"…the two have been told that their testimony would quickly follow Obama's announcement, so that they could offer details and support for the president's strategy for how to proceed with the eight-year-old war. Opinion polls show that most Americans believe it is no longer worth fighting."
5695297"Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates would probably testify first, said a government official, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity," reports the Los Angeles Times' Julian E. Barnes and Christi Parsons.
"Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal and U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry also have been told to prepare to testify soon after Obama's announcement.
"As the U.S. officials closest to the action on the ground, the pair are considered the most familiar with the current situation. They could also receive the closest scrutiny.
"Whereas McChrystal has pushed publicly for 40,000 troops, Eikenberry has said he opposes sending more forces until Afghan President Hamid Karzai takes steps to improve governance and reduce corruption.
"A joint appearance by the two U.S. men would present a united front. But it could also showcase tense moments as lawmakers probe for areas of disagreement."
"President Barack Obama held a "rigorous final meeting" with his Afghanistan war council and is expected to announce his revised strategy for the eight-year-old conflict just after his Thanksgiving break," reports the Associated Press' Anne Gearan and Jennifer Loven.
"Obama held the 10th meeting of his Afghanistan strategy review since mid-September on Monday night, with a large cast of foreign policy and military advisers, to go over that revised information from war planners. The two-hour Situation Room session was aimed at discussing 'some of the questions that the president had, some additional answers to what he'd asked for,' Gibbs said." (NOTE: CBS News' Mark Knoller reports the meeting was actually the ninth meeting. The AP is counting a meeting the White House specifically said was separate from the decision making process on Afghanistan.)
A photo released by the White House showed that Budget Director Peter Orszag was present at the meeting. "…his presence signaling growing concerns on the Hill and in the White House about the cost of the war, and/or a new avenue of pushback against Pentagon requests," writes Politico's Ben Smith.
Obama's First State Dinner: "President Barack Obama rolls out the red carpet Tuesday for India in the first official state visit of his presidency, but the stresses of a key relationship in a tinderbox part of the world will lie just beneath the glitz and glamour of a state dinner," reports McClatchy's Steven Thomas.
"A key reason for giving the visit the highest diplomatic status is to assure India that it remains a key U.S. partner in South Asia. 'This is a very important relationship with a very important country,' said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. "That's why India was chosen to be the first visit.'"
Adds the Los Angeles Times' Mark Magnier: "'The state visit by Manmohan Singh, which is sure to appeal to many Indians' desire for adequate attention, appears to be an attempt to overcome this lingering perception of India being slighted by the Obama administration,' said Dhruva Jaishankar, a program officer with the Washington-based German Marshall Fund of the United States."
The talks are "considered critical to showing Washington's commitment to New Delhi in a region where its rivals, China and Pakistan, are U.S. priorities," reports Reuters' Matt Spetalnick.
"Obama's challenge will be to ease the emerging Asian power's concerns that it is slipping down his foreign policy agenda, dominated recently by efforts to craft a new war plan in Afghanistan and curb Iran's nuclear ambitions."
"The U.S. hope is that the Pakistani army can devote more resources to fighting Islamic militants who threaten the stability of Pakistan as well as of neighboring Afghanistan.
"The more India and Pakistan lessen tensions, the easier it is for each to do what has to be done," the administration official said as Obama prepared to announce a new Afghanistan strategy as early as next week."
Due to bad weather, the arrival ceremony will be held this morning in the East Room of the White House. The president and prime minister will hold a joint press conference at 11:35 a.m. Eastern Time, following bilateral meetings. The state dinner begins at 8:15 p.m., following a 7:00 greeting of Prime Minister Singh and Mrs. Kaur by the president and first lady.
"In the picture, Palin smiles confidently, though the sky behind her seems to threaten rain. The women who waited in line for hours Monday at Fort Bragg to see Palin have game faces too, the ones they show their children when their husbands are away at war, when they're tired and have nothing but their faith and their guts to keep them going.
"She's such a strong female," said Jacqui McDowell, 28, who stood in the rain outside the post exchange with two other military wives and their six young children between them. The women's husbands have been in Afghanistan since May. Palin's oldest son is in the military and spent a year in Iraq.
"She understands," McDowell said.
"Fort Bragg officials said about 4,000 people showed up and as many as 700 were too late to get their copies of the book signed," reports the Fayetteville Observer.
"The former Alaska governor and vice-presidential candidate spent most of her time signing her name as fast as she could inside copies of her memoir 'Going Rogue.'
"As Palin left, she said she appreciated the soldiers at Fort Bragg and said she that she didn't know what she planned to do in 2012. It's been rumored she'll run for president.
Palin's father, Chuck Heath Sr., spoke to reporters and said he wasn't sure of what her political plans are. But, he said, 'you haven't seen the last of her yet.'"
"Army officials initially feared the book signing might turn political and negative comments would be directed at President Barack Obama, so they barred media from attending. The Army later relented and allowed coverage, and many people who attended did voice their opposition to the commander in chief. ...
"Col. Billy Buckner, a spokesman for Fort Bragg, said the Army agreed to let Palin on post because she was no longer a politician.
"'She fell into a little bit of a gray area,' he said. 'She's not a political figure per se, but she certainly carries a tremendous amount of interest and influence across the country.'"
"… Asked how the health care overhaul would affect their own access to medical care, 57 percent said it would stay the same. Similarly, 61 percent said their personal financial situation would stay about the same.
"Among those who do expect a change, 28 percent said they thought their access to care would get worse, while 15 percent said they thought it would improve. On finances, 27 percent said they thought the health care bill would make them worse off financially, while 12 percent expected an improvement."
Reports the Wall Street Journal's Gerald F. Seib: "Sen. Joseph Lieberman, speaking in that trademark sonorous baritone, utters a simple statement that translates into real trouble for Democratic leaders: 'I'm going to be stubborn on this.'
"Stubborn, he means, in opposing any health-care overhaul that includes a 'public option,' or government-run health-insurance plan, as the current bill does. His opposition is strong enough that Mr. Lieberman says he won't vote to let a bill come to a final vote if a public option is included."
"President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) played major roles in allowing Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) to retain his committee gavel in 2008," adds The Hill's J. Taylor Rushing.
"One year later, Lieberman could end up killing Obama's and Reid's No. 1 priority: enacting healthcare reform."
"The Obama administration and two major lobbying groups are seeking to spur momentum for a health- care overhaul after the U.S. Senate cleared the way for a floor debate that is likely to extend to Christmas or beyond," reports Bloomberg News' Catherine Dodge.
"The administration released a report yesterday showing how states would benefit from the legislation to expand medical insurance coverage. The American Medical Association and AARP, which have endorsed the bill, announced a national television advertisement to highlight how they say the measure would improve Medicare and to defeat what they called 'scare tactics' by opponents."
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USA Today's Matt Kelley: Feds target misuse of stimulus cash
Associated Press: U.K. Begins Inquiry on Iraq War
Bloomberg News' Janine Zacharia: Clinton Makes Women's Economic Power, Security Key Policy Goals