By Steve Clemons

For some time, I have been writing that the US has lost sight of its al Qaeda-rationalized strategic objectives in Afghanistan and stumbled into a civil war.

WASHINGTON, DC — 10:00 am — Vice President Joe Biden was raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania and has lived for decades in Wilmington, Delaware — both working middle class communities that have been under siege from both domestic and international economic forces.

Tonight there is a classical music evening at the White House with Alisa Weilerstein (picture to left) and others — and some of my close friends are there.

(photo credit: Spencer Ackerman) US military crusade chronicler Spencer Ackerman has written a long, thoughtful treatment of the issues and players wrestling over the tough calls President Obama must soon make on America’s course in Afghanistan. It’s titled “The Decision” and appears in The National.

This is a guest note by BRIAN KATULIS, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. This article first appeared at the Center for American progress website on 2 November 2009, titled “Using U.S.

Matthew Hoh, the first US government official to formally resign his post because of objections to America’s course in Afghanistan, makes a compelling case that America has lost its strategic sensibilities in this war which President Obama has adopted as “the good war”.

Daniel Yergin has issued an updated version of his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power. When I asked why he chose to release an update of his earlier work, Yergin identified four key factors that have to be added to the energy policy picture.

Karzai Declared Winner. Abdullah Abdullah withdraws from runoff amid concerns about systemic fraud in election system — and Karzai is declared winner. Intrade never had much doubt in the outcome. Clinton Schedules Then Retracts Meeting with Japan Foreign Minister Okada.

Greetings TWN readers and commenters. My site has been under attack from a bunch of spammers — some are posting pretty outrageous material either pro or against Zionism; some is porn; and a lot is commercial.

This is a guest note by Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff at the Department of State from 2001-2005 and a sixteen-year long aide to General Colin Powell. He now serves as Harriman Adjunct Professor of Government at the College of William & Mary. South Carolina’s Worst My father was a life-long Republican.