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The Leadership Is Changing but the Strategy Is the Same
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The Leadership Is Changing but the Strategy Is the Same

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McChrystal is out and Petraeus is back in, but the strategy remains the same, along with questions about whether it’s a recipe for success or for failure. We look at the prospects. Also, today's Supreme Court ruling weakens the Honest Services Law. On Reporter's Notebook, with a final score of 70 games to 68, a record-setting Wimbledon tennis match is called "both gripping and deadly dull." 

Banner image; The President announces that he will appoint General Petraeus to take leadership of the mission to break the Taliban’s momentum, build Afghan capacity, and relentlessly apply pressure on al Qaeda, June 23, 2010. White House photo: Samantha Appleton

Making News

Supreme Court Ruling Weakens Honest Services Law ()

The Supreme Court today weakened a law passed to fight public corruption, saying what the law calls “honest services fraud” is too vague to constitute a crime. Some high-profile recent convictions could be in trouble. Solomon Wisenberg is a white-collar defense attorney in Washington, CD.

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Main Topic

Petraeus to the Rescue ()

After President Obama read the first few paragraphs of Rolling Stone magazine's profile of General Stanley McChrystal, it was less than 48 hours before David Petraeus accepted command of US troops in Afghanistan. Petraeus will be implementing his own strategy, which will smooth his replacement of McChrystal. But "counterinsurgency" hasn't been working the way it's supposed to. The Taliban are tenacious, local officials are unreliable and US troops are frustrated. Petraeus rescued the war in Iraq during the Bush years, but said himself the war in Afghanistan was going to be tougher. Can he unify a dysfunctional team of military and civilian leaders? Can he meet the President's deadline of beginning a troop draw-down by July of next year?

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Reporter's Notebook

The Longest Tennis Match in History ()

Neither is likely to be this year's Wimbledon Champion, but the winner and the loser got commemorative bowls today after a match that set records for games played, aces served and extraordinary endurance. American John Isner outlasted France's Nicolas Mahut after a match that took 11 hours and 5 minutes over three days at Wimbledon. The final score was 70 games to 68.  Xan Brooks of the Guardian called it "a bizarre mix of the gripping and the deadly dull." 

 

Guests:
  • Xan Brooks: Writer and Editor, Guardian newspaper
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