Oct 31, 2018

U.S. commander says it's time for a political solution in Afghanistan

Photo: Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images

Gen. Scott Miller, the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, told NBC News’ Courtney Kube that "now is the time to start working through" the political process of ending the war in Afghanistan.

Why it matters: Gen. Miller says U.S. troops have been "more in an offensive mindset" since he took over two months ago, a change prompted by heavy casualties. But he says the U.S. acknowledges it can't win with force: "My assessment is the Taliban also realizes they cannot win militarily. So if you realize you can't win militarily at some point, fighting is just, people start asking why. So you do not necessarily wait us out, but I think now is the time to start working through the political piece of this conflict."

Go deeper: 17 years later, Americans tend to consider Afghanistan a failure.

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Axios

Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 p.m. ET: 16,540,137 — Total deaths: 655,300 — Total recoveries — 9,616,147 — Map.
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Public health: The collision of hurricane season and the coronavirus has arrived — Fauci pushes back on critical Trump retweets.
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World: How long people thought the outbreak’s impact on their country would last.

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Photo: Chip Somodevilla/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Attorney General Bill Barr finally testified Tuesday before the raucous House Judiciary Committee, where grandstanding and bomb-throwing tactics by lawmakers have become a staple of oversight hearings in the Trump era.

Why it matters: Less than 100 days out from the election, Democrats on the committee have little recourse for changing the behavior of an official they've accused of embodying the president's most corrupt impulses.

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Biden says he'll name a running mate next week

Biden speaks in Wilmington, Delaware July 14. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he'll announce his running mate "the first week in August."

The big picture: Last week, Biden seemed to back away from his timeline of early August, but he recommitted to it Tuesday at a speech in Delaware announcing his plans for fighting systemic racism.