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The article focuses on Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser to U.S. President George W. Bush, and his role in finding a candidate to fill the high-profile position of war czar for Iraq, a task that would place the individual close to Bush and keep him informed about the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. An overview of Hadley's political career is also discussed. Commentary regarding Hadley's quiet yet influential stature in the Bush administration from various politicians is included.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama declared an end on Tuesday to the seven-year American combat mission in Iraq, saying that the United States has met its responsibility to that country and that it is now time to turn to pressing problems at home. In a prime-time address from the Oval Office, Mr. Obama balanced praise for the troops who fought and died in Iraq with his conviction that getting into the conflict had been a mistake in the first place. But he also used the moment to emphasize that he sees his primary job as addressing the weak economy and other domestic issues -- and to make clear that he intends to begin disengaging from the war in Afghanistan next summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

David R. Obey has served in Congress since Barack Obama was in grade school. He does not waste time with pleasantries, and he does not mince words. So when President Obama called Representative Obey recently to talk about Afghanistan, the congressman raised a topic sure to make the young commander in chief uncomfortable: Vietnam. ''I came here in '69, and I determined that I would give Nixon a year to see what he could do, because he had inherited the war, so I bit my tongue for a year,'' Mr. Obey said, recounting how he reminded the current president of the mistakes of that earlier war. ''I said the same thing with Obama.'' [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

President Obama announced Tuesday that he would speed 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan in coming months, but he vowed to start bringing American forces home in the middle of 2011, saying the United States could not afford and should not have to shoulder an open-ended commitment. Promising that he could ''bring this war to a successful conclusion,'' Mr. Obama set out a strategy that would seek to reverse Taliban gains in large parts of Afghanistan, better protect the Afghan people, increase the pressure on Afghanistan to build its own military capacity and a more effective government and step up attacks on Al Qaeda in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

President Obama on Monday defended his decision to increase American involvement in Afghanistan, calling it a ''a war of necessity'' and warning an audience of military veterans that Al Qaeda was still plotting to attack the United States and would not easily be defeated. With the Pentagon assessing strategy and troop deployments in Afghanistan, Mr. Obama made no specific policy announcements. But he did address the criticism that he would get bogged down in Afghanistan, allowing that war to turn into a second Vietnam. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article reports that Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, commented on the deteriorating security in Afghanistan before a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush. Karzai in an interview on Cable News Network also discussed the failure to capture Islamic terrorist Osama Bin Laden. It states that the meeting will take place at Camp David, Madison and U.S. officials have planned to highlight progress made and challenges faced in Afghanistan.

President Obama issued orders to send about 30,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan as he prepared to address the nation Tuesday night to explain what may be one of the most defining decisions of his presidency. Mr. Obama conveyed his decision to military leaders late Sunday afternoon during a meeting in the Oval Office and then spent Monday phoning foreign counterparts, including the leaders of Britain, France and Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]