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Washington (CNN) — Vice President Joe Biden and his predecessor Dick Cheney sparred Sunday over terrorism and the Iraq war, duking it out on the most prominent of platforms: the political TV talk show.

In separate appearances on different programs, Cheney called the Obama administration “dead wrong” about al Qaeda and Iraq, while Biden accused Cheney of trying to “rewrite history” and downplay Obama’s actions against terrorism.

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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama wants $192 billion in war spending for the next year-and-a-half, a hefty sum aimed at escalating the war in Afghanistan despite its waning popularity.

The request reflects Obama’s recent decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan to blunt a growing insurgency there.

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Washington (CNN) – A leading Republican strategist and one-time aide to former Vice President Cheney said Sunday that President Obama’s recently announced decision to send an additional 30, 000 troops to Afghanistan is “a reassertion of the Bush doctrine.”

“The [Bush] doctrine is no safe havens [for terrorists intent on harming the United States] and we go after those that provide a harbor [for such terrorists]. That’s the doctrine,” Republican strategist Mary Matalin explained Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.

Obama’s decision to surge additional troops into Afghanistan is “solid policy,’ in Matalin’s view and “a reassertion of the Bush doctrine.”

“Every strategic element is from the Bush doctrine. The tactics are from the Bush surge [in Iraq],” she said.

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Washington (CNN) — The White House has authorized an expansion of the CIA’s program to attack suspected al Qaeda and Taliban operatives in Pakistan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with missiles shot from pilotless planes, a U.S. official confirms.

The covert effort is part of the Obama administration’s plan to increase the number of U.S. military forces in Afghanistan and crack down on suspected terrorists in the region.

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Brussels, Belgium (CNN) — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejected suggestions Friday that the Obama administration plans to abruptly cut and run from Afghanistan.

She emphasized that the transition to total Afghan power will be gradual and responsible.

“I want to make clear to the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan that we’re looking for a long-term partnership,” said Clinton, speaking with CNN’s John Roberts in a wide-ranging interview about U.S. policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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Washington (CNN) — Top Democrats and Republicans questioned Thursday whether President Obama is too narrowly focused on problems in Afghanistan at the expense of other national security priorities.

They also amped up a bipartisan chorus of concern over the ability of the administration to adhere to its goal of starting a U.S. troop withdrawal from that country in July of 2011.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled major reservations about the new Afghan strategy, noting she has asked the White House to send its entire national security team to brief members of Congress about the plan.

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WASHINGTON – Amid soaring budget deficits, President Barack Obama is running into congressional qualms over how to pay for his troop buildup in Afghanistan. Military strategy aside, the $30 billion cost is causing concern on both sides of the aisle. Still, leaders in Congress predicted Wednesday that Obama would prevail in winning funding for the war escalation.

Some Democrats, favoring the 30,000 troop increase, are supporting a “war tax.” But the White House and most lawmakers appeared unwilling to take such a step.

Most likely, the federal government will simply increase its borrowing — as it has before.

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Washington (CNN) — President Obama got some political cover Sunday for his upcoming announcement on sending more troops to Afghanistan.

A report released by the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee blamed the Bush administration for failing to capture or kill Osama bin Laden when the al Qaeda leader was cornered in Afghanistan’s Tora Bora mountain region in December 2001. The report, released Sunday, said the situation in Afghanistan presented greater problems today because of the failure to nab bin Laden eight years ago.

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Washington (CNN) — The Pentagon is making detailed plans to send about 34,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan in anticipation of President Obama’s decision on the future of the eight-year-old war, a defense official said Tuesday.

Obama held a lengthy meeting with top advisers Monday night and said Tuesday that he would announce plans for Afghanistan after the Thanksgiving holiday.

A Defense Department official with direct knowledge of the process said there has been no final word on the president’s decision. But planners have been tasked with preparing to send 34,000 additional American troops into battle with the expectation that is the number Obama is leaning toward approving, the official said.

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Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday that she is pleased by Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s pledge to have the country’s security forces take the lead over the next few years.

Speaking to U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan, Clinton said the United States and other contributing nations have to do “everything we can to create the capacity of the Afghan government and the Afghan people to protect themselves.”