Afghanistan

Courtesy Reuters

A boy playing on a merry-go-round in Kabul, July 2015.

Ahmad Masood / REUTERS

Adrift in Afghanistan

Time may have passed since the last interagency policy review on Afghanistan, conducted by U.S. President Barack Obama in 2009, but the questions that U.S. officials need to answer about their policies in the country remain the same.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

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Security March/April 2020 Essay

How the Good War Went Bad

Winning in Afghanistan was always going to be difficult, but avoidable errors have made it impossible.

Carter Malkasian

Pakistani protesters rally against the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in Karachi, Pakistan, September 2001

U.S. Foreign Policy March/April 2020 Comment

The Price of Primacy

Washington’s post–Cold War strategy of armed primacy has failed. It needs a grand strategy for the many, not the few.

Stephen Wertheim

Fuel to the fire: U.S. military vehicles in Kuwait, Feburary 2010

Demography Dec 20, 2019 Snapshot

Modi Pushes India Into Revolt

Protests have erupted in India in response to a controversial citizenship law that threatens the country's secular national identity.

Pratap Bhanu Mehta

A protest against the new citizenship law in New Delhi, India, December 2019

Politics & Society Oct 24, 2019 Snapshot

How Iran Found Its Feet in Afghanistan

Despite its deep historical and cultural ties to its eastern neighbor, Iran has struggled for decades to assert its interests in Afghanistan. Its newfound willingness...

Mahan Abedin

Iranian revolutionary guards during war games on the border with Afghanistan, September 1998

U.S. Foreign Policy Oct 21, 2019 Snapshot

What a Withdrawal From Afghanistan Would Look Like

A U.S. withdrawal would not necessarily be disastrous for Afghanistan. It would, however, entail real risks that would require the United States to accept a degree of...

Carter Malkasian

Members of a Taliban delegation, led by chief negotiator Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (C, front), leave after peace talks with Afghan senior politicians in Moscow, Russia May 30, 2019.

Post-Conflict Reconstruction Sep 5, 2019 Snapshot

A Deal With the Taliban Is Only the First Step Toward Peace

A U.S.–Taliban deal would be an important first step, but ultimately, peace in Afghanistan depends on Afghans themselves.

Johnny Walsh

At the site of a car bombing in Kabul, August 2019

Afghanistan Aug 26, 2019 Snapshot

Diplomacy Can’t Solve All of Afghanistan’s Problems

The outcome of the peace process is less certain than the foreordained failure of military solutions.

Barnett R. Rubin

Terrorism & Counterterrorism Mar 21, 2019 Snapshot

Helmand’s Flower That Threatens Us All

The peace negotiations with the Taliban are unlikely to achieve Washington’s main national security objective in Afghanistan—preventing the formation of a terrorist...

Matthew S. Reid and Cybele C. Greenberg

A poppy field in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan April 2016

Trump Administration Mar 1, 2019 Snapshot

Negotiations Are the Best Way to End the War in Afghanistan

Negotiations are the only way to end the war and preserve the Afghan government.

Barnett R. Rubin

Afghan security forces inspect the site of a car bomb blast in Kabul, January 2019.

Terrorism & Counterterrorism Feb 21, 2019 Snapshot

Is the Taliban Making a Pledge It Cannot Keep?

In pledging to prevent terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, the Taliban is making a promise that it will struggle to keep.

Tricia Bacon

U.S. soldiers on a mission in Afghanistan, January 2019

Security Nov 28, 2018 Snapshot

The Taliban’s Battle Plan

The Taliban, emboldened after recent victories, expect the United States to withdraw from Afghanistan by 2020 and hope to wait out peace negotiation efforts until then...

Michael Semple

Post-Conflict Reconstruction Sep 7, 2018 Snapshot

Is the Taliban Prepared to Make Peace?

Afghanistan Is Tired of War—But to End It Means Taking the Taliban’s Priorities Seriously

John Walsh

Taliban fighters during a ceasefire in Nangarhar Province, June 2018.

Post-Conflict Reconstruction Jul 30, 2018 Snapshot

Is Afghanistan Ready for Peace?

In the past, interethnic tension and geopolitical rivalry have led to state collapse and civil war in Afghanistan. But alternative outcomes are possible.

Barnett R. Rubin

A burning tire outside the UN building in Maimana, July 2018.

Trump Administration Mar 21, 2018 Snapshot

Why Peace Talks Are Washington's Best Bet in Afghanistan

Rather than continue down the same failed path, the United States should be actively pursuing a negotiated end to the war in Afghanistan.

Vikram J. Singh

U.S. and NATO troops arrive at the site of a car bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 2017.

From the Archives Jan 3, 2018 Snapshot

Why the Taliban Isn't Winning in Afghanistan

Although the Taliban has demonstrated a surprising ability to survive and conduct high-profile attacks in cities like Kabul, it is weaker today than most recognize.

Seth G. Jones

A game of cricket on a field outside of Kabul, December 2017.

From the Archives Jan 2, 2018 Snapshot

Russia's Afghanistan Strategy

For the last decade and a half, Russia and the United States have had largely similar aims in Afghanistan. Today, however, Moscow is convinced that it will have to...

Julia Gurganus

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Ufa, Russia, July 2015.

Criminal Law Nov 16, 2017 Snapshot

Why the U.S. Can No Longer Ignore the ICC

The United States needs to engage with the ICC not push it aside.

Kip Hale

Security November/December 2017 Comment

Staying the Course in Afghanistan

Withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan would allow the country to revert back to a terrorist safe haven, but significantly ramping up the U.S. presence is a...

Kosh Sadat and Stan McChrystal

The fight goes on: near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, December 2014

From the Archives Sep 18, 2017 Snapshot

Trump's Surge in Afghanistan

The United States is best off keeping a residual force in Afghanistan—but not escalating, as President Donald Trump plans to do.

Daniel Byman and Steven Simon

Strategy & Conflict Sep 6, 2017 Snapshot

Trump's Afghan Plan

The real problems with Trump's strategy in Afghanistan relate to his stated unwillingness to pursue “nation-building,” the leeway he has given to U.S. commanders, and...

Sumit Ganguly

U.S. troops watch as President Donald Trump announces his plan for Afghanistan, August 2017.

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Afghanistan

Adrift in Afghanistan

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How the Good War Went Bad

The Price of Primacy

Modi Pushes India Into Revolt

How Iran Found Its Feet in Afghanistan

What a Withdrawal From Afghanistan Would Look Like

A Deal With the Taliban Is Only the First Step Toward Peace

Diplomacy Can’t Solve All of Afghanistan’s Problems

Helmand’s Flower That Threatens Us All

Negotiations Are the Best Way to End the War in Afghanistan

Is the Taliban Making a Pledge It Cannot Keep?

The Taliban’s Battle Plan

Is the Taliban Prepared to Make Peace?

Is Afghanistan Ready for Peace?

Why Peace Talks Are Washington's Best Bet in Afghanistan

Why the Taliban Isn't Winning in Afghanistan

Russia's Afghanistan Strategy

Why the U.S. Can No Longer Ignore the ICC

Staying the Course in Afghanistan

Trump's Surge in Afghanistan

Trump's Afghan Plan

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