Foreign Policy Blogs

Afghanistan

China, the United States and the Future of Central Asia

China, the United States and the Future of Central Asia

Given the amount of money already committed to supporting Afghanistan’s development, the effects of increased spending in Central Asia would be limited. Rather, the U.S. should withdraw from the region, leaving China and Russia to battle over influence.

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Preparing to Leave

Preparing to Leave

After more than a decade of conflict, America is reducing its footprint in Afghanistan. Although it seems likely that America and Afghanistan will come to terms on a security agreement to ensure a residual force of 8,000 to 12,000 soldiers remains in country to carryout counter-terrorism missions and training for the Afghan National Army, the […]

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Camp Victory, Afghanistan (2010)

Camp Victory, Afghanistan (2010)

This documentary is engaging in that it is a departure from the typical documentary. It’s about United States National Guard soldiers trying to train an indigenous Afghan army from mid- to late 2000s in Heart, Afghanistan. It centers on the 207th Corps of the nascent Afghan National Army. The frustration on the part of the Americans […]

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India, Pakistan and China: The importance of regional powers in a post-U.S. Afghanistan

India, Pakistan and China: The importance of regional powers in a post-U.S. Afghanistan

By Tyler Hooper With U.S., NATO and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) personnel set to withdraw the bulk of their military personnel from Afghanistan in 2014, regional powers such as China, India and Pakistan will have the opportunity to play an influential role in the country’s future. Both India and Pakistan have historically been involved in […]

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Shadow of Afghanistan (2012)

Shadow of Afghanistan (2012)

This documentary is all over the place. It is in part a history of modern Afghanistan and also a film about independent journalists – some of whom were killed – trying to report on the situation on the ground. Afghanistan is called “The Graveyard of Empires” for good reason: Every country or empire that has […]

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As NATO Draws Down, Feuding Neighbors’ Elections May Heat Up

As NATO Draws Down, Feuding Neighbors’ Elections May Heat Up

  As NATO troops leave, Afghanistan and two of its northern neighbors will undergo national elections. Should we be worried? While some observers expect an uptick in Afghan border infiltration after the upcoming NATO drawdown, others feel that instability in neighboring states Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have long been homegrown. These countries are the main routes […]

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The Iraq Endgame and the Lessons for Afghanistan: An Update

The Iraq Endgame and the Lessons for Afghanistan: An Update

Washington is in a rush and everyone knows it The U.S. commentariat spent much of last month ruminating over the lessons of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.  Left unexamined were the important lessons relating to the U.S. endgame in that country and how they should be applied to the accelerating withdrawal from Afghanistan.*  I […]

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Nine Pictures About The U.S. in Afghanistan

Nine Pictures About The U.S. in Afghanistan

A picture of an Afghan soldier; A picture of U.S Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel after touching down in Afghanistan; a picture of Afghan president Hamid Karzai; a picture of members of the Taliban (as represented in their own promotional video); a picture of Secretary of Defense Hagel in Afghanistan before his meeting with President […]

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Obama’s Afghan Dysfunctions

Obama’s Afghan Dysfunctions

Earlier posts have commented on the Obama administration’s defective foreign policy apparatus as well as its highly dysfunctional management of the war in Afghanistan (here and here).  Both problems are conjoined, a point that is amply underscored in Vali Nasr’s forthcoming book, The Dispensable Nation.  Nasr served as a key adviser to the embattled Richard […]

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Will the Iraqi Endgame be repeated in Afghanistan?

Will the Iraqi Endgame be repeated in Afghanistan?

Even as President Obama trumpets his plans to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Afghanistan in two years’ time, he also insists (though in a sotto voce way) that he wants to maintain a limited but long-term military presence focused on counter-terrorism missions and training Afghan security forces.  Of course, this is the same promise he […]

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Obama and Afghanistan: An Update

Obama and Afghanistan: An Update

There are several updates to the key points I outlined in last week’s post about President Obama’s handling of the Afghan war. The first concerns the success of the surge of 30,000 extra troops that Mr. Obama announced in December 2009, most of which were deployed in southern Afghanistan.  As I noted, one of the significant […]

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Take a Bite out of Terror: Battling the Taliban’s Influence in Schools

Take a Bite out of Terror: Battling the Taliban’s Influence in Schools

Combat Outpost Zormat, Paktia Province When U.S. Major Lee and Captain Gil entered Ganat Kahiyl High School in eastern Afghanistan recently, a local teacher slipped them a small note: “The Taliban have visited our school and forced their curriculum upon us. Can the government help?” This was not an empty threat. Insurgents burned down Sahakh […]

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How Well Has Mr. Obama Waged His “War of Necessity”?

How Well Has Mr. Obama Waged His “War of Necessity”?

  There are major dents in the president’s foreign policy claims A spate of new books offers critical appraisals of President Obama’s stewardship of national affairs.  Bob Woodward’s latest volume, “The Price of Politics,” draws an unflattering portrait of his management of fiscal policy, echoing themes in Ron Suskind’s “Confidence Men.”  On foreign policy, Ahmed Rashid’s […]

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Civilian Role in Conflict Areas Marches On

Civilian Role in Conflict Areas Marches On

Whether drowned out last week by the U.S. presidential campaign, or the crash of August waves at the beach, a rare but notable news item may have missed most readers. A suicide bomber in eastern Afghanistan killed four Americans, one of whom was a civilian aid worker, only the second such U.S. professional to lose […]

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Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)

Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)

While not a movie that makes you say “Wow!” Charlie Wilson’s War is a solid film. Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman are excellent in their roles. The story revolves around Hanks as Wilson, a United States congressman who likes to party. Wilson appears to be the most unlikely candidate to help people in the developing world which is why this movie is so surprising. Roberts […]

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