Economic sanctions have become an increasingly common foreign policy tool, especially for the United States. What is the nature of the politics behind U.S. policy regarding economic sanctions? Recent events, especially the negotiations concerning the United States’ possible return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, often called the “Iran nuclear deal”), as well […]
It was obvious a year ago that the 2010 midterms were going to be about domestic issues, specifically the economy, jobs, and health care. But it was hard to predict just how little foreign policy, the Afghanistan war included, would play in this political season. The war in Afghanistan has to be considered the top […]
Well, I just finished the 1st of Bob Woodward’s three-part series ‘Obama’s War’ in the Washington Post and came away keying a different aspect than Woodward and likely the Obama administration wanted to get across. Woodward’s main theme in this first section is that the high brass of the US military (Mullen, McChrystal, Petraeus) failed […]
The latest Afghanistan and Iraq cost analysis by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) will not sit well with many Americans living on a tight budget. Though the war in Iraq is costing less and less, the US military is basically transferring these saved funds to the Afghan conflict. Between 2009 and 2010, the average monthly cost […]
The latest Gallup poll measuring the American public’s approval/disapproval of President Obama on a series of issues came out today and the Afghan numbers are downright depressing. A strong majority, 57% disapprove of the President’s handling of the situation in Afghanistan, with only 36% approving. These numbers rival the President’s low ratings for health care and […]
Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations and former Bush administration national security leader, has come out with a sobering critique of the current war in Afghanistan. Off the bat, he discusses how the war has changed from one of necessity to know one of choice. Here’s Haass: The war being waged by […]
I’ll be headed out on a two week vacation tomorrow and will likely not be posting during that period. Don’t cry, Tahera will still be here and I’m not leaving you empty handed. Look down. Yes, some super cool Afghan-related articles to check out! So enjoy these pieces and have a happy American Independence Day. […]
When President Obama announced that he was sending an additional 30,000 American troops to work under Gen. McChrystal’s leadership in Afghanistan, his very next sentence stated that US forces would be starting a withdrawal 18 months later on July 2011. I was critical of this at the time and still am. The US and the […]
The always provocative Ahmed Rashid has another worthwhile column in the Washington Post about the US and Karzai government negotiating with the Taliban that tangentially brought up an interesting issue: How would American voters react to American talks with the Taliban? This is obviously an important factor as there will inevitably be some form of […]
The President Karzai-President Obama relationship was bound to be an uncomfortable one from the get-go, but things are getting ridiculous, and it is not helpful for either side. In case you haven’t heard, ever since Obama’s visit to Kabul last week, which included a personal meeting with Karzai, a diplomatic (more likely undiplomatic) row has […]
Barack Obama made his first trip to Afghanistan as president a few days ago, and during his 6 hours in the country he met with President Karzai, Gen. McChrystal, and Ambassador Eikenberry. It has been reported that Obama pressed Karzai on clamping down on corruption and that their conversations were very much ‘down to business’. […]
Many polls have now been released showing Americans’ feelings toward our presence in Afghanistan and President Obama’s new surge plan. As I mentioned the day of the President’s West Point speech, Obama’s Afghanistan policy approval rating had dropped all the way to 35%, an alarmingly low number. I blamed some of this on the long […]