TOPICS: ‘Kabul’

Eleven Years After 9/11, Afghanistan Still MattersSeptember 11, 2012 / Javid AhmadThe New York Times The war in Afghanistan has become largely invisible in Washington.The silence is particularly noticeable on the presidential campaign trail.
Read more...U.S. Must Focus on Upcoming Leadership Change in AfghanistanMay 02, 2012 / Javid AhmadThe Christian Science MonitorWhen Obama made his secret visit to Afghanistan yesterday, he emphasized America's security role. The US needs to focus on helping Afghanistan build its political and governing capabilities. The Afghan presidential election looms with no plan for a smooth transition of power.
Read more...U.S.-Afghan CodependenceMarch 28, 2012 / Javid AhmadNational InterestA cascade of recent incidents and missteps, including the tragic killing of sixteen sleeping Afghan villagers by a U.S. soldier in Kandahar and the burning of Korans at the Bagram air base, has riled many and escalated tensions between the United States and Afghanistan.
Read more...Afghanistan: The Consequences of a “Conceptual Withdrawal”July 29, 2010 / Andrew SmallTransatlantic Take; Spiegel Online; Real Clear World "We have moved from a narrative, which lasted for years, that everything was fine when it wasn’t to a narrative that everything is going wrong when it isn’t.” This lament from a former Western official, who, like others quoted in this piece, did not speak for attribution, summed up the frustrations of many in Kabul about the growing disconnect between the political timetables inside and outside the country. The concern is not only that the various transition deadlines are unrealistic, but that their very existence is creating counterproductive pressures that will make them even harder to achieve.
Read more...‘A lack of fire in the belly,’ concludes Pakistan on Obama’s war strategyJune 25, 2010 / Daniel TwiningForeign PolicyNo matter how talented General David Petraeus proves to be commanding American and NATO forces, it is hard to see how our Afghan strategy can be successful absent a strategic reorientation by the Obama administration that creates a different calculus for leaders in Kabul and Rawalpindi (headquarters of the Pakistani armed forces) with regard to the Afghan endgame.
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