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← Older postsAfghanistan Study Group: U.S., Afghanistan Counterinsurgency Efforts Founder
March 29, 2013Secretary of State John Kerry’s trip to Afghanistan this week indicated an improvement in the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship. But tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan is rising, according to media reports. Developments on the ground in Afghanistan have raised questions about the … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Leave a commentGrowing Support for Ending Afghanistan War
March 29, 2013Last week, Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) called for a swift end to the war in Afghanistan in a letter to the president.“We urge you to heed the wishes of the majority of Americans … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Leave a commentAfghanistan Weekly Reader: Afghanistan Debates, Costs Continue
March 22, 2013U.S. and Afghan officials reached a deal over the presence of U.S. special operations forces in Afghanistan’s Wardak province this week, though other disputes continue. Senate Armed Services Chair Carl Levin criticized the slow pace of the drawdown planned by … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Leave a commentAfghanistan War Costs to Continue for Decades
March 22, 2013U.S. combat troops are scheduled to leave Afghanistan in 2014, but for U.S. taxpayers, the war won’t be over. Even after the troops come home, war costs will continue. One of the big drivers of future war costs is medical … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Leave a commentAfghanistan Weekly Reader: Hagel Trip Highlights Afghanistan Woes
March 14, 2013Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s trip to Afghanistan was marred by insurgent attacks and the cancellation of a joint press conference due to an unspecified security threat in Afghanistan’s capital city. Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s insistent claim of collusion between the … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Leave a commentAfghanistan Reconstruction and Lessons Not Learned from Iraq
March 12, 2013The U.S. government watchdog that oversees reconstruction efforts in Iraq closed its doors last week. The final report from the Special Inspector for Iraq Reconstruction has a damning conclusion: the U.S has little to show for the $60 billion spent … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Leave a commentAfghanistan Weekly Reader: General Calls for 20,000 Troops to Stay in Afghanistan
March 7, 2013With post-2014 troop levels still undecided, the top American commander in Afghanistan recommends a force of 20,000, including 13,600 U.S. troops. Also this week, USAID’s decision to abandon a $266 million construction project is cited as the latest example of … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Leave a commentAfghanistan War Distracting from Real Security Issues
March 6, 2013The automatic budget cuts known as sequester went into effect last Friday. While it is still unclear how the cuts will be implemented, some defense programs are clearly at risk, and many federal workers face the possibility of furloughs. For … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Leave a commentAfghanistan Weekly Reader: Reported Drop in Taliban Attacks Proves Incorrect
February 28, 2013The International Security Assistance Force is correcting a data error that showed a 7 percent drop in Taliban attacks over the past year. The number of attacks did not decline, officials said. The announcement coincides with an insurgent attack that … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Leave a commentCut Wasteful Pentagon Spending, Starting with the War Budget
February 26, 2013The announcement that half of the U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan will come home in the next year has been met with some criticism. Kimberly and Fred Kagan, noted proponents of extending the Afghanistan war, argue that the pace of … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Tagged defense spending, drawdown, strategy, War costs | Leave a comment ← Older posts