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← Older posts Newer posts →Center for a New American Security: New Paper—Same Old Ideas
June 2, 2011Edward Kenney Afghanistan Study Group Thinking long-term about South Asian security issues often requires choosing between conventional/uninspiring and unrealistic/contradictory policy recommendations. Amazingly, the Center for a New American Security has a new paper entitled “Beyond Afghanistan: A Regional Strategy for … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Tagged Pakistan, security, strategy | Leave a commentPawlenty Punts on Afghanistan
June 1, 2011Will Keola Thomas – Afghanistan Study Group Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has been on a foreign policy tear since beginning his campaign for the White House. In brandishing his foreign policy credentials (such as…<cough> “governor” <cough>), Pawlenty is apparently … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Tagged drawdown, election, exit strategy, foreign policy | Leave a commentReconciliation: Then and Now
May 31, 2011Edward Kenney Afghanistan Study Group About eight months ago, a spate of articles were published in major American newspapers suggesting that the U.S. and Afghan government had begun serious overtures to the Taliban. At the time, some optimists suggested that … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Tagged Afghanistan government, negotiation, Pakistan, reconciliation | Leave a commentAfghanistan Weekly Reader May 27, 2011: Congress checks President (almost)
May 27, 2011138 votes two years ago. 162 votes last year. 204 votes yesterday. Congress is slowly waking up from its decade-long slumber and realizing that the country has been at war in Afghanistan for ten years without a clear exit strategy. … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Leave a commentAfghanistan Weekly Reader May 20, 2011: A Bull in the China Shop and a Skunk at the Party
May 20, 2011Questioning the dominant narrative of the war in Afghanistan can be an unpleasant exercise. For those who work in close proximity to the institutions driving war policy, criticizing the notion that victory lies just around the corner can mean the … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Leave a commentAfghanistan’s Road to Ruin: Paved with Good Intentions, Soldiers’ Lives, and Taxpayer Dollars
May 20, 2011Will Keola Thomas – Afghanistan Study Group On May 1st, the New York Times published an article describing the construction of a 64-mile-long highway through two of the most volatile provinces in Afghanistan. The story, “Costly Afghanistan Road Project Is … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Tagged corruption, military contractors, nation building, security | 3 CommentsFox News Poll Shows 64% of Americans Want Troops Out of Afghanistan by Summer
May 19, 2011Edward Kenney Afghanistan Study Group Fox News has a new poll covering President Obama’s approval rating on a number of different issues. Included in this survey are three questions on the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, each with widely different results, … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Tagged drawdown, polls, withdraw | 1 CommentTwo days with Felix Kuehn
May 18, 2011Edward Kenney Afghanistan Study Group Felix Kuehn, a Kandahar-based researcher, came to Washington DC last week to discuss the state of the insurgency and the ties between al Qaeda and the Taliban. You may recall that Kuehn co-authored with his … Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Uncategorized | Tagged al Qaeda, Taliban | 1 CommentThe Afghanistan Weekly Reader, May 13, 2011: The Courage of Dissenters
May 13, 2011This week it seems U.S. policy in Afghanistan may be on the verge of turning-a-corner and shifting-momentum in a way that has yet to be seen in this decade long war. Why are we now seeing this course correction? Because … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Leave a commentFact Checking Slaughter and Bergen
May 13, 2011Edward Kenney Afghanistan Study Group At the Senate Hearings last Tuesday, Anne-Marie Slaughter echoed a point that has been made in the past by Peter Bergen and others. The argument goes something like this: “We have already tried the light … Continue reading
Posted in Blog | Tagged COIN | Leave a comment ← Older posts Newer posts →