Quiet on the Western front?

The Afghan-Pakistan border area–presumed redoubt for Al Qaeda leaders–is under constant scrutiny. Now, with tensions between the West and Iran escalating, observers are asking about Afghanistan's long border with Iran. Might Tehran lash out against Afghanistan to get at the West? An interesting story in today's Christian Science Monitor examines that question. The answer? Maybe, maybe not. ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

The Afghan-Pakistan border area--presumed redoubt for Al Qaeda leaders--is under constant scrutiny. Now, with tensions between the West and Iran escalating, observers are asking about Afghanistan's long border with Iran. Might Tehran lash out against Afghanistan to get at the West? An interesting story in today's Christian Science Monitor examines that question.

The Afghan-Pakistan border area–presumed redoubt for Al Qaeda leaders–is under constant scrutiny. Now, with tensions between the West and Iran escalating, observers are asking about Afghanistan's long border with Iran. Might Tehran lash out against Afghanistan to get at the West? An interesting story in today's Christian Science Monitor examines that question.

The answer? Maybe, maybe not. Afghan scholar Barnett Rubin chucks cold water on the notion. "[W]e should be wary of anyone who is trying to sell intelligence or reports that Iran is trying to destabilize Afghanistan. It is not." Afghanistan, after all, is predominantly Sunni, and its small Shiite population is mainly in the middle of the country rather than along the border. Still, NATO peacekeepers and U.S. troops in western Afghanistan might be inviting targets if the crisis with Iran worsens.

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

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