The way forward in Afghanistan
Sarah Chayes, one of the more courageous people out there, has laid out a good comprehensive plan for what we should do in Afghanistan. I have a few quibbles — for example, I don’t think the Kabul government ever enjoyed a monopoly on the use of force in the country — but overall, this is ...
Sarah Chayes, one of the more courageous people out there, has laid out a good comprehensive plan for what we should do in Afghanistan. I have a few quibbles — for example, I don’t think the Kabul government ever enjoyed a monopoly on the use of force in the country — but overall, this is a very impressive document, certainly more thoughtful than anything else I’ve seen. Funny how people always bellyache about “the interagency,” and then one person living in a mud compound in Kandahar produces a cross-government plan.
(Hat tip to one a smart officer in Kandahar on this.)
MASSOUD HOSSAINI/AFP/Getty Images
Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1
More from Foreign Policy

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.

Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.

The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.

The Masterminds
Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.