Blog war: is Afghanistan a safe haven for al Qaeda?
Over on the AfPak Channel and Stephen Walt’s blog, a fight is brewing over the U.S. recommitment of troops and resources to war in Afghanistan. Here’s the battle in a nutshell. The Obama administration — despite questions raised by eminences grises on Afghanistan, such as Harvard’s Rory Stewart — has chosen to double-down. Walt argues ...
Over on the AfPak Channel and Stephen Walt's blog, a fight is brewing over the U.S. recommitment of troops and resources to war in Afghanistan.
Over on the AfPak Channel and Stephen Walt’s blog, a fight is brewing over the U.S. recommitment of troops and resources to war in Afghanistan.
Here’s the battle in a nutshell. The Obama administration — despite questions raised by eminences grises on Afghanistan, such as Harvard’s Rory Stewart — has chosen to double-down.
Walt argues that Obama’s contention –"left unchecked the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which al Qaeda would plot to kill more Americans" — is a myth. Therefore, realists should recognize it hardly justifies remaining in Afghanistan.
Not so, argue the AfPak Channel’s Peter Bergen and NYU fellow Paul Cruickshank — the Taliban do and would provide cover for al Qaeda, justifying the U.S. presence. (Here’s a one-time tag for responses from within FP.)
We’ll post more replies from other bloggers as they come in — here’s Windy security reporter Spencer Ackerman, for starters. If you’ve blogged it, leave it in comments!
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