The Af-Pak Channel

No More Representatives, Please BY NICK HORNE The last thing we need is a new big shot envoy in Kabul. » READ MORE Obama’s Indecent Interval BY THOMAS H. JOHNSON, M. CHRIS MASON Despite the U.S. president’s pleas to the contrary, the war in Afghanistan looks more like Vietnam than ever. » READ MORE Pakistan’s ...

583178_090923_afpak_channel_guide2-15.gif
583178_090923_afpak_channel_guide2-15.gif

The Blog Daily Brief Jihadistan Afghan Election Watch

No More Representatives, Please

BY NICK HORNE

The last thing we need is a new big shot envoy in Kabul.

» READ MORE

Obama’s Indecent Interval

BY THOMAS H. JOHNSON, M. CHRIS MASON

Despite the U.S. president’s pleas to the contrary, the war in Afghanistan looks more like Vietnam than ever.

» READ MORE

Pakistan’s Failing War on Terror

BY BRIAN FISHMAN

Pakistan needs to rethink its strategy for defeating jihadi groups — not just throw more troops at the problem.

» READ MORE

Goodnight Afghanistan, Good Morning Pakistan.

BY ARIF RAFIQ

A commentary on Obama’s Afghanistan policy, written liberally in the style of Goodnight Moon.

» READ MORE

Pakistan’s Failing War on Terror

BY BRIAN FISHMAN

Pakistan needs to rethink its strategy for defeating jihadi groups — not just throw more troops at the problem.

» READ MORE

Afghanistan Is Still Worth the Fight, Part II

BY J ALEXANDER THIER

A continued U.S. investment in Afghanistan will require a commitment of wills, and of partners.

» READ MORE

Afghanistan Is Still Worth the Fight

BY J ALEXANDER THIER

There may not be a single or short explanation justifying a U.S. presence in Afghanistan. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to cut and run.

» READ MORE

A Warning About “Community-Based” Defense Forces

BY THOMAS RUTTIG

Why the case of Abdul Razeq’s police-unit-cum-militia should send a stark warning to those envisaging a new version of “community-based” defense forces.

» READ MORE

Strategy and war in Pakistan and Afghanistan

BY AHSAN BUTT | DEC. 8, 2009

What exactly will it take for opinion-makers and decision-makers in the West to draw a connection between their strategies and the enormous physical toll on Pakistan?

Read Entire Entry

What Obama Almost Said

BY JEFFREY STERN | DEC. 8, 2009

When President Obama laid out his plans for Afghanistan on December 1, he made it clear — to many for the first time — that the war in Afghanistan is not just about Afghanistan. “[T]he stakes are even higher within a nuclear-armed Pakistan,” he said, “because we know that al Qaeda and other extremists seek nuclear weapons, and we have every reason to believe that they would use them.” He went on to provide this augury: “Our success in Afghanistan is inextricably linked to our partnership with Pakistan.”

Read Entire Entry

The View from Kabul

BY ASMA NEMATI | DEC. 2, 2009

All eyes were focused on the U.S. early this morning in Kabul, when Obama delivered his long-awaited speech spelling out his new Afghanistan strategy. What are people’s reactions? A bit contradictory and halfhearted, like the strategy itself. Obama is willing to support Afghanistan and defeat terrorists, yet also set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. And, likewise, Afghans feel the same way.

Read Entire Entry

A Certain Obama, Uncertain Allies

BY SHUJA NAWAZ | DEC. 2, 2009

There is no doubt about it now. This is Obama’s War. He took full ownership of it last night. He acknowledged how and why the United States went into Afghanistan, why it has stayed, and why it will leave under his timetable, with all its caveats. But to many the speech may not provide the basis for winning the war, because the objectives are still uncertain and more importantly, Obama has uncertain allies around the world and in the region. Without help from all of them, the United States alone will not be able to prosecute a successful counterinsurgency nor exit as gracefully as the president’s timetable implies.

Read Entire Entry

Why Obama’s Civilian Strategy Worries Me

BY CAROLINE WADHAMS | DEC. 2, 2009

President Obama’s speech on Afghanistan was a welcome reaffirmation of his commitment to Afghanistan and Pakistan and struck the right tone in terms of laying out clear objectives and expectations while also placing these operations within the larger context of our economic crisis and broader U.S. national security concerns. While the speech was not meant to outline specifics, his civilian strategy sparked some potential concerns for me.

Read Entire Entry

Peter Bergen's Take

Drone War Takes a Toll on Militants — and Civilians

BY PETER BERGEN & KATHERINE TIEDEMANN | OCT. 29, 2009

The Obama administration has dramatically ratcheted up the American drone warfare program in Pakistan. Since President Obama took office, U.S. drone strikes have killed about a half-dozen militant leaders along with hundreds of other people, a quarter of whom were civilians. As a result of the unprecedented 42 strikes by drone aircraft into Pakistan authorized by the Obama administration, aimed at Taliban and al Qaeda networks based there, about a half-dozen leaders of militant organizations have been killed.

Read Entire Entry

A primer on the epicenter of global terrorism.
By Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann

A guide to the most critical readings on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Afghanistan has been struggling to establish itself as a stable state. The war that began after the 9/11 terrorist attacks has dragged on, and the only thing certain is that there’s still a long road ahead.

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.