Leaving Afghanistan
What happens after the forever war ends?
The Year Kabul Fell Again
A stunning Taliban takeover left Afghanistan—and the world—transformed.
Why the Taliban Still Love Suicide Bombing
The group is normalizing death and despair in the Islamic Emirate.
U.N., World Bank Under Pressure to Offer Aid to Afghanistan
The existing sanctions regime on Taliban leaders makes it hard for the world to help the Afghan people.
Afghan Refugees Get Cold Welcome in Pakistan
The Taliban takeover has pushed many Afghans over the border and into another kind of limbo.
Taliban takeover
Taliban Splintered by Internal Divisions, External Spoilers
Pakistan said to be supporting alternative jihadi groups to undermine the Taliban and maintain leverage over Afghanistan.
12 Million Angry Men
The Taliban promised justice. They are hard-pressed to provide it.
The Taliban Don’t Need the West
Afghanistan’s new rulers have shown themselves to be skilled—and ruthless—diplomats. 
The Taliban’s Sharia Is the Most Brutal of All
The Afghan government is imposing punishments that have no comparison elsewhere in the Islamic world.
Regional dynamics
Qatari Diplomat: ‘There’s a Serious Need for Engagement’ With the Taliban
Qatar’s assistant foreign minister discussed the Taliban, the need for a clear road map, and Afghanistan’s uncertain future.
Afghanistan Is No Treasure Trove for China
The country’s mineral wealth remains largely theoretical.
Afghanistan Is a Bigger Headache for Tehran Than It Is Letting On
Iran cheered the U.S. withdrawal but is nervously hedging its bets with the Taliban.
Pakistan’s Friendship With the Taliban Is Changing
Expect a recalibration of the relationship by both sides now the Taliban are in power.
Refugee crisis
Will Afghan Refugees Stranded in Southeast Asia Be Resettled?
After the fall of Kabul, some countries are opening their doors. Afghans who have been stuck in Malaysia and Indonesia for years are hoping that they will not be forgotten.
The United States Needs an Afghan Refugee Resettlement Act
Legislation passed in the wake of the Vietnam War could provide a blueprint for today’s policymakers.
Biden Sparked a Refugee Crisis. He Must Help Europe Bear the Cost.
The chaotic U.S. withdrawal has already led thousands of Afghans to flee.
How to Avoid Humanitarian Catastrophe in Afghanistan
The Biden administration should maximize diplomacy and prioritize support for front-line organizations.
Women in Afghanistan
School’s Out in the Taliban’s Afghanistan
The Taliban say modern education is of no use as the country heads toward economic meltdown and starvation.
The Tragic Fate of Afghanistan’s Journalists
Many are fleeing or in hiding. Women, some locked out of their outlets, are in particular danger.
‘They Left Us to the Taliban’
Six Afghan women describe their feelings of fear, anger, and betrayal in the wake of America’s departure.
In Taliban’s New Afghan Emirate, Women Are Invisible
“All the women of Afghanistan have one fear, the Taliban,” said former deputy defense minister Munera Yousufzada.
Latest Stories
How America Forgot It Needed to Understand The Enemy
Social scientists helped win World War II by judging enemy morale. But in Afghanistan, the U.S. kept getting it wrong.
NATO’s Man in Kabul
Stefano Pontecorvo spent his childhood in Kabul. Sixty years later, he coordinated the evacuation of 124,000 people before saying goodbye to the city himself.
Zalmay Khalilzad: ‘I Will Reflect’ on What U.S. Could Have Done Differently
America’s man in Afghanistan reflects on Trump’s ill-fated peace deal, the pullout, and how everything went wrong.
Blinken Defends Afghanistan Withdrawal in First of Congressional Hearing Marathons
Republican lawmakers grilled Biden’s top diplomat over the end to the United States’ Afghan war.
America’s Money Lost the Afghan War
It’s unclear whether Washington can ever cure its addiction to enabling its allies’ corruption.
China and Russia Have a Shared Playbook for Afghanistan
Experience in cooperating in Central Asia offers a fruitful model.
The Taliban’s Victory Is Al Qaeda’s Victory
Afghanistan’s new rulers still have strong ties to the terrorist group that attacked the United States on 9/11.
Pakistan Might Soon Regret Its Win in Afghanistan
The Taliban’s takeover in Kabul has all the makings of a Pyrrhic victory.
Life Under the Taliban
A few weeks after militants took over Kabul and the country, Afghanistan has gone back to a past it didn’t miss.
Islamic State-Khorasan’s Reach Extends Far Beyond Afghanistan
The extremist group seeks to destabilize South and Central Asia.
In Afghanistan, It’s Back to the Future—of Taliban Tyranny
A government of mullahs and terrorists snuffs out freedoms despite talk of inclusion and human rights.
The Strategic Logic of a Forever War
The United States should have ignored sunk costs in Afghanistan and maintained a light military footprint.
Biden Is Running a Hostage Negotiation With the Taliban
Making concessions now will only encourage terrorism.
How the U.S. Got 9/11 Wrong
The lone superpower inadvertently taught the rest of the world how to fight it—and win.
Afghans Protest After Taliban Claim to Have Crushed Panjshir Resistance
Chants of “Freedom” and “Death to Taliban” rang out in Kabul and other Afghan cities.
Afghanistan’s Money Exchangers Are the Economy’s Last Best Hope
As many banks are forced to close, an informal network of money exchangers provides an indispensable service.