International Political Will

Almost a full eight years into the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, there are still three institutional sources of violence in the country: the Taliban, the warlords, and the foreign occupation. Each of these institutions feed off each other, generating a vicious cycle that Afghanistan appears unable to break.
The only winning strategy in Afghanistan is reconstruction. [...]

Both presidential candidates agree that the insurgency in Afghanistan needs to be addressed. Yet neither senator has a clue about how to go about it.
The idea of a “surge,” similar to the troop increase in Iraq (which still hasn’t returned to pre-“surge” levels) seems to be the most popular choice. But despite the [...]

Disconnects between reality and our imagination abound everywhere. Often what we see, hope for, or work towards is skewed by our own stereotypes, idealism, or worldview. From the West, it is easy to bloviate about secular democracy, strong central government, and a separation of religion and state in a post-war nation like Afghanistan. [...]

Suicide bombings in Afghanistan, a few years ago sparse and confined to the southern area of Kandahar and Hilmand provinces, are now occurring in Kabul at regular intervals. The fear of chaos returning is in the back of everyone’s mind, and Afghans working in reconstruction know the solution is a lasting economic impact felt by [...]