There is more continuity between the Bush and Obama strategies in Afghanistan than most acknowledge. The biggest difference between the two is probably that Obama has adopted Afghanistan as his foreign policy centerpiece.
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Afghanistan-Pakistan
Obama’s Escalation of the Afghan War Comes Under Fire
Five Policy Options for the US in Afghanistan
Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, recently called for a US pullout from Afghanistan. While Haass’ analysis is a little weak, the US may be forced into tough decisions if Afghanistan does not turnaround.
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ISI-Taliban Collusion
The recent Taliban arrests and subsequent releases by the Pakistani government point not to chance or incompetence but to a well thought out foreign policy strategy that navigates through a raging storm of competing foreign policy interests.
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Whiplash Strategy Backfires on Karzai and Imperils the Surge
The whiplash strategy that was intended to strengthen the Afghan government by pressuring Karzai to go after corruption has had the opposite effect. It has erased what remaining credibility that Karzai possessed after last year’s election. Afghan consensus building may provide a better solution.
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The Taliban Moderates on Politics, Hardens on Intolerance
Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Omar has indicated that neither he nor the Taliban aim to be involved in politics in the future. Before this can happen, however, the Taliban wants foreign troops out and the Afghan constitution “repaired”.
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US Launches Full Court Diplomatic Press in South Asia and the Middle East
The January and February breakthroughs in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India have extended to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in March. The Obama administration believes correctly that South Asia’s major crises are linked. It also may think that the Iranian nuclear crisis is linked to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
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Mullah Baradar Arrest Theories
At least six theories are being floated on Mullah Baradar’s capture and/or the flood of recent insurgency defeats. Understanding Pakistan’s Afghan Taliban policy is critical to separating fact from fiction.
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Karzai Offers Salvation to the Taliban
Understood in Karzai’s new reconciliation policy is that not all insurgents are alike and not all are evil. Some are evil for sure, and all al Qaeda members are evil without exception.
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Will Mullah Omar Get Assassinated?
If Taliban chief Mullah Omar did not know about the secret Eide-Taliban meeting in January then the meeting occurred without his sanction, and this implies a rebel element within the Quetta Shura, or the Afghan Taliban's central leadership circle. There is chance that Omar will purge the Taliban leadership or they might attempt to...
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Secret Eide-Taliban Meeting Raises Questions
President Karzai’s new reconciliation plan with the Taliban was announced over a week before the January 28 London Conference. To quote Quqnoos, a Kabul-based news organization, Karzai’s plan will supply “jobs or land to farm, education for young fighters and pension for older insurgents who may have fought for much of the past three...
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