Michael Hughes: Outgoing U.S. Forces Afghanistan Commander General John Nicholson during his final press conference, lacking anything of substance to point to in terms of progress during his two-year watch, cited covert talks between the Taliban and Kabul as one of the key achievements of President Donald Trump’s South Asia strategy, befuddling a crowd of mostly
AA: Political stability and peace-building are among the key concerns of today’s Afghan people, but also the areas they are most disappointed about. In recent years, the popular belief that the Afghan society could really progress toward peace and political stability has been severely shaken. The belief that the country could one day unite did not
Michael Hughes: International and local humanitarian aid workers at the request of Afghan authorities are preparing to launch a drought rescue mission in areas practically inaccessible to the government where more than 100,000 of the most vulnerable people reside. The Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) appears to be leading the charge as worsening drought conditions threaten
Al Jazeera: It was in my first year in Afghanistan that I first met John ‘Mick’ Nicholson, then a Lieutenant General working on US policy in Kabul, but a soldier who knew what was going on at the sharp end of the conflict having fought in the deadly Korengal Valley. Mick, as he was happy
War on the Rocks: The sooner Trump translates his instincts on ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan into policy, the better for America. A withdrawal will improve American national security and strengthen economic prosperity. Extricating U.S. troops from Afghanistan will not be easy, however, because there are many in Washington — senior military leaders among
The National Interest: During the early days after the 9/11 attacks and the initiation of the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan it was relatively common to reference the woeful Soviet experience in that country. Here was a clear paradigm of what not to do in order to avoid getting stuck in a quagmire. Surely, American leaders would
Michael Hughes: It is only natural for the Pakistanis to be reeling over the recent marathon strategic talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – especially given the fact the two leaders pledged to launch a joint economic development project in Afghanistan. The implications of the meeting are quite clear from
The Nation (Pakistan): Pakistan has been the target of a steady and ever-growing stream of accusations linking it with the ‘control’ or ‘influence’ over certain groups in Afghanistan; an accusation that has been denied persistently… A detailed reading of the Request, however, shows that Pakistan is not immune from the Court’s jurisdiction in this case. The
The American Conservative: From faulty power stations and shoddy buildings to billions wasted, new evidence shows it was a pipedream – The United States is achieving very little in the way of sustainable development in Afghanistan, even with the enormous amount of time and resources that have been invested. To continue in this manner after almost