The Washington Post: Before he entered the White House, President Trump looked at the American war effort in Iraq and came away with a simple solution: “Take the oil.” Thankfully, this campaign-trail suggestion has not carried over to his presidency. But it was an early warning sign of Trump’s own capacity for grand strategy. He sees everything,
Michael Hughes: Afghanistan’s High Peace Council (HPC) is tasked with trying to budge the country towards some kind of peace process with a headless Taliban movement while the body faces an existential struggle against Afghan lawmakers. Moreover, President Ashraf Ghani believes negotiations must start not with the Taliban but with the group’s benefactors, although that is
The Washington Post: The New York Times reported July 10 on meetings between President Trump, his top advisers and private military and security company (PMSC) magnates, Erik Prince (founder of Blackwater) and Stephen A. Feinberg (owner of DynCorp International) to discuss plans for having contractors take over U.S. operations in Afghanistan. The plans are said to
Michael Hughes: Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz claimed that war was simply a continuation of state policy – an instrument to be applied with other means – be they diplomatic, economic or otherwise. It was partly a caution against making military conflict an end in itself, although that is exactly what the United States appears to be
Los Angeles Times: We cannot say for certain why the president has chosen to distance himself from this war that he inherited. But one possibility is this: Having learned through painful experience to recognize a losing proposition, he has no intention of being left holding the bag for this one. The savvy Mattis must suspect that
Michael Hughes: Taliban insider attacks designed to sow distrust between U.S. and Afghan forces are likely to provoke a contrary reaction by strengthening America’s commitment to the war, Brookings Institution scholar Michael O’Hanlon told Afghan Online Press (AOP). On Tuesday, June 13, Defense Secretary James Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the United States was “not
Salon: Trump is violating a basic rule of civilian control of the military: Never ask the generals if they need more resources. This president has surrounded himself with generals and surrendered crucial decision-making authority to them. What can a “mini-surge” of 5,000 more soldiers do besides assure more U.S. casualties? We weren’t able to win in
Michael Hughes: There is little mystery over who is responsible for this week’s terrorist attack in Kabul, which Afghan intelligence officials have blamed on their Pakistani counterparts. The true dilemma lies in figuring out what is driving Pakistan’s calculus this time. The strategic depth doctrine is always at play which calls for “keeping the pot boiling”
Michael Hughes: The U.S. military-industrial complex is not some conspiracy theory, but a living creature on the verge of dashing hopes President Donald Trump will deliver on his “America First” credo and resist ordering a troop escalation in Afghanistan. The United States has achieved little after pouring some $1 trillion into the Afghan war, but a
Green Daily: I strongly condemn the Western governments’ anti-asylum seeker policies. Human rights values, international conventions and, most importantly, the major role they played in this crisis, oblige them to help those in need. They must follow international laws governing refugees. The so-called war on terror is the biggest lie of the century. In Afghanistan, we