Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1 to 10 of about 228
The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was a strategic imperative delivered with a frightening degree of incompetence, lack of preparation, and confusion.
As the United States moves forward in Afghanistan, it should have one primary objective: supporting the resilience of the Afghan people to weather the storms they have in front of them.
By the time the United States left Afghanistan, Russia saw the Taliban takeover as an opportunity to expand its influence. Yet, Russia seems to have overplayed its hand as many of the strategic choices it made have not come to fruition.
China is treading cautiously in Afghanistan, a panel of experts told the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission, an independent U.S. government agency that reports to Congress, on May 12.
Afghans have been through four decades of conflict and war, more than any population should ever have to bear. The United States bears a sizable responsibility for this. The very least the Biden administration can do is release Afghan money to its rightful owners.
It is easy to believe that Afghanistan was not fit for democracy given the rapid collapse of its government. But during the early days after the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, there was a groundswell of support in Afghanistan for the international effort and the United States.
The United States has a reputational interest and a moral obligation in vigorously joining efforts to help the Afghan people preserve at least some of the social and economic gains made over the last twenty years.
The Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan enhances the prospects for cooperation between the Russian, Chinese and Central Asian governments, but does not guarantee it. Both Beijing and Moscow enjoy far greater economic clout in Central Asia than any Western state does, due in part to geographic proximity.
While the world helps Afghanistan battle hunger and the collapse of its healthcare system, women’s rights are at risk of being politically orphaned.
Assuming that the situation in Afghanistan is unlikely to stabilize in the foreseeable future, it may fuel the Rahmon regime for another few years.