By Malou Innocent
The focus of the upcoming NATO summit in Chicago will be Afghanistan. President Obama is expected to speak of the need for solidarity from the international community. His only major success will be a pledge from NATO members to commit funds to Afghanistan well beyond 2014. Difficult questions surrounding the mission’s long-term sustainability will remain [...]
NATO Summit Will Reaffirm Afghanistan’s Weakness is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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The long-awaited NATO Summit being held in Chicago next week with more than 60 heads of state and government in attendance will focus much of its deliberations on the future of Afghanistan. While “transition” has become a buzzword for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, the U.S and NATO Commander in Afghanistan General John Allen is rightly focusing instead on the importance of a long-term Alliance commitment to the country. Taking the long view onAfghanistanmeans NATO countries recognize that it is in their collective national security interest to preventAfghanistanfrom ever becoming … More
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By Malou Innocent
Less than a week after President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan and proclaimed, “We broke the Taliban’s momentum,” the chairs of the Senate and House intelligence committees offered a candid assessment of the U.S. mission. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), alongside Representative Mike Rogers (R-MI), said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” “I [...]
U.S. Taxpayers Subsidize Afghan Insurgents is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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Recently certain experts opined that the war on terrorism is over. This statement is ludicrous. It is true that al-Qaeda Central (AQ) has been badly wounded, but it is not dead. It has grown hydra-like heads with new affiliates, which are cause for significant concern. Below is a primer of the major AQ affiliates. In the Middle East we find both the most potent “son of AQ” and one of its oldest affiliates: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Al-Qaeda’s Saudi Arabian and Yemeni branches merged in 2009 to form … More
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By Malou Innocent
President Obama’s arrival in Afghanistan and signing of the strategic partnership agreement with President Karzai supposedly represents yet another corner turned in our nearly eleven year (and counting) war. The commander-in-chief’s arrival in secrecy, under darkness, and without live coverage of the signing is reminiscent of Bush the Younger’s many trips to war-torn Iraq and [...]
Security Pact Ensures America’s Presence in Afghanistan is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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Somebody hacked a Taliban website. Big surprise. Actually, no surprise. No surprise that the Taliban and other terrorists groups are online. When the issues of terrorism and the Internet are joined in one conversation, most people talk about the threat of cyberterrorism. But the reality is that terrorists mostly use the Web just like the rest of us—to get things done. Terrorists use the Internet for recruiting, propaganda, fundraising, planning, and coordinating. Some have even used it to do reconnaissance for terrorist attack. The terrorists who attacked Mumbai in 2008 … More
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By Malou Innocent
The war in Afghanistan tragically feels like the movie Groundhog Day: reliving and retelling the same stories repeatedly, but with the situation worse than it was the previous time. The United States is perpetually stuck in a repetitive series of setbacks and scandals that damage the mission. It cannot escape the shadow that ruinous events cast [...]
It’s Groundhog Day in Afghanistan is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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By Malou Innocent
In yesterday’s Politico, my coauthor Robert Naiman and I examine the U.S. mission in Afghanistan in the wake of the sad and inexplicable massacre of 16 Afghan civilians—nine of them children, most of them allegedly toddlers—by a U.S. soldier in Panjwai, Kandahar. While we address some of the possible policy implications, it is equally instructive [...]
The Massacre in Panjwai is a post from Cato @ Liberty – Cato Institute Blog
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In the wake of a U.S. Army staff sergeant’s murdering 16 Afghan civilians (mostly women and children), U.S. officials are contemplating the pace and scope of the U.S. troop drawdown from the country. At the same time, they are seeking a negotiated settlement with the Taliban leadership. U.S. and NATO Commander in Afghanistan General John Allen said yesterday that he did not foresee an accelerated drawdown of U.S. troops because of the shooting incident, but it is almost inevitable that this terrible tragedy will lead Americans to question the viability … More
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Details are still emerging on the killings of 16 Afghan civilians by a U.S. soldier in Kandahar province. U.S. officials call it an isolated incident in which one rogue soldier acted alone. Obviously if the initial reports are true, this is a horrifying event that will shake how Americans and the world at large view U.S. commitment to that war effort. As appalling as this incident may be and as gruesome as the details to come may prove, however, any decision on this war must be made strictly on national … More
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