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New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2009

Obama Having Buyer’s Remorse in Afghanistan?

By James Joyner

Obama administration officials are now admitting what has been apparent for weeks: that they are giving serious consideration to radically downsizing the Afghanistan mission.  That this comes only months after unveiling a substantially different strategy to great fanfare is naturally raising questions.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2009

McChrystal Afghan Assessment Challenges Obama Strategy

By Harlan Ullman

Last week provided a treasure trove of raw meat for foreign policy enthusiasts, ideologues and talk radio hosts.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2009

Afghanistan Victory: Translating Goals into Strategy

By Don Snow

Assuming the counterinsurgent partners (in this case, the Afghan and American governments) can agree on a desired outcome that consititutes its version of the better state of the peace (BSOP), the next question is how to achieve that condition? This means determining what political and military conditions must exist to be able to declare the […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 21, 2009

Debating Afghanistan: Beyond the McChrystal Leak

By James Joyner

An interesting sidebar to the debate sparked by the leak of General McChrystal’s Afghanistan strategy review is the question of how such debates should take place to begin with.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 21, 2009

McChrystal: More Troops or Failure in Afghanistan

By James Joyner

As widely rumored, NATO’s Afghanistan commander has asked President Obama for another sizable increase in troops, otherwise suffer “likely failure.”

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 16, 2009

Afghanistan: Who Cares More?

By Don Snow

The last posting opened with the question of what was between the United States and attaining its goals in Afghanistan. To pose and frame the question, a “formula” of sorts was put forward to describe the process and barriers to reaching the desired end (Goal Attainment=Successful COIN+Successful State-Building). In the first posting, questions were raised […]

Afghanistan
H.E. Meera Shankar Atlantic Council Photo

New Atlanticist

Sep 15, 2009

Afghanistan Fight Has Local Support

By James Joyner

India’s new ambassador to the United States, Meera Shankar, told the Atlantic Council that her government believes it is “imperative that the United States stay the course” in Afghanistan even while conceding that “stability will require a sustained engagement.” 

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 14, 2009

Afghanistan: Barriers to Success

By Don Snow

Recent developments in Afghanistan – discontent over the elections, increased violence, likely US military calls for additional manpower, growing U.S. public disaffection with the effort – have all coalesced to increase the intensity of discussions about what the United States seeks to accomplish in that far distant country

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 11, 2009

Afghan Announcement Delayed for Germany’s Elections

By Stephen Smith

Obama plans to shift 45,000 troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, enlisting more help from the United States’ European allies, but he will delay this until after Germany’s general election later this month, Spiegel reports.

Afghanistan Germany

New Atlanticist

Sep 10, 2009

Gordon Brown Right on Afghanistan

By Harlan Ullman

Last Friday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown delivered a major address on Afghanistan here in London. The speech was to mark a major change in British policy meant to refocus British efforts in this war and bring more resources across government to bear. The media did not favorably review the speech in part because it […]

Afghanistan United Kingdom

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