South Asia

UK’s Afghanistan Patience Waning

By James Joyner

July has been the deadliest month so far for American forces in Afghanistan, with 55 killed already this month.  Despite the trend toward Americanization of the conflict, however, today’s crash of a RAF Tornado fighter brought the month’s toll to 19 British troops killed.  Given the extreme controversy over the war in the UK, that […]

Will COIN Work in Afghanistan?

By Don Snow

The Obama administration has invested a great deal (one can argue too much) of its national security capital in the war on Afghanistan, and the chief instrument for realizing that investment has been the application of counterinsurgency (COIN) doctrine to the situation. This application, in turn, is based on putting into action the Army and […]

Afghanistan Caveats Coming to End?

By James Joyner

General John Craddock, the outgoing SACEUR, says the caveats that constrain how some countries’ NATO forces are used “increase the risk to every service member deployed in Afghanistan and bring increased risk to mission success” and are “a detriment to effective command and control.” 

Where are the Local Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq?

By Bernard Finel

In both Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States has more expansive and ambitious goals than our local allies.

Europe’s Dwindling Interest in Afghanistan: The Case of Germany

By Brendan Boundy

European interest in supporting NATO’s Afghanistan mission is low and getting lower.  Recent events in Germany are a case in point.

Contradictions in Counterinsurgency: U.S. Drone Strikes in the Tribal Areas

By Brendan Boundy

U.S. and Pakistani anti-Taliban operations along the AfPak border are plagued by contradiction, recent reports say.  A counterinsurgency doctrine emphasizing population protection that also relies upon unmanned armed drones will inevitably kill innocents in addition to terrorists.

General Jehangir Karamat Event Transcript

  SHUJA NAWAZ:  Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.  My name is Shuja Nawaz; I’m the director of the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council.  On behalf of Fred Kempe, the president of the council, I’d like to welcome all of you to our very special ambassadorial discussion today on the challenge of militancy for […]