Afghanistan

Portrait of a Foreign Policy Failure

Counterterrorism always trumped diplomacy in Afghanistan—with devastating and enduring consequences.

  • Barnett R. Rubin

Abandoning Afghans from the Start

Tactical critiques of the war’s conduct are a distraction from U.S. imperialism.

  • Christian G. Appy

9/11 Forever

The legacy of September 11 continues to normalize state-sanctioned barbarity.

  • Joseph Margulies

The Violent Logic of Humanitarianism

The U.S. occupation of Afghanistan sacrificed politics—the only viable route to peace—for massive corruption and violence.

  • Faisal Devji

Study the Warmakers

From drone strikes to counterinsurgency efforts, the work of the late historian Nasser Hussain highlights the importance of understanding the mechanics of the War on Terror, not just its effects.

  • Atiya Husain

Getting Counterinsurgency Wrong

Washington Post reporting exposed that U.S. operations in Afghanistan were horribly mismanaged, but even a well-run mission would have been doomed to fail.

  • Ethan Bueno de Mesquita

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How Do We End the Never-Ending Wars?

Ethics is long on beginning war but short on ending it.

  • Elad Uzan

Afghanistan’s Misguided Economy

In 1978, Afghanistan had achieved food security for a population of 15 million. Today, Afghanistan is extremely dependent on aid and imports.

  • Graciana del Castillo

The Cost of Our Drone War in Pakistan

An interview with Ambassador Akbar Ahmed.

  • Wajahat Ali

War Is Betrayal, Redux

Any story of war is a story of elites preying on the weak, the gullible, the marginal, the poor.

  • Chris Hedges
with responses from
  • Roy Scranton
  • Chris Lombardi
  • Phillip Carter
  • William Treseder
  • Joyce S. Goldberg

Fighting over the Same Ground

An Interview with Rajiv Chandrasekaran

  • David V. Johnson

Regime Change Doesn’t Work

History shows that forcing rulers from power rarely works. Even apparently successful regime changes often leads to bitter civil war.

  • Alexander B. Downes
with responses from
  • Greg Grandin
  • Neta C. Crawford
  • James D. Fearon
  • Mary Kaldor
  • John Tirman
  • Tod Lindberg
  • Joanne Landy

Straight Shooter

Coming home after Navy Seal duty.

  • Matt Gallagher

End of the Road

News of Osama bin Laden’s killing by U.S. special forces has sunk in. News of al Qaeda’s demise has not.

  • Fawaz A. Gerges

Something from Nothing

U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.

  • Nir Rosen
with responses from
  • Helena Cobban
  • Syed Saleem Shahzad
  • J. Alexander Thier
  • Andrew Exum
  • Aziz Hakimi
  • Andrew J. Bacevich
  • Richard W. Miller
  • Rajan Menon

Counterinsurgency’s Comeback

Can a colonialist strategy be reinvented?

  • Nasser Hussain

A Tribe Apart

Afghan elites face a corrosive past.

  • Barnett R. Rubin

Days of Lies and Roses

Selling out Afghanistan

  • Sarah Chayes
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