Ideas
The Real Lessons of Vietnam — and Afghanistan
As the Trump administration reshapes American strategy, they should look to history for guidance, yet understand that it offers no blueprint.
Threats
The US Air War in Afghanistan Is Nearing Surge-Era Intensity
The latest figures from Air Force Central Command show that more bombs are being dropped than have been in nearly seven years.
Policy
The US Will Be Dropping A Lot More Bombs on Afghanistan
More air support for Afghan forces will help drive the Taliban to the negotiating table, Mattis and Dunford tell Congress.
Ideas
Closing the Taliban’s Office in Qatar Would Be a Historic Mistake
With no military solution in Afghanistan, the US needs credible interlocutors to end the war — like the ones who secured the Bergdahl deal.
Ideas
How Would Reagan’s Defense Secretary View the New Afghanistan Strategy?
Caspar Weinberger’s six principles for using military force are a useful lens on Trump’s newish path in Southwest Asia.
Threats
How Many US Troops in Afghanistan? Pentagon Changes How It Counts Them
A new accounting method ups the official total in Afghanistan from 8,400 to “approximately” 11,000.
Threats
How the US Can Pressure Pakistan
Can anything stop the South Asian nation’s support for militants?
Threats
Are ‘Restrictions’ Keeping Us From Winning in Afghanistan?
An Army intelligence expert and retired special forces warrior lay out what red tape the President should cut in Afghanistan.
Ideas
Trump’s Path to Indefinite Afghan War
President Trump’s much-anticipated Afghan policy rightly avoids troop withdrawal timelines but offers little prospect for progress against the durable Taliban.
Ideas
When Will Enough Be Enough in Afghanistan?
At some point, a president might have to acknowledge to the military: We fought hard, but we have other, greater priorities elsewhere.
Policy
Tell Me What an Afghanistan 'Win' Looks Like
Campaign-trail rhetoric aside, his inability to define victory was the most troubling part of his speech.
Policy
Full Transcript: Donald Trump Announces His Afghanistan Policy
“No place is beyond the reach of American might and American arms.”
Threats
Will Anyone Care About Trump's Barely-Different Afghanistan War Plan?
Pull out. Stay in. Double down. It’s the military’s war until elected officials make it America’s war. And Americans won’t care by Wednesday, anyway.
Ideas
America Needs to Stay in Afghanistan
'U.S. Afghan policy for 15 years has not been nation-building, but exit-seeking.'
Ideas
It's Time To Make Afghanistan Someone Else's Problem
A full withdrawal of U.S. forces will force Iran, Russia, and others, to step up.
Policy
Are Mercenaries Really a Cheaper Way of War?
The founder of Blackwater says privatizing the 16-year war could save taxpayer money. History, both recent and farther back, suggests a different outcome.
Ideas
'Dunkirk' Should Remind Us What Wars Are Like (And That We’re Still Fighting Them)
After our veterans screened the movie's powerful and familiar portrayals of combat, we think Americans should be talking more about our endless presence in Afghanistan and the multi-front war against ISIS.
Ideas
A Mercenary-Led Surge Won’t Solve Afghanistan
Private military contractors have spotted an opportunity as America’s longest war grinds on.
Ideas
Educating Afghanistan's Youth Is the Only True Solution to Terrorism
Widespread illiteracy undercuts not only security, but also development projects that could help lift the country out of 16 years of war.
Ideas