Threats
Marines Update Evacuation Playbook
A pre-deployment exercise allowed the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit to practice what they learned from the Afghanistan withdrawal and other non-combatant evacuation operations.
Ideas
20 Years Later, Terrorism Simmers from Iraq to Afghanistan, Officials Warn
Threats are rising once again, two decades after the American invasion that unleashed them all.
Threats
U.S. Lacked ‘Political Will’, Resources To Build Up Afghan Forces, Report Finds
Biden, Trump administrations didn’t account for low morale, which was “one of the main contributors” to the collapse of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces amid the U.S. military withdrawal in 2021.
Policy
Why Congress Can’t Stop the CIA From Working With Forces That Commit Abuses
The Leahy Law prohibits the U.S. military from providing training and equipment to foreign security forces that commit human rights abuses, but it does not apply to U.S. intelligence agencies.
Policy
Poll: Half of Americans Say Sending Troops to Afghanistan Was ‘A Mistake’
Less than one-quarter believe the two-decade conflict made America safer.
Ideas
Defense One Radio, Ep. 107: The legacy of America’s Afghan war, with Elliot Ackerman
Two Afghanistan war veterans discuss some of the toughest lessons from America's 20-year war.
Ideas
A Year After Kabul's Fall, Taliban’s False Commitments Are Fully Exposed
But the U.S. has few good options for counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan.
Policy
4 in 5 Afghans Who Worked for the US Have Faced Taliban Threats, Poll Finds
Lawmakers and advocates are working on legislation to make the special immigrant visa program permanent.
Ideas