Afghanistan

The country’s long journey of competing political visions begins in 1964, and right now, the future seems up for grabs. The Taliban are making rapid territorial gains in Afghanistan’s countryside while Afghan security forces coalesce around urban centers. But the only sustainable path that will bring peace is a political …

Over the last week, I have been watching the Taliban sweep across the map of northern Afghanistan, capturing places that I first visited in 2001 at the beginning of the US-backed war. Taliban fighters have seized the main bridge to Tajikistan on the Amu Darya, a river that I crossed …

American and Turkish officials are still ironing out the last details on how to secure Kabul’s airport. The Taliban on Monday reiterated its demand that Turkey’s military forces leave Afghanistan along with NATO and US forces departing the country this summer. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Turkish forces would be …

At Bagram air-base, Afghan scrap merchants are already picking through the graveyard of U.S. military equipment that was until recently the headquarters of America’s 20-year occupation of their country. Afghan officials say the last U.S. forces slipped away from Bagram in the dead of night, without notice or coordination. The …

American forces have left Afghanistan. Now what? President Biden has yet to settle on the outlines of an approach. What should the U.S. seek to achieve? Who are its partners? As he mulls these questions, the president should take note of a July 16 conference, hosted by the government of …

Both sides want peace and stability in the region. What’s next for the bilateral relationship as the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan? For the last two decades, U.S.-Pakistan relations have been defined by the war in Afghanistan and counterterrorism concerns. With the United States military withdrawal almost complete, the relationship should …

Financial assistance has a limited role, but sharp cutbacks would precipitate a fiscal and state collapse, making peace even more distant. As American troops leave Afghanistan, U.S. policymakers are trying to find other tools to advance peace between the Taliban and the Afghan government. One possible instrument is financial aid, …

Introduction On July 7, 2021 Iran hosted talks between the Afghan Government and Taliban (the Taliban delegation was led by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai). The same day, the Taliban attacked the Badghis provincial capital Qalat-i-Naw. Iranian Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif emphatically stated that the Afghan people should decide their own …

The two-decade war in Afghanistan has given U.S. spies a perch for keeping tabs on terrorist groups that might once again use the beleaguered nation to plan attacks against the U.S. homeland. But that will end soon. The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan is leaving intelligence agencies scrambling for …

AFGHANISTAN Government troops retook Qala-e-Naw, capital of the western Badghis province, on Thursday after Taliban fighters had seized the city the day before. It was the first major provincial capital that the insurgents had captured in the course of their offensive as U.S. and NATO forces complete their withdrawal from …