The United States is combating terrorism in Afghanistan to keep it from reverting to a safe haven for terrorists like those who struck on September 11, 2001. Efforts by the U.S. and its allies and partners in Afghanistan to facilitate and defend stable democratic governance are essential to reducing the terrorist threats to U.S. national security.
President Obama must avoid shortsighted policies that undermine U.S. friends in Afghanistan and Pakistan while encouraging America's enemies. Read More.
President Obama provided a clear signal that his Administration intends to dedicate the time, resources, and, most important, U.S. leadership necessary to stabilize the region and contain the terrorist threat in South Asia. Read More.
Overshadowed by the announcement in President Obama’s State of the Union address that 34,000 U.S. troops will be brought home from Afghanistan was an acknowledgement that the capabilities of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) need to improve. The U.S. should argue that the ANSF should not be reduced in numbers as currently planned, and the White House should press…
Now that U.S. elections are over, the Obama administration will have to decide its future course on Afghanistan. During the campaign, President Obama declared a goal of bringing American troops home from the Afghan war and focusing instead on “nation building” here in the U.S. But such campaign slogans pose a false choice to the American people and ignore the likely…
When President Obama undertook his strategic review of Afghanistan policy he chose a strategy that matched his chosen narrative of a decisive leader whose moves on the battlefield conveniently coincided with his political calendar. That may have served his reelection campaign well...not so much the war on the ground. The president gave commanders on the ground half…
On October 9–11, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 28 defense ministers will meet in Brussels. The top priority for the United States at this ministerial meeting should be ensuring that NATO demonstrates resolve and commitment to Afghanistan—especially in light of the recent “green on blue” attacks. The Alliance needs to realize that reforms such as Smart Defense…
Testimony before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade, United States House of Representatives September 13, 2012 My name is Lisa Curtis. I am Senior Research Fellow on South Asia at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own and should not…
"You're fired." No, we're not talking Donald Trump. We're talking Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has been slicing and dicing his national security team with gusto. On Aug. 28, he dismissed his national intelligence chief. Earlier that month, he'd dumped the defense and interior ministers. Karzai has scant time to pull a new team together. Combat forces from…
The recent string of “green-on-blue” (Afghan on US/Coalition troops) attacks in Afghanistan are cause for real worry: Not only might the Coalition’s vital mission to provide security training to the Afghan police and army be in trouble, but the country’s entire future might be in question, too. Without the high-quality training the Afghan security forces desperately…
America’s Enduring Leadership in Asia America has been engaged in Asia since a few decades after securing its independence. Its early interest is documented in the 1833 Treaty on Amity and Commerce between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Siam Thailand), and later in the market-opening 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa with Japan. The U.S. has, in fact, been a “resident…
Pakistan missed a valuable opportunity to create goodwill with the U.S. and other NATO members when it failed to announce a reopening of NATO supply routes to Afghanistan at the summit held Sunday and Monday in Chicago. Not only has Pakistan’s closure of the supply routes over the past six months made the war effort more expensive for NATO members, but its failure to…
Abstract: The 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago is an opportunity for the U.S. to provide much-needed leadership for NATO. The United States should push NATO members to keep their current commitments to Afghanistan and commit to supporting Afghanistan after NATO forces withdraw. At the Chicago Summit, the Obama Administration also needs to make the cases for transition,…
A few Members of Congress, motivated by American combat in the Middle East, have called for the reinstatement of a compulsory military draft. The case for coercing young citizens to join the military is supposedly based on social justice?that all should serve?and seems to be buttressed by reports of shortfalls in voluntary enlistment. In a New York Times op-ed…
This month, several individuals detained as "enemy combatants" will make their appeals for freedom to the highest court in the land. Perhaps now, more than any other time in recent memory, the eyes of the world are intensely focused on the United States Supreme Court. In making their decisions, they must walk a fine line between protecting the civil liberties we all…
The U.S. has experienced undeniable setbacks in Afghanistan over the last three weeks. While it is tempting to view these troubles as reason to cut and run, such a course would be irresponsible and lead to greater dangers for both the U.S. and Afghans. The U.S. mission in Afghanistan—preventing it from reverting to a safe haven for international terrorists—is still…
President Obama's West Point speech announcing his long-awaited decision on Afghanistan sent mixed messages that raise more questions about his Administration's commitment to success than they answered. On the one hand, the President announced that he will dispatch 30,000 more U.S. troops within the next six months to reinforce the 68,000 already there and ask American…
(Archived document, may contain errors) THE SOVIET INVAS./ON OF AFGHANISTAN INTRODUCTION On December 27, 1979, under cover cf an ongoing Soviet military buildup, heavily-armed elements of a Soviet airborne brigade were airlifted into Kabul, Afghanistan, to violently overthrow the regime of President Hafizollah Amin. Within hours after the beginning of…
Osama bin Laden’s death was undoubtedly a major victory for the United States and civilized society. The War on Terrorism, however, is not over—al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups will continue to stage plots against the United States, as they have done at least 39 times since 9/11. Successful counterterrorism policies, capable of stopping these threats before they…
A North Korean long-range ballistic missile launch into the Pacific Ocean, Russian threats of a preemptive strike against U.S. missile defenses in Europe, the Syrian regime’s continuing violence on protestors, and Taliban terrorist attacks in Afghanistan are just a few of the recent events that should serve to remind us that we are living in uncertain times…
Abstract: While President Obama is drawing down U.S. troops in Afghanistan, he is attempting to negotiate with the Taliban—despite the fact that the Taliban has renounced neither terrorism nor its support for al-Qaeda. If the Taliban is able to regain influence in Afghanistan without breaking ties with international terrorism, al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups could…
The situation in Afghanistan has spiraled downward over the past 10 days, but before making hasty decisions on next steps in Afghanistan, U.S. policymakers need to consider what has contributed to this ominous turn of events and what options there are for adjusting the U.S. strategy to avoid further such incidents. U.S. policymakers should also be aware that leaving…
The Obama Administration has been banking on Pakistani cooperation with its strategy to start a political reconciliation process inside Afghanistan as it withdraws U.S troops from the battlefield and shifts responsibility for security operations to the Afghan forces. Pakistani leaders have demonstrated little interest in assisting the U.S. with such efforts, however, and…
Credible U.S. press reports yesterday revealed that cell phones found on the attackers in the September 13 attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul were linked to Pakistani intelligence officials. The U.S. has long known that Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), works closely with the Haqqani insurgent network, which has been…
Among the amendments cleared for action during House consideration the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for...…
Today, Representatives Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), the co-chairs of the Afghan Women’s...…
“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the...…
Today, President Obama acknowledged the myriad terrorist threats around the world during his remarks at the National...…
A recent report illustrates how miles of red tape are hindering the nation’s ability to properly fund and equip the...…
After more than a decade of intensive ground combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military is facing a security...…
Even as the U.S. withdraws from Iraq and Afghanistan, the world has certainly not become a safer place. North Korea...…
Senator John McCain (R–AZ) bombarded top U.S. commander in Afghanistan General Joseph Dunford at a recent Senate Armed...…
Drug wars have plagued Asia for decades, and the drug problem continues to stem the tide of economic growth and...…
Just days before President Obama released his fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget request, the Air Force reported that it...…
Senior Research Fellow
Senior Research Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs