Other
This section features Critical Threats work on West Africa and the Maghreb, Afghanistan and Russia. For further analysis on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, please visit the Institute for the Study of War.
IN THIS SECTION
Courting Disaster in Afghanistan
When we have made the gains we can and must make, and when we have consolidated them to ensure that our efforts were not wasted and our security is not endangered—only then should we talk about drawing down more troops or changing their mission. To do otherwise is to court disaster.
The President & the Generals
There is ongoing confusion in the White House and among the American political elite generally about how the president should take advice from his senior military commanders. The situation has become very dangerous for an administration that has overruled its commanders dramatically and frequently.
Troops, Not Technology
The question is not whether the United States will again send troops to fight in far-off lands. The question that should weigh most heavily on Congress as it considers the defense budget is what kind of leaders those troops will have and how well prepared they will be.
The Case for Continuing the Counterinsurgency Campaign in Afghanistan
The drawdown in Afghanistan may be afoot, but racing for the exits will leave large parts of the country -- especially around Kabul in the east -- infested with insurgent havens.
Jund al Khilafah Targets Kazakhstan
It remains to be seen the extent to which the recent spate of attacks and increased militancy in Kazakhstan have operational links to the broader network of terrorist groups operating in Central Asia and South Asia.
The Iranians Certainly Think They've Won in Iraq
If partisan political bickering prevents us from recognizing the reality that Iran really has scored an important and damaging victory over the United States in Iraq through the failure of the these negotiations to extend our troop presence, then the prospects for any intelligent strategy to respond to that failure are dim indeed.
Defeat in Iraq
President Obama’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops is the mother of all disasters.
Out of Iraq
The American withdrawal, which comes after the administration's failure to secure a new agreement that would have allowed troops to remain in Iraq, won't be good for ordinary Iraqis nor for the region. But it will unquestionably benefit Iran.
Retreating with Our Heads Held High
The president has enunciated the Obama Doctrine: American retreat. The humiliation of this retreat is compounded by the dishonesty of its presentation.
Obama Abandons Iraq
President Obama announced on October 21 that he has decided to abandon Iraq. There is no benefit to the United States from this unnecessary decision, and likely much loss.