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Helping Afghans Without Helping the Taliban Article

Helping Afghans Without Helping the Taliban

Creative policy thinking can help the United States and the international community avert the worst human security outcomes in Afghanistan.

Peter Juul

Seeking a New Balance for U.S. Policy in the Middle East Report
 (A true-color image compiled using data acquired by Landsat 5 and 7 satellites shows parts of the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Cyprus, Israel, Iran, Turkey, and Iraq.)

Seeking a New Balance for U.S. Policy in the Middle East

The Biden administration signaled an effort to shift overall U.S. policy by prioritizing diplomacy and making some modest shifts on the military front, but key human security challenges loom on the horizon.

Brian Katulis, Peter Juul

Interactive: The First 100 Days Interactive
 (Photoillustration: Chester Hawkins)

Interactive: The First 100 Days

This interactive database features nearly 250 recommendations that the next administration can advance, adopt, and implement within the first 100 days to set the country on a path toward a more progressive national security approach.

the CAP National Security and International Policy Team

Fact Sheet: The Case for a New U.S. Relationship with Afghanistan Fact Sheet
A U.S. soldier patrols on the edge of a village near Pul-e Alam, Afghanistan, March 2014.

Fact Sheet: The Case for a New U.S. Relationship with Afghanistan

It is time to end the war in Afghanistan responsibly and make a strategic transition to more pressing U.S. national security challenges.

Kelly Magsamen, Michael Fuchs

The Case for a New U.S. Relationship with Afghanistan Report

The Case for a New U.S. Relationship with Afghanistan

It is time to end the war in Afghanistan responsibly and make a strategic transition to more pressing U.S. national security challenges.

Kelly Magsamen, Michael Fuchs

Rethinking the Civilian Surge Report
U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Robert Neumann, center, Nuristan Gov. Tamim Nuristani, left, and NATO Commander in Afghanistan British Gen. David Richards cut a ribbon opening a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Nuristan, Afghanistan, in 2006. (AP)

Rethinking the Civilian Surge

The United States sent thousands of government civilians to Provincial Reconstruction Teams across Afghanistan to bring security, development, and government to the Afghan people. Identifying what worked and what did not is critical to ensuring better outcomes for the next conflict.

Ariella Viehe, Jasmine Afshar, Tamana Heela

International Commitments to Afghanistan Interactive

International Commitments to Afghanistan

This interactive outlines key international commitments to Afghanistan through pivotal years of transition.

Katherine Blakeley, Aarthi Gunasekaran

Security in Afghanistan: 5 Key Areas for U.S. Action Report
Afghan security officers listen to a speech by President Ashraf Ghani. (AP/Rahmat Gul)

Security in Afghanistan: 5 Key Areas for U.S. Action

Any adjustment to the withdrawal timeline of U.S. troops from Afghanistan must consider the critical needs of the Afghan National Security Forces.

Ariella Viehe, Katherine Blakeley, Aarthi Gunasekaran

Tackling Corruption in Afghanistan: It’s Now or Never Report
Civil-society activists in Kabul, Afghanistan, chant slogans during a September 2014 rally. (AP/Massoud Hossaini)

Tackling Corruption in Afghanistan: It’s Now or Never

Afghanistan has become one of the most corrupt countries on earth, but the election of a new government offers a critical opportunity for reform that neither Kabul nor Washington can afford to waste.

Mary Beth Goodman, Trevor Sutton

Turning the Tide on Afghanistan Report
A boy makes traditional sweets at a market in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP/Rahmat Gul)

Turning the Tide on Afghanistan

The Afghanistan national unity government’s visit to Washington offers an opportunity to reinvigorate the U.S.-Afghanistan relationship by using U.S. and international assistance to bolster Afghanistan’s own reform agenda.

Ariella Viehe, Aarthi Gunasekaran

To Stem the Flow of Illicit Drugs from Afghanistan, Follow the Money Report
A man counts money at a Kabul market in Afghanistan. (AP/Massoud Hossaini)

To Stem the Flow of Illicit Drugs from Afghanistan, Follow the Money

Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium. Curbing the drug trade will require enhanced efforts to monitor the flow of illicit financial funds, as well as Afghan political will to enforce action.

Mary Beth Goodman, Trevor Sutton

Reassessing the International Role in Afghanistan During the NATO Summit Report

Reassessing the International Role in Afghanistan During the NATO Summit

The end of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, mission provides an opportunity for the international community to redefine its roles in Afghanistan.

Aarthi Gunasekaran

Afghans Find Their Way Report
 (Afghan candidate supporters)

Afghans Find Their Way

The international community will play an important but secondary role in Afghanistan’s future as Afghans work to create a more sustainable state through strengthening their political consensus, building their economy, and increasing security.

Caroline Wadhams

Preparing for the Upcoming Afghan Political Transition Article
Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks at a press conference during a ceremony at a military academy on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. (AP/Rahmat Gul)

Preparing for the Upcoming Afghan Political Transition

The United States and its partners must continue to focus on Afghanistan’s upcoming presidential election and political transition despite the world’s focus on the conflict in Syria.

Caroline Wadhams, John Podesta

Afghanistan Beyond 2014: Elections, Political Settlement, Reforms Article
 (Afghan President Hamid Karzai)

Afghanistan Beyond 2014: Elections, Political Settlement, Reforms

A paper by a number of Afghan civil-society organizations offers recommendations in three critical areas of importance: the upcoming national elections in Afghanistan, efforts for a political settlement, and broader political reforms.

Caroline Wadhams

Managing Afghanistan’s Political Transition Between Now and 2014 Article
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, left, shakes hands with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, right, during their joint press conference at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, December 13, 2012. (AP/Susan Walsh)

Managing Afghanistan’s Political Transition Between Now and 2014

As the United States plans its transition strategy for Afghanistan starting in 2014, policymakers need to consider the capabilities of Afghan security forces while also pushing for a diplomatic agreement in the region.

Caroline Wadhams

Afghanistan’s Political Future Video

Afghanistan’s Political Future

Colin Cookman explains why the United States must focus on Afghanistan's political transition.

Colin Cookman

Afghanistan Transition Report
The United States must strike the right balance between providing enduring support and continuing the ongoing transition to Afghan responsibility. (AP/ S. Sabawoon)

Afghanistan Transition

The United States must strike the right balance between providing enduring support and continuing the ongoing transition to Afghan responsibility, write Caroline Wadhams, Colin Cookman, and Brian Katulis.

Caroline Wadhams, Colin Cookman, Brian Katulis

Setting the Terms for a Long-Term U.S.-Afghanistan Partnership Article
President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai shake hands after making statements before signing a strategic partnership agreement at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP/Charles Dharapak)

Setting the Terms for a Long-Term U.S.-Afghanistan Partnership

Caroline Wadhams and Colin Cookman examine what has to happen next in Afghanistan for the new bilateral partnership to bear lasting fruit.

Caroline Wadhams, Colin Cookman

Absorbing the Latest Afghan Tragedy Article
Anar Gul gestures to the body of her grandchild, who was killed by a U.S. service member in Panjwai, Kandahar province south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, March 11, 2012. (AP/Allauddin Khan)

Absorbing the Latest Afghan Tragedy

Caroline Wadhams cautions policymakers in Washington to look past this most recent setback in Afghanistan after a swift accounting of what occurred.

Caroline Wadhams

Time for Afghan Political Settlement Talks Article
Afghans shout slogans during an anti-United States protest over burning of Korans at a military base in Afghanistan. (AP/ Rahmat Gul)

Time for Afghan Political Settlement Talks

The recent protests in Afghanistan expose vulnerabilities in the current U.S. approach, write Colin Cookman and Caroline Wadhams. A diplomatic tack is necessary.

Colin Cookman, Caroline Wadhams

Milestones for Transition in Afghanistan 2012–2014 Report
Afghan children stand near U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers jointly  patrolling in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, September 5, 2011. (AP/Brennan Linsley)

Milestones for Transition in Afghanistan 2012–2014

Report from Caroline Wadhams offers recommendations for the upcoming international conference on Afghanistan in Bonn, Germany.

Caroline Wadhams

Decision Time in Afghanistan Article
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, left, watches as Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks at a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, June 4, 2011. (AP/Jason Reed)

Decision Time in Afghanistan

The administration needs to resolve the unanswered questions in its strategy, write Caroline Wadhams and Colin Cookman. The withdrawal of a significant troop presence from Afghanistan is only a first step.

Caroline Wadhams, Colin Cookman

After bin Laden Article
President Barack Obama reads his statement to photographers after making a televised statement on the death of Osama bin Laden from the East Room of the White House in Washington, Sunday, May 1, 2011. Osama bin Laden’s death clarifies that the United States has the ability  to protect U.S. interests independent of Afghan and Pakistani  cooperation. (AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

After bin Laden

Caroline Wadhams and Colin Cookman explore U.S. options in the two nations in the wake of the killing of Al Qaeda’s leader.

Caroline Wadhams, Colin Cookman

Afghanistan’s Government Needs Reform Video

Afghanistan’s Government Needs Reform

Caroline Wadhams talks about Afghanistan's recent parliamentary elections and what needs to happen for the country to have a stable, representative government.

Caroline Wadhams

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