Afghanistan: Setting a New Course

Afghanistan has long had an out sized role in world affairs, first from an excess of interest, but now from an excess of neglect. The 1979 Soviet inva sion launched the last major war of the 20th century, undoing the USSR and ushering in more than two decades of occupation, civil war, and Taliban rule for Afghanistan. On September 11, 2001, the first major war of the 21st century began, with Afghanistan again at its center.

Six years on, Western promises and Afghan hopes are at great risk. Donor fatigue and strategic confusion afflict the governments and populations of many NATO contributors. Violence in the country is increasing, governance is fragile, and economic development is too slow to provide compelling alternatives to warlordism and the drug trade. There is widespread concern that Afghanistan’s 2009 national elections cannot be held if such conditions persist.

Afghanistan, however, is a long way from lost. The CNAS Afghanistan Project starts from the premise that Afghanistan can either become an anchor in the region and a counterweight to uncertainty, or it can accelerate the forces of fragmentation that imperil vital American and allied interests and regional stability. The next American administration—regardless of political party—will have a window of opportunity within which to adopt “breakthrough ideas” in Afghanistan that can set the right course for regional and global secu rity.

This project’s goal is to formulate these breakthrough ideas and provide a road-map for their implementation. Although aimed at American policymakers, the project will incorporate Afghan views at every level through partnerships with local organizations, including the Center for Conflict and Peace Studies in Kabul. The recommendations will rest in a stra tegic framework developed by analyzing the dynamics between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the interests and activities of Afghanistan’s other neighbors, including Iran, India, and China. Specific proposals will be formed along three critical axes: security, good governance, and sustain able development.