May 12, 2017
Seven questions Congress should ask about Trump’s mini-surge in Afghanistan
The Trump administration seems set to roll-out a mini-surge of up to 5,000 additional troops in Afghanistan, likely increasing U.S. taxpayer costs to $30 billion per year. Before committing more money and troops to the intractable conflict, Congress should be sure that the United States is not throwing good money after bad. Here are six questions to ask.
1. Are the Taliban an international terrorist group or an Afghan insurgent group? Many Afghan elites insist the Taliban are terrorists. A negotiated outcome to the war in Afghanistan is possible if the Taliban are insurgents. With the Taliban reportedly in control of 11 percent of the country and contesting roughly 29 percent, hundreds of thousands of Afghans seem to have answered that question for themselves. 40 years of conflict, to include over 30 years of fighting between those supporting the Taliban and those supporting the government produces deep-seated animosities. The United States needs to understand these animosities, but not be held hostage to them.
Read the full article at The Hill.
More from CNAS
-
The Axis of Upheaval
Commentary
The West has been too quick to dismiss the coordination among China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia....
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Richard Fontaine
-
Iran ‘minimizing impact’ of Israeli strike: analyst
Video
ranian media reported explosions, but an Iranian official told Reuters those were caused by air defense systems. State media said three drones over the central city of Isfahan...
By Jonathan Lord
-
Proxy battles: Iraq, Iran, and the turmoil in the Middle East
Commentary
Since Hamas’s attacks sparked the war in Gaza on 7 October 2023, a dangerous cycle of escalation has played out across the Middle East. Iran and its proxies – such as the Hout...
By Hamzeh Hadad
-
Blaise Misztal and Jonathan Lord on U.S. Ceasefire Push in Israel-Hamas War
Video
Blaise Misztal of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America and Jonathan Lord from the Center for a New American Security talked about the new push by the U.S. for...
By Jonathan Lord
