General David Rodriguez, recent commander of international forces in Afghanistan, claims in the current issue of Foreign Affairs that American troops have achieved “indisputable gains everywhere we have focused our efforts.” There are clear signs, the General writes, that U.S. and Afghan forces have “regained the initiative” and that the current counterinsurgency strategy is working. [...]
Archive for the ‘Afghanistan/Pakistan’ Category
Time to Face the Facts in Afghanistan
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan on September 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Reflections on the 10th anniversary
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Counterterrorism, Iraq and Iran, Nonviolence on September 9, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I’ve been invited to The Hague this week by the International Center on Counter-Terrorism for the presentation “Reflecting on the Effects of Counter-Terrorism Measures since 9/11: A Civil Society Perspective.” My talk focuses on the erosion of political freedom and human rights in many parts of the world resulting from repressive counter-terrorism measures. It feels [...]
Henry Kissinger against war?
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Peace History on June 13, 2011 | 1 Comment »
President Obama will announce soon the beginning of US troop withdrawals from Afghanistan. This is a crucial turning point for American foreign policy. Many of us are urging the President to make a substantial reduction as part of a coherent transition strategy to enhance security in the region. Even Henry Kissinger is now discussing the [...]
Congress (almost) votes to end the war
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan on May 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This week the House of Representatives came very close to voting for an end to the Afghanistan War. The McGovern-Jones amendment to the Defense Authorization Act calling for “an accelerated transition” out of Afghanistan fell just 11 votes short of passage. The final vote was 204-215. Twenty-six Republicans joined all but eight Democrats in voting [...]
Afghan Women Speak on Capitol Hill
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan on May 5, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Last week, I testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Congress as one of five witnesses in a hearing on women in Afghanistan. The session was chaired by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), with 4 other members of Congress participating: Susan Davis (D-CA), James McDermott (D-WA), Joseph Pitts (R-PA), and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). It [...]
Bin Laden’s gone; now let’s end the war
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Counterterrorism on May 2, 2011 | 3 Comments »
The killing of Osama bin Laden brings partial closure to the long war against Al Qaeda. It is a credit to the police, intelligence and military Special Forces professionals who carried out the job, and to President Obama for maintaining persistent focus on eliminating the threat from Al Qaeda. This is an occasion for many [...]
To help Afghan women, end the war!
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan on November 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Our new Kroc Institute report, Afghan Women Speak, has sparked considerable interest. You can view it here. During the recent release event at the UN Church Center in New York, the discussion focused on how to end the war in a responsible manner that protects the precarious progress women have made since 2001. The deteriorating [...]
When War Trumps Reason
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Counterterrorism on October 20, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Reading Bob Woodward’s Obama’s Wars is giving me a headache. The problem is not Woodward’s writing and reporting, which are first class as usual, but rather the story of Obama’s fall 2009 strategy review itself. His account shows a president who is deeply skeptical of military solutions. “I want an exit strategy,” the president insisted [...]
Obama’s War
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Counterterrorism on September 22, 2010 | 2 Comments »
A grim milestone was reached last month. US casualties in Afghanistan during the Obama administration have now surpassed those of the Bush era. During the eight years of the Bush administration, total US fatalities in Afghanistan numbered 578. As of September 22 fatalities during the Obama administration were reported at 646. Afghanistan is now truly [...]
Thank you, Mr. President. Now end the war in Afghanistan.
Posted in Afghanistan/Pakistan, Iraq and Iran on September 1, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
President Obama is fulfilling his campaign pledge to end the war in Iraq, and for that we are deeply grateful. He is holding to the letter of the Iraq security agreement, with combat troops gone now, and all remaining troops scheduled to be out by the end of next year. This is a remarkable achievement, [...]
