January 22, 2009
Tell Me Why We’re There? Enduring Interests in Afghanistan (and Pakistan)
January 2009 - In 2009, the Obama administration will attempt to deliver on campaign promises to change the Afghan war’s trajectory. In April, the Strasbourg NATO summit will determine the alliance’s role in shaping the future of the country and the region. By the fall, Afghans will have voted for their president for only the second time since 2001, an event which may irrevocably set the country’s course. By the end of this summer’s fighting season, the war in Afghanistan will not yet be won, but it could well be lost.
After seven years and the deaths of more than a thousand American and coalition troops, there is still no consensus on whether the future of Afghanistan matters to the United States and Europe, or on what can realistically be achieved there. Afghanistan does matter. A stable Afghanistan is necessary to defeat Al Qaeda and to further stability in South and Central Asia. Understanding the war in Afghanistan, maintaining domestic and international support for it, and prosecuting it well requires three things: a clear articulation of U.S. interests in Afghanistan, a concise definition of what the coalition seeks to achieve there, and a detailed strategy to guide the effort.
U.S. interests in Afghanistan may be summarized as “two no’s”: there must be no sanctuary for terrorists with global reach in Afghanistan, and there must be no broader regional meltdown. Securing these objectives requires helping the Afghans to build a sustainable system of governance that can adequately ensure security for the Afghan people—the “yes” upon which a successful exit strategy depends.
Authors
-
John A. Nagl
CNAS Board of Advisor, Headmaster, The Haverford School
Dr. John Nagl is the ninth Headmaster of The Haverford School in Haverford, Pennsylvania and a member of the Board of Advisors at the Center for a New American Security.  ...
-
Nathaniel C. Fick
CNAS Board of Director, Chief Executive Officer, Endgame
Nathaniel C. Fick is the CEO of Endgame, Inc., a venture-backed security intelligence software company. He was CEO of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) from June 2...
-
Vikram J. Singh
More from CNAS
-
Here's How Private Contractors Can Help Win the Afghan War
The president has declared a “path forward” for Afghanistan. Given that the United States is at a nexus for strategic change, might there be an increased role for private cont...
By CDR Daniel G. Straub, USN
-
The Only Way Trump’s Afghanistan Plan Would Make Sense
Monday night, President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited plan for Afghanistan. Trump admitted his instinct was to withdraw from the war-torn country, where U.S. forces h...
By Stephen Tankel
-
What Works in Afghanistan
There is a cliché about Afghanistan that custom dictates must be included in every TV appearance, column, and book about that land: It is the “graveyard of empires.” From Alex...
By Phillip Carter
-
Trump Learns From America’s Failures in Afghanistan
Since the end of the Cold War, one of the unfortunate patterns in American foreign policy has been the tendency of new presidents to denounce their predecessors’ approach to t...
By Vance Serchuk