Afghanistan research

Will the United States continue to conduct counterterrorism operations in South Asia? That question is central to any discussion about U.S. troop presence and mission in Afghanistan.

Afghan history suggests that any stable political accommodation after 2014 will be contingent upon incorporating Jamiat-e Islami. The engagement of key Jamiat-e Islami politicians will be critical to a smooth regime transition in Afghanistan post-Karzai.

Three thousand troops are not sufficient to keep even a single U.S. military base in Afghanistan after 2014. This report, released jointly with AEI's Critical Threats Project, describes how to calculate the force requirements for keeping one base in Afghanistan.

Leaving a bare-bones U.S. presence will risk a return of the Taliban—and civil war.

A suicide bombing in Kabul on December 6 targeted the head of the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS), Asadullah Khalid, in an event that has rattled Afghan elites and rekindled controversy between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The success of transitioning security responsibility to the Afghans is contingent upon their willingness and ability to receive the handoff.

On November 30, 2012, ISW welcomed two commanders, MG (P) James Huggins and LTC (P) J.B. Vowell, to discuss their experiences in Afghanistan over the past year.

Will the United States continue to conduct counterterrorism operations in South Asia? That question is central to any discussion about U.S. troop presence and mission in Afghanistan.

USMC General Joe Dunford appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee today to be confirmed as the next Commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

The spike in green-on-blue attacks in Afghanistan is a development that has the potential to endanger ISAF's mission to train and prepare Afghan security forces. It is important to establish the scope of the green-on-blue threat as well as the context in which the attacks occur.