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{
  "authors": [
    "Gilles Dorronsoro"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
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  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "SAP",
  "programs": [
    "South Asia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "South Asia",
    "Afghanistan"
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  "topics": [
    "Security",
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}

Source: Getty

In The Media

Taking Stock of the Taliban's Strategy in Afghanistan

The Taliban should not be underestimated. They are an organized and coordinated enemy, and the United States must change its strategy if there is to be any hope of success.

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By Gilles Dorronsoro
Published on Sep 22, 2009
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South Asia

The South Asia Program informs policy debates relating to the region’s security, economy, and political development. From strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific to India’s internal dynamics and U.S. engagement with the region, the program offers in-depth, rigorous research and analysis on South Asia’s most critical challenges.

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Source: The Online NewsHour

As the number of U.S. troops and casualties rises in Afghanistan and popularity for the war declines, lawmakers and military strategists are beginning to wonder whether America is pursuing the right strategy in the conflict.

In an interview with Dan Sagalyn of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Gilles Dorronsoro discusses the Taliban’s strategy in the Afghanistan and alternative options for the U.S. Dorronsoro explains that the Taliban are an organized and coordinated foe, evidenced by the four hundred attacks made on the August 20 elections, their slow but successful extension of the insurgency to the north, and their establishment of parallel governments in the countryside. The U.S. and the Coalition must rethink their strategy, and concentrate on achieving feasible objectives, like securing the cities and key roadways.

About the Author

Gilles Dorronsoro

Former Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program

Dorronsoro’s research focuses on security and political development in Afghanistan. He was a professor of political science at the Sorbonne in Paris and the Institute of Political Studies of Rennes.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    Waiting for the Taliban in Afghanistan

      Gilles Dorronsoro

  • Paper
    Afghanistan: The Impossible Transition

      Gilles Dorronsoro

Gilles Dorronsoro
Former Nonresident Scholar, South Asia Program
Gilles Dorronsoro
SecurityMilitaryForeign PolicySouth AsiaAfghanistan

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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