Gilles Dorronsoro
{
"authors": [
"Gilles Dorronsoro"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "SAP",
"programs": [
"South Asia"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States",
"South Asia",
"Afghanistan",
"Pakistan"
],
"topics": [
"Security",
"Military",
"Foreign Policy"
]
}Source: Getty
Obama's Afghanistan Strategy
Obama’s Afghanistan strategy makes two welcome changes to existing strategy: It limits U.S. objectives to fighting al-Qaeda stationed in Pakistan, and it focuses on training the Afghan army, who will ultimately lead the war.
Source: The Washington Post

But these hopeful signs are tempered by real challenges. Sending $1.5 billion annually to Pakistan may help stabilize the country, but it won't eradicate al-Qaeda's activities on the border. Sending hundreds of American civilians to assist the Afghan government, as Obama suggests, may weaken Afghan state institutions. Already undermined by the American tendency to work directly with provincial governors and autonomous nongovernmental organizations, the Afghan state may now also face a nationalist backlash by a population that sees its institutions as not only ineffective but controlled by foreign forces.
Finally, Obama's proposal for negotiating with the Taliban is based on the false notion that the insurgency is largely made up of paid fighters who can be bought off. In fact, the Taliban have limited but real social support, and it is doubtful it can be split.
About the Author
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.
- Waiting for the Taliban in AfghanistanPaper
- Afghanistan: The Impossible TransitionPaper
Gilles Dorronsoro
Recent Work
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.
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Washington and Tehran’s Very Dangerous MomentCommentary
The Islamic Republic’s words and actions suggest that it has changed its approach to both diplomacy and war.
Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar
- Looking Past the Wall on Palestine-IsraelCommentary
Policy discussion is ignoring that the Palestinian national project is hollowed out and apartheid is a present danger.
Nathan J. Brown
- The Climate Blind Spot in Europe’s New Migration PactCommentary
The EU’s new migration policy is not suited to today’s realities. With climate change increasingly becoming a driver of displacement, Europe needs to rethink its deterrence-focused approach.
Shana Tabak
- Senegal’s Debt Crisis Has Moved Its Leaders from Partners to RivalsCommentary
The impacts of the Faye-Sonko rupture could go well beyond the country’s borders.
Lesley Anne Warner
- Post-U.S. International Democracy Support: Aspiration in Search of SubstancePaper
The reinvention of democracy support needs to be carried forward without the clear leadership of one dominant player.
Richard Youngs, Thomas Carothers