Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
While calling for an “integrated” approach to the region, Trump left to others the arduous task of shaping and implementing diplomatic and military details.
India must its increase its economic diplomacy and security cooperation with Afghanistan while countering the narrative that the success of the revised U.S. policy toward South Asia hinges on Kashmir.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s reset of Afghan strategy marks an important discontinuity in Washington’s approach to South Asia.
Regional connectivity projects give Afghanistan a substantive trading alternative to Pakistan and provide a powerful mechanism for trade and economic development.
Sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan is a risk worth taking in the U.S. national interest, so long as it is as part of an integrated strategy for Central and South Asia.
The only solution to the Afghan conflict is a political one. An open-minded approach by India can help secure the gains of the previous fifteen years.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has become the organizing foreign policy concept of the Xi Jinping era.
The conflict in Afghanistan is the United States’ longest-running war. Despite the progress made there since September 11, 2001, the persistence of the Taliban insurgency is perhaps still the most debilitating challenge facing the country.
At best, India can be a useful ally to the Afghan government. It cannot—and does not pretend to— be a substitute for the United States.
To protect the integrity of the Afghan state, U.S. policy should aim to end the conflict in ways that mitigate the threats of terrorism, instability, and regional conflict.