The Great Game in Afghanistan (A 21st-Century Update) And the U.S. Is Losing Out - Dilip Hiro

Cross-posted with TomDispatch.com

Call it an irony, if you will, but as the Obama administration struggles to slow down or halt its scheduled withdrawal from Afghanistan, newly elected Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is performing a withdrawal operation of his own. He seems to be in the process of trying to sideline the country’s major patron of the last 13 years -- and as happened in Iraq after the American invasion and occupation there, Chinese resource companies are again picking up the pieces.

In the nineteenth century, Afghanistan was the focus of “the Great Game” between the imperial powers of that era, Britain and Czarist Russia, and so it is again.  Washington, the planet’s “sole superpower,” having spent an estimated $1 trillion and sacrificed the lives of 2,150 soldiers fighting the Taliban in the longest overseas war in its history, finds itself increasingly and embarrassingly consigned to observer status in the region, even while its soldiers and contractors still occupy Afghan bases, trainAfghan forces, and organize night raids against the Taliban.

In the new foreign policy that Ghani recently outlined, the United States finds itselfconsigned to the third of the five circles of importance.  The first circle contains neighboring countries, including China with its common border with Afghanistan, and the second is restricted to the countries of the Islamic world.

In the new politics of Afghanistan under Ghani, as the chances for peace talks between his government and the unbeaten Taliban brighten, the Obama administration finds itself gradually but unmistakably being reduced to the status of bystander. Meanwhile, credit for those potential peace talks goes to the Chinese leadership, which has received a Taliban delegation in Beijing twice in recent months, and to Ghani, who has dulled the hostility of the rabidly anti-Indian Taliban byreversing the pro-India, anti-Pakistan policies of his predecessor, Hamid Karzai.   Read More at Huffingtonpost

The Great Game in Afghanistan (A 21st-Century Update) - Dilip Hiro 

Grandson of Getty oil founder found dead in Los Angeles

(Reuters) - The grandson of billionaire Getty oil founder J. Paul Getty was found dead on Tuesday afternoon at his home in Los Angeles, the family said in a statement.

Andrew Getty's parents, Ann and Gordon, confirmed the 47-year-old's death and requested privacy for the family during "this extremely difficult time" and that further details would be released as they became available.

Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Commander Andrew Smith said it was very early in the investigation and witnesses were being questioned, but no one was in custody.

"At first glance, it does not appear to be a criminal type of act. But that could change," Smith said on Tuesday night.

The cause of Andrew Getty's death was not immediately clear.  Getty's grandfather, J. Paul Getty, merged several smaller oil companies into Getty Oil in the 1960s. 

At one time one of America's richest men, he was also an avid art collector who established the trust that funds the J. Paul Getty Museum and several other institutions.   Read More at Grandson of Getty 

Grandson of Getty oil founder found dead in Los Angeles

Andrew Getty's death does not appear to involve foul play, authorities sa - latimes

Syria, Iraq a 'finishing school' for foreign fighters: U.N. report

(Reuters) - More than 25,000 foreign fighters from some 100 countries are linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, with Syria and Iraq comprising a "veritable international finishing school for extremists," United Nations experts reported to the U.N. Security Council.

The experts, who monitor al Qaeda sanctions violations, said in a report seen by Reuters that along with some 22,000 foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, there were also 6,500 in Afghanistan and hundreds more in Yemen, Libya, Pakistan and Somalia.

At a meeting of the 15-member Security Council chaired by U.S. President Barack Obama in September, the experts were asked to report within six months on the threat from foreign fighters joining Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, Nusra Front in Syria and other al Qaeda-linked groups

"For the thousands of (foreign fighters) who traveled to the Syrian Arab Republic and Iraq ... they live and work in a veritable 'international finishing school' for extremists as it was in the case in Afghanistan during the 1990s," the experts wrote in their report submitted to the council late this month.

Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden found refuge in Afghanistan in the 1990s, where the militant group - blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001 hijacked airliner attacks on the United States - ran training camps.  Read More

Syria, Iraq a 'finishing school' for foreign fighters: U.N. report

Afghan refugees tell of their eviction from Pakistan

Ever since the December attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan has become increasingly hostile to Afghan refugees. As a result more than twice as many have returned to Afghanistan as in the whole of the 2014

For 35 years, Hoji Karim had eked out a living in the mountainous region of Pakistani Kashmir. Having fled the war in his native Afghanistan, the elderly man thought that, across the border, in the valleys of the lower Himalayas, he had finally found somewhere safe.

But two months ago that all changed.

"The Pakistani police came to our house and told us to leave," he said. "They threw all our things onto the street."

"Pakistani officials should not be scapegoating Afghans because of the Taliban's atrocities in Peshawar," said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "It is inhumane, not to mention unlawful, to return Afghans to places they may face harm and not protect them from harassment and abuse."

The rate of spontaneous returns of undocumented Afghans increased from an average of 59 a day in 2014 to 651 in the 2015. An IOM official said that many of the unregistered Afghan returnees reported that they had left Pakistan to escape harassment following the Peshawar attack.  Read More

Afghan refugees tell of their eviction from Pakistan

Karzai: Islamic State is not in Afghanistan - cnbc

The Islamic State does not have a presence in Afghanistan because it lacks the necessary support, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai told CNBC.

"As far as ISIS is concerned in Afghanistan, so far it's only a slogan," Karzai told Martin Soong on 'The CNBC Conversation'. "[There's] a lot of media hype in Afghanistan, [but] there is no physical evidence of them per se."

But that doesn't mean the Islamic State won't make its way into Afghanistan.

"You'll see that one day a white flag of the Taliban is turned into the black flag of ISIS. The individuals may remain the same, but the change of name is something that can occur easily," the former president said.

However, for that change to occur the Islamic State would require a support base.

Conflict can only be settled through negotiations as militaristic means rarely yield a solution, Karzai said referring to the war on terror andongoing conflict in Yemen.

"We have an example in Afghanistan," he said. "We've been engaged in a [military] campaign – some in the West call it a war on terrorism – for so many years, but eventually it is going to take negotiations to bring about a settlement, and that's what I'm hoping for in Yemen [too]".

A change in policies is the key to overcoming terrorism, he said, not military campaigns. 

"The rise of the so called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is the direct result of events in Iraq. The U.S. invasion of Iraq, the collapse of the regime there, and then the anarchy that followed [and] the sectarian violence – it's directly the result of that."

"I believe very strongly that…there has to be a change in policies," he said. "The U.S. and its Western allies must bring about a change in their approach to fighting extremism [and] terrorism."

"One hundred and fifty thousand U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Pakistan did not defeat [the terrorists], so how can 10,000 defeat them?" he said.

It's not the presence of troops that will make a difference, Karzai said, "there has to be a change in policies."

While Karzai doesn't agree with the U.S.'s approach to fighting terrorism, he does value Afghanistan's relationship with the country.

"I am not against relations with the U.S. I very much want a very deep, very strong, very strategic relationship with the U.S. But I don't believe that the presence of the U.S. military in Afghanistan is going to help the country or the war on terror the way it has been dealt with so far," he said.the necessary support, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai told CNBC.

"As far as ISIS is concerned in Afghanistan, so far it's only a slogan," Karzai told Martin Soong on 'The CNBC Conversation'. "[There's] a lot of media hype in Afghanistan, [but] there is no physical evidence of them per se."

But that doesn't mean the Islamic State won't make its way into Afghanistan.

"You'll see that one day a white flag of the Taliban is turned into the black flag of ISIS. The individuals may remain the same, but the change of name is something that can occur easily," the former president said.

However, for that change to occur the Islamic State would require a support base.

Where the Islamic State's current backing comes from remains unclear, but Karzai said it's "definitely not Iran, because Iran is fighting [ISIS]".

The war on terror

Conflict can only be settled through negotiations as militaristic means rarely yield a solution, Karzai said referring to the war on terror andongoing conflict in Yemen.

"We have an example in Afghanistan," he said. "We've been engaged in a [military] campaign – some in the West call it a war on terrorism – for so many years, but eventually it is going to take negotiations to bring about a settlement, and that's what I'm hoping for in Yemen [too]".

"The rise of the so called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is the direct result of events in Iraq. The U.S. invasion of Iraq, the collapse of the regime there, and then the anarchy that followed [and] the sectarian violence – it's directly the result of that."

"I believe very strongly that…there has to be a change in policies," he said. "The U.S. and its Western allies must bring about a change in their approach to fighting extremism [and] terrorism."

U.S. troops in Afghanistan  Karzai disagrees with U.S.President Barack Obama's decision on Tuesday to slow the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.

The current complement of 9,800 U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan through the end of 2015, according to a statement from the White House. The original plan was to reduce the number to around 5,500 by year-end.

"The U.S. was in Afghanistan for 13 years to fight the Taliban and to fight Al Qaeda and to fight radicalism. And today we have exactly the same fight going on as we did 13 years ago," he said. "The war on terror has failed to bring an end to terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

"One hundred and fifty thousand U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Pakistan did not defeat [the terrorists], so how can 10,000 defeat them?" he said.

It's not the presence of troops that will make a difference, Karzai said, "there has to be a change in policies."

Not against US relations:  While Karzai doesn't agree with the U.S.'s approach to fighting terrorism, he does value Afghanistan's relationship with the country.

"I am not against relations with the U.S. I very much want a very deep, very strong, very strategic relationship with the U.S. But I don't believe that the presence of the U.S. military in Afghanistan is going to help the country or the war on terror the way it has been dealt with so far," he said.

A difference in values was at the heart of Karzai's long-standing refusal to sign a bilateral security agreement with the U.S., he said – a decision that soured ties between the countries.

"I began to feel that there was a fundamental difference in values [between Afghanistan and the U.S.]. I felt that the war on terror that the U.S. had come to Afghanistan to fight… was not conducted the way it should have been," he said.

"The talk was in one direction, but the walk was in another direction. The talk was towards Pakistan and sanctuaries in Pakistan, but the action was taking place in Afghanistan against Afghan civilians," he added.

Mental health:  Karzai dismissed claims by U.S. officials and intelligence sources that he is under treatment for a bipolar condition because he is a manic-depressive.

"They were wrong," Karzai said.

"This is an example of how propaganda was conducted… to tarnish my image and weaken me and throw me into insignificance," he said. "But it had the reverse effect in Afghanistan. The more I was attacked, the more I found a place with the Afghan people."

The former Afghan president has ruled out the possibility of a political comeback.  Read More at CNBC

Karzai: There's no love for ISIS in Afghanistan

Iran, powers explore nuclear compromises, Israel alarmed

(Reuters) - Iran and six world powers tried to break an impasse in nuclear negotiations on Sunday, but officials cautioned that attempts to reach a preliminary deal by a deadline in two days could yet fall apart.

The two sides explored compromises in areas including numbers of centrifuges used to enrich uranium that Iran could operate, and its nuclear enrichment work for medical research.

But Israel, which feels especially threatened by the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran, said details of a possible framework agreement emerging from the talks in Lausanne, Switzerland, were even worse than it feared.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said there had been "some progress and some setbacks in the last hours".

"I can't rule out that there will be further crises in these negotiations," he told reporters in Lausanne.

The United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China want more than a 10-year suspension of Iran's most sensitive nuclear work. Tehran, which denies it is trying to develop a nuclear weapons capability, is demanding an immediate end to international sanctions that are crippling its economy.

A Western diplomat said duration could be traded off if there were real efforts on some key parameters.  Read More
Iran, powers explore nuclear compromises, Israel alarmed | 

Egypt lists top Brotherhood leader, 17 others as terrorists: state media

Dispatches: Remembering a Murder in Afghanistan - Human Rights Watch

If Afghan women were feeling safe before, they aren’t now. The brutal murder of a young woman by a mob in the middle of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, on March 20 shook many women to the core.

Farkhunda, a 27-year old student, was set upon by a mob responding to a false claim that she had burned a copy of the Quran. The mostly young men beat her, ran her over with a car, and then dragged her body into a riverbed and set it on fire. Dozens of onlookers filmed the attack on their cell phones, and then displayed the horrifying footage on Facebook.

Adding to the horror, footage shows police presentwhile Farkhunda was still fighting for her life. Farkhunda’s family and local activists are demanding to know why, if the police were there, they didn’t intervene effectively and prevent her brutal death. Anger and grief have turned to broader public outrage, with marches in a number of Afghan cities.

The Afghan government has taken important steps to arrest Farkhunda’s killers and sacked 20 police for their failure to protect her. However, this case should prompt a broader and more long-term response by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Sadly, Farkhunda’s murder was only exceptional in that it was a highly visible example of the violence that women in Afghanistan far too commonly endure. 

Female activists and women in public life routinely face threats and violence, including murder. Eighty-seven percent of Afghan women report enduring abuse in their life time. Domestic violence, child marriage, forced marriage, suicide, self-immolation, sexual violence, and so-called “honor killings” are a daily reality. The 2009 Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (the EVAW Law) promised important reforms, but government enforcement has been weak. Meanwhile, women who flee abuse, including rape victims, continue to be wrongly imprisoned for so-called “moral crimes” and subjected to abusive and medically meaningless “virginity examinations.”   Read More at  HRW

Dispatches: Remembering a Murder in Afghanistan

Former Secretary of States James Baker III - J Street

Former Secretary of State James Baker's speech at J Street's 2015 Gala, with introductory remarks by Ambassador William J. Burns.

Former Secretary of States James Baker III - YouTube

James Baker | Watch Online | PBS Video

James Baker The Man Who Made Washington Work

This 90-minute documentary, narrated by Tom Brokaw, tells the story of James A. Baker III, a remarkable politician and statesman who represents a time when a divided Congress got things done, and when presidents and politicians worked together. Baker, now 84, helped get three presidents elected, served in top posts for two of them, and was a central player in some of the most momentous events of the late 20th century. Read More at PBS

James Baker The Man Who Made Washington Work ...

Baker's Appointment as Secretary-of-State - PBS Video

James Baker | Watch Online | PBS Video

Italy's highest court has overturned a murder conviction in the case of Amanda Knox.

The court's decision puts an end to a story that began in 2009 when Knox was found guilty of murdering 21-year-old Meredith Kercher two years earlier. The verdict was overturned in 2011. But a year later, the Court of Cassation overturned the acquittal and sent the case back to an appeals court in Florence. Last year, that court reinstated the original guilty verdict against Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.  Read More at NPR

Italy's Highest Court Overturns Amanda Knox Conviction

A Conversation with H.E. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani - United States Institute of Peace

The Atlantic Council and the U.S. Institute of Peace welcome the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, His Excellency Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, on the occasion of his first official visit to Washington, D.C. since being sworn in as president on September 21, 2014. A public address, with questions and answers from the invite-only audience and via Twitter, will take place on March 25, 2015 at 5:00pm at USIP headquarters in Washington, DC. Read More at USIP

A Conversation with H.E. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani | United

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Is the Partner the United States Needs to Get the Job Done - CFR

Enter Ashraf Ghani, Afghanistan’s new brainy, cheerful, Western-educated president. Born in Afghanistan, he received his PhD from Columbia University and has spent his career as a scholar and a World Bank official, focused on the problems of state building and economic development. What was he doing for these past thirteen years? In part writing Fixing Failed States, a book which has become a must-read for today’s generation of aid workers and military officers serving abroad. This he did after serving briefly as Afghanistan’s Finance Minister (2002-2004) and then co-founding with Clare Lockhart the Institute for State Effectiveness.

Listening to his many speeches and interviews in meeting after meeting during this week’s trip to DC and New York, it is clear that these decades of study and practice have prepared him superbly for this moment. He exudes confidence and brilliance, referencing a dizzying array of facts, statistics, history, and theory, as he lays out his strategy for “fixing” Afghanistan.

Of course, developing this sort of infrastructure will require a high level of security. This is one reason for Ghani’s visit to the United States, during which President Obama officially announced that U.S. force levels in Afghanistan will remain at 9,800 through the end of 2015. The Pentagon also announced plans to fund the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) at a level of 352,000 troops through 2017.

At every stop on his visit, Ghani—in stark contrast to former Afghan President Karzai—again and again expressed his gratitude for the hard work and sacrifice of U.S. service members.In an emotional speech at the Pentagon, he addressed a girl whose father is currently deployed to Afghanistan:  Read More at CFR

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Is the Partner the United States Needs to Get the Job Done

The Death Wish of a Germanwings Co-Pilot - Der Spiegel

The flight was routine, but it ended in disaster. On Tuesday, a Germanwings co-pilot apparently intentionally flew Flight 4U9525 into the ground, killing 149 people and himself. It is unlikely we will even know why he did. By SPIEGEL Staff

The French prosecutor in charge of the investigation was the first to provide certainty. It was, he said in a Marseille press conference, not an accident. It was a crime. The head of Lufthansa concurred as did, soon after, the German government.

Why would someone suddenly decide to kill himself and take the lives of 149 others along with him? Why was someone carrying the seeds of such lunacy able to become a pilot? Why did Andreas Lubitz -- the 27-year-old from Montabaur who had only been working for the airline for a year and a half -- become one of the most cold-blooded killers the world has seen in recent years?

It might sound cynical to say that, had a technical glitch been responsible for the crash, the tragedy would be easier to digest in the long term. But it's true. The search for concrete causes such as material defects and hairline fractures; the careful analysis of wreckage; the detailed review of maintenance schedules; the legal and journalistic hunt for those ultimately responsible: All of that would at least have provided a rational anchor to the deep mourning. Such an investigation would have provided a framework for the family members of those who lost their lives, and for a grieving society at large, to slowly move beyond the catastrophe. But this?  

Lubitz used the same weapon as the Sept. 11, 2001 attackers, but in contrast to them, there was apparently no larger message. He seems more similar to the Norwegian nutcase Anders Breivik, but in contrast to him, Lubitz didn't leave behind a muddled treatise. Perhaps he killed only because -- in the position he found himself shortly after 10:30 a.m. last Tuesday, in the air above France -- he could. Perhaps he was merely a megalomaniacal narcissist and nihilist. 

Lubitz, of course, was the co-pilot of the Airbus A320, with the tail number D-AIPX, flying from Barcelona to Düsseldorf. In the cockpit with Lubitz was Captain Patrick Sondenheimer, 34, and the plane was carrying 144 passengers and four crew members. Shortly after takeoff, the plane turned to the northwest according to its registered flight plan and headed out over the Mediterranean as it climbed to its cruising altitude of 11,500 meters (38,000 feet).

It was the kind of routine flight that Lufthansa, which owns Germanwings, makes 2,000 times a day -- and the German flag carrier hadn't had an accident in 22 years. But at exactly 10:31, the plane began losing altitude at a steady rate of 1,000 meters per minute as though it were preparing for a normal landing. But below the jet, there was no runway. Just the mountains of the Alps.  Read More at SPIEGEL 
Descent to Oblivion: The Death Wish of a Germanwings Co-Pilot

• Tragic End to Spain Trip: School Group Perishes in Germanwings Crash (03/24/2015)
• Photo Gallery: One Pilot, 149 Victims
• 
  

Lufthansa to adopt two-person cockpit rule - The Hill

President Ghani's address to a joint meeting of congress, U.S. - March 25,2015

President Ghani's address to the U.S. Congress 
جمهور رئیس غني د امریکا د متحده ایالاتو د کانګرس په ګډه غونډه کې تاریخي وینا وکړه 

رئیس جمهور غنی در مجلس مشترک کانگرس ایالات متحده امریکا سخنرانی تاریخی ایراد کرد 
ترجمه سخنرانی جلالتماب محمد اشرف غنی رئیس جمهوری اسلامی افغانستان در مجلس مشترک کانگرس ایالات متحده امریکا 

President Ghani & President Obama Joint Press Conference -25 March,2015

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT GHANI AND PRESIDENT OBAMA IN JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE 
روسای جمهور افغانستان و امریکا بر گسترش روابط میان دو کشور تاکید کردند 
U.S.-Afghanistan Joint Statement 
Remarks by President Ghani to Service members and Veterans in the Pentagon Courtyard 

Injecting Rights Into the U.S.-Afghanistan Relationship - Patricia Gossman

When Afghanistan's president, Ashraf Ghani, addresses the U.S. Congress this week, his government's commitment to human rights is likely to get a passing reference in his speech -- but given the formidable challenges Afghanistan faces in protecting fundamental human rights, it deserves much more than that.

One of Ghani's greatest challenges is dealing with the legacy of warlords and "strongmen" who continue to wield power in much of Afghanistan. Since 2001 U.S. policy in Afghanistan has been dictated by arming some of these powerful strongmenfor short-term security -- at the cost of good governance and long-term stability. Fundamental rights and the rule of law lie neglected. This time around, the U.S. should support Ghani's reform efforts, since he, unlike his predecessor, has signaled a genuine readiness to curb some of the worst abuses committed by the Afghan security forces, and to reform Afghanistan's corrupt and rights-infringing judiciary.

Ghani wants U.S. troops to remain longer and foreign funding to pay the salaries of Afghan soldiers and police to counter an increasing Taliban threat. However, thus far, a significant amount of U.S. military assistance has armed and equipped militia and police forces -- and their commanders -- some of whom have assaulted, raped and extorted money from local residents, thereby alienating the population and fueling the insurgency. The Afghan government should disband all irregular armed groups and hold them accountable for abuses they have committed.

Ghani has vowed to address torture by the security forces, but he is under pressure not to rein in commanders who are "good at killing Taliban" -- even if they torture, kill and forcibly disappear Afghan civilians in the process. Continuing past abusive practices is no answer. The U.S. should instead link military aid to demonstrated improvements in security force accountability. The UN has already recommendedcrucial steps to curb abuse, including allowing for regular, unannounced inspections of detention facilities, closing secret detention centers, and prosecuting police and intelligence officials who engage in torture. The U.S. should use these as benchmarks and tailor aid commitments accordingly.

Ghani has also vowed to "not surrender" the achievements made in developing Afghan media, civil society and women's rights as the government pursues peace talks with the Taliban. That bears close watching, but meanwhile impunity within Afghan government institutions poses just as great a threat to those gains. Police and government officials who threaten and attack journalists and human rights activists have long gone unpunished, and violence against women is seldom prosecuted. Themurder last week of a 27-year-old woman in Kabul by a violent mob calls into question the government's ability to ensuring rule of law and protecting women, not to mention its commitment to these aims.

At this pivotal moment in Afghanistan's history, when the battlefield pressures make the temptations of expediency stronger than ever, both the U.S. and Afghan governments need to adopt a change of course. Supporting specific measures to end impunity for serious human rights abuses is a crucial starting point.   Read More at Huffingtonpost

Injecting Rights Into the U.S.-Afghanistan Relationship

With Speech To Congress, Afghan President Takes On Massive Expectations

U.S. To Keep 9,800 Troops In Afghanistan Through 2015

President Obama, Finish the Job We Started in Afghanistan - ASAP

Dear Mr. President,

We join you in noting the vital importance of the U.S. “finishing the job we started” in Afghanistan, are pleased to see you are reassessing the pace of our troop withdrawal and are encouraged your administration has recommitted to funding Afghan forces at a vigorous level through 2017.  After yesterday’s positive conversations at Camp David, we hope the administration will continue to build on the broad, bipartisan consensus that has emerged in the U.S. national security community and the Congress:  that a full U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2016 will unnecessarily put at risk hard-won gains of the last 13 years, gains that came in part through the great sacrifices of American soldiers, diplomats, intelligence officers, and development professionals.  With patience and commitment, Afghanistan’s continued trajectory of success will yet become an Afghan - American success story.

We see reasons for optimism in 13 years’ worth of human gains made by the Afghan people and in the new government, particularly in its genuine commitment to reform, including fighting corruption. After facing many challenges, we hope to see the national unity government continue to address the necessary reforms it has identified. But we also see huge risks: there is a stalemate between the insurgency and Afghan forces in many areas and Afghan forces still rely heavily upon American air, intelligence and logistics support. The Taliban are intensifying their pressure on Afghan civilians; as you know, last year the UN reported significant increases in civilian casualties.  Meanwhile, the political and economic situation is fragile.

The United States walked away from Afghanistan once in the past, a decision that contributed to gender apartheid, the collapse of the state, brutal Taliban rule and ultimately the attack on 9/11.  More recently, we have watched the rise of ISIS and the unraveling of large swaths of the Iraqi state.  At this delicate security, political and economic juncture in Afghanistan’s transition, we believe the current security drawdown plan should be altered to avoid triggering a level of increased instability that could be exploited by extremist forces. 

Since you announced the withdrawal timeline in May 2014 much has changed. After a tumultuous election process and a peaceful transition of power, President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah have taken office at the head of a unity government supported by most Afghans.  The ANSF are now leading the fight and have demonstrated their resolve in the face of Taliban attacks. It’s heartening the United States is continuing to reassess Afghanistan’s security needs to account for opportunities presented by full partnership with this new, reform-minded Afghan leadership.  There is still time for the train, advise and assist mission to be extended, increasing the likelihood that a stable Afghanistan will remain a firm U.S. partner and ally in helping to develop a rights respecting security force that can combat the terrorist threats that still emanate from the region.

 To help Afghanistan capitalize on its first peaceful transition of power and protect our hard won security gains, we respectfully suggest that the U.S.:   Read More at President Obama, Finish the Job 

President Obama, Finish the Job We Started in Afghanistan ...