Michael O'Hanlon, 'Toward Reconciliation In Afghanistan', Brookings Institution / The Washington Quarterly, 31 March 2009
EXCERPT: "How can we make sense of where the United States is in Afghanistan today? A poor country, wracked by 30 years of civil war, finds itself at the mercy of insurgents, terrorists, and narco-traffickers. NATO’s economy-of-force operation there has attempted to help build a nation with very few resources. Yet, overall levels of violence remain relatively modest by comparison with other violent lands such as the Congo, Iraq, and even Mexico. Economic growth is significant and certain quality of life indicators are improving, though from a very low base. The United States is committed to Afghanistan and over the course of 2009 will roughly double its troop strength there. The international community is also seriously committed, with a number of key countries such as Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom fighting hard and applying solid principles of counterinsurgency."
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See also:
'Afghanistan: Stunted development', Himal Southasian, 31 March 2009
'Analysis: The new Afghan strategy', Daily Times, 31 March 2009
'What attracts USA in Afghanistan?', Pakistan Daily, 30 March 2009
'"The Taliban has a better co-ordinated political and military strategy than we do"', Spectator, 29 March 2009
Related posts:
'Bottom-up approach needed in Afghanistan: Report', 17 February 2009
'Surging towards stalemate', 7 January 2009
'Afghanistan: A study on the prospects for peace', 7 April 2008
'Peacebuilding in Afghanistan: The case for a national strategy', 28 February 2009
'Karzai's new reconciliation effort faces scrutiny', 9 November 2007

