46 Items

Taliban fighters patrol on the road

AP/Abdul Khaliq, file

Analysis & Opinions - Foreign Affairs

Should the United States Normalize Relations with the Taliban?

| Aug. 21, 2023

Foreign Affairs has recently published a number of articles on how the United States should engage with the Taliban government in Afghanistanextremist forces within the regimehow the West can help ordinary Afghans, and the fate of the country’s women. To complement these essays, Foreign Affairs asked a broad pool of experts for their take. As with previous surveys, Foreign Affairs approached dozens of authorities with expertise relevant to the question at hand, along with leading generalists in the field. Participants were asked to state whether they agreed or disagreed with a proposition and to rate their confidence level in their opinion. Two Belfer Center experts participated, International Security Executive Editor Jacqueline L. Hazelton and Future of Diplomacy Project Senior Fellow Paula Dobriansky.

Army Lieutenant General Paul Nakasone waits at the witness table in the U.S. Senate

AP Photo/Cliff Owen

Analysis & Opinions - The Washington Post

The U.S. Military is Quietly Launching Efforts to Deter Russian Meddling

| Feb. 07, 2019

With little public fanfare, U.S. Cyber Command, the military’s new center for combating electronic attacks against the United States, has launched operations to deter and disrupt Russians who have been interfering with the U.S. political system.

Afghan National Army-Territorial Force members prepare for an exercise at the Kabul Military Training Center in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 11, 2018. (Tech. Sgt. Sharida Jackson/Air Force)

Associated Press

Analysis & Opinions - Miami Herald

Peace with the Taliban? Trump Warned of Afghan Pullout Risks

| Jan. 30, 2019

Trump administration claims of progress in talks with the Taliban have sparked fears even among the president's allies that his impatience with the war in Afghanistan will lead him to withdraw troops too soon, leaving the country at risk of returning to the same volatile condition that prompted the invasion in the first place.

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Analysis & Opinions - Deutschland Funk

US-Truppen kämpfen wieder in Afghanistan (in German)

| Aug. 22, 2017

Cathryn Cluver, interviewed on radio station Deutschlandfunk Nova, offers analysis of President Trump's August 22 speech concerning the war in Afghnistan. She notes that the president's current point of departure is the change in role of US forces in Afghanistan, but  deep diplomatic strategy is needed to ensure the cooperation of Pakistan, India and government and security forces in Kabul and the provinces - the reality of which is unlikely given that the State Department abandoned its Special Envoy and still doesn't have an Ambassador in Kabul. 

Analysis & Opinions - The Washington Post

Russia’s election meddling backfired — big-time

| Aug. 17, 2017

Intelligence officers sometimes talk about “blowback,” when covert actions go bad and end up damaging the country that initiated them. A year later, that is surely the case with Russia’s secret attempt to meddle in the U.S. presidential election, which has brought a string of adverse unintended consequences for Moscow.

Presidents Trump and Putin at G-20

Associated Press

Analysis & Opinions - WBUR

Previously Undisclosed Trump-Putin Meeting Raises Diplomatic Questions

| July 19, 2017

After their bilateral summit at the G-20 meeting in Germany earlier this month, President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had another encounter — one that was previously undisclosed and reportedly went on for an hour. The two leaders were joined only by Putin's own interpreter, which Ian Bremmer, president of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, called a "breach of national security protocol."

Here & Now's Lisa Mullins talks with Professor Nicholas Burns (@rnicholasburns) about the meeting.