226 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 Afghanistan, extremist forces within the regime, how 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.

Clients wearing masks to help protect themselves from the coronavirus wait to use ATM machines outside a closed bank in Beirut, Lebanon.

(AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Analysis & Opinions - Lebanese Center for Policy Studies

The Twin Crises and the Prospects for Political Sectarianism in Lebanon

| Apr. 04, 2020

LCPS solicited the opinion of key experts to answer one question: “Will the financial crisis, exacerbated further by COVID-19, strengthen or loosen the power of Lebanon’s governing political parties?” 

In this April 4, 2018 file photo, a U.S-backed Syrian Manbij Military Council soldier passes a U.S. position near the tense front line with Turkish-backed fighters, in Manbij, north Syria.

AP Photo/Hussein Malla

Analysis & Opinions - The Washington Post

The International Community Must Stop Turkey’s Ethnic Cleansing Plans in Northern Syria

| Oct. 11, 2019

For years, Turkey’s government allowed Islamic State fighters to cross its territory into Syria. But, before Monday, there were no Islamic State fighter elements along Turkey’s border with Syria because Kurds, Arabs and Christians expelled them with help from the U.S. military. Today, these U.S. allies are running for their lives.

A fighter from the Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, stands inside a post where U.S. troops were based, in Tel Abyad town, at the Syrian-Turkish border, Syria, Monday, Oct. 7, 2019. 

AP Photo/Ahmad Baderkhan

Analysis & Opinions - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Impacts of U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Syria

| Oct. 10, 2019

Following President Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from northern Syria, Belfer Center experts discussed the impact on America, our allies and adversaries, and the region.

Former Diplomat Farah Pandith Speaks to PBS News Hour About Reducing Extremism

PBS News Hour

Analysis & Opinions - PBS NEWSHOUR

Why We Need to Think About Extremism Differently in Order to Reduce It

| Apr. 22, 2019

As Sri Lanka reels from a series of deadly Easter Sunday attacks, the problem of violent extremism enters the spotlight once again. How can the U.S. and the world anticipate and counter the threat of terrorism, which experts agree cannot be addressed by military means alone? Amna Nawaz talks to former diplomat Farah Pandith, whose new book “How We Win” outlines a strategy for keeping us safe.

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.