Afghanistan

Key Issues

As of September 2013, 60,000 US troops were fighting in Afghanistan. (https://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/syria-afghanistan-longest-war-096431)

In the September/October 2013 issue of Foreign Affairs, Stephen Biddle argued that the war in Afghanistan had "become a contest in stamina between Congress and the Taliban." Biddle stated that unless Congress continued to fund the Afghan National Security Forces, the current Afghan government would be unable to hold its ground against the Taliban insurgency.  (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2013-08-12/ending-war-afghanistan)

Nevertheless, then Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who had been in office since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, declined from signing a bilateral security agreement with the US that was to guarantee 10,000 international troops for the support of Afghanistan’s forces after the NATO mission had expired. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26880022?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#)

Relevant History

Related Blog Entries

References

Brennan, Kate. "Syria pushing 'Longest War' off the map," Politico, September 9, 2013. (https://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/syria-afghanistan-longest-war-096431).

Biddle, Stephen. "Ending the War in Afghanistan: How to Avoid Failure on the Installment Plan," Foreign Affairs, September/October 2013. (https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2013-08-12/ending-war-afghanistan).

“Huge security as Afghan presidential election looms,” BBC News, April 4, 2014. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26880022?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#