Flagging Afghan Concerns

The Afghan president‘s push to delay a security pact with the U.S. has undermined confidence in Afghanistan’s future, testing international support for the country at a crucial moment, the U.S.-led coalition’s top commander said. Read Here – WSJ

Rate this:

In Afghanistan, India Needs To Look Beyond Karzai

India‘s emphasis on the Karzai government, while principally sound, is problematic on the ground. While remaining dedicated to the strengthening of the central government of Afghanistan, India must constructively engage political groups outside the government. This will be key to safeguarding its material and strategic interests in Afghanistan, regardless of how things unravel post 2014. […]

Rate this:

Engaging The Enemy

Hopes could hardly be lower for the talks between U.S. and Taliban representatives that are scheduled to begin this week in Doha. A day after announcing they would enter negotiations, the Taliban killed four coalition soldiers in a rocket attack outside Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, worried that the U.S.-sponsored talks will legitimize his enemies, abruptly cut off […]

Rate this:

Decoding Pakistan’s ‘Strategic Shift’ In Afghanistan

Pakistan has played a crucial role in shaping contemporary Afghanistan, and it is recognized that no sustainable solution to Afghanistan’s current security problems is possible without Pakistan’s involvement. This is what makes Pakistan’s purported ‘strategic shift’ towards Afghanistan so intriguing, says a SIPRI report. Read Here – Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

Rate this:

Karzai’s Wish List For India

The Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited India from 20th to 22nd May 2013. During the visit, President Karzai gave a “wish list” of equipment that Afghanistan has requested India to supply within the framework of India-Afghanistan strategic partnership of 2011. The ball is now in India’s court for a decision on what all can India […]

Rate this:

Why Putin Wants U.S. Bases in Afghanistan

On May 9, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced he would allow the U.S. to keep nine military bases in Afghanistan after direct U.S. participation in the Afghan war ends in 2014. How has President Vladimir Putin responded to the possibility that Afghanistan may turn into “one giant U.S. aircraft carrier,” as Kremlin-friendly political analyst Yury Krupnov recently put […]

Rate this:

Two Diverging Roads for Afghanistan

As the 2014 date for the withdrawal of most foreign troops from Afghanistan approaches, the country faces two starkly different futures. One is a return to the civil war conditions of the 1990s that brought disaster and disunity. In this scenario Afghanistan is abandoned by the international community before falling prey to the machinations of […]

Rate this:

With Karzai, Taking The Good With The Bad

As he prepares to visit Washington in the coming days, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is completing 10 years in office. His relationship with America began with mutual affection and infatuation, and deteriorated gradually over the years, first under President George W. Bush, then even more so during the early part of the Obama administration. But […]

Rate this:

The Cult of Massoud

The first sign of officialdom you see when you drive from the Kabul airport parking lot is a government billboard looming above a traffic jam. It’s the size of a highway billboard in the United States, but closer to the ground, so that you can make out every nuance of the faces on it. Those […]

Rate this:

Chinese Official Makes Low-Key Afghan Visit As Beijing Jockeys For Influence In Region

China’s top security official has made the first high-level trip to Afghanistan by a senior Chinese leader in nearly half a century, meeting President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, state media said Sunday. Zhou Yongkang made the four-hour visit on Saturday, in a secretive trip aimed at shoring up ties between the neighbours, Xinhua news agency reported. […]

Rate this: