New York Times, 1 February 2017
Very good analysis and a couple of tough questions by Barnett Rubin on the complex issues that the new US administration will face when dealing with Afghanistan, for example: sending more troops and putting stronger pressure on Pakistan – “there is no base for believing that either of these measures would work better than they have for the past 15 years.” “The United States needs Pakistan for access to landlocked Afghanistan”, as Iran – with which the new Washington wants to pick another fight – is no option and Russia would “exact a heavy price, probably in Europe. Is Afghanistan more important than NATO?” And: “Challenging the ‘One China’ policy, as Mr. Trump has started to do, would end all United States-China cooperation, including on Afghanistan.” And then there are the Afghans – “will their welcome [to a direct US involvement] survive an American president who believes ‘Islam hates us'”?
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 9 Mar 2020
