Failure in Afghanistan: How It Happened and What It Means

Abstract

17 USC 105 interim-entered record; under temporary embargo. ; We consider some dimensions of basic strategy and strategic thinking and use the Afghan case to identify and discuss a few pitfalls—both conceptual and practical—in the United States' thinking regarding, and practice of, strategy and leadership over the past two decades. The Afghan case highlights the perils of intervening militarily with no understanding of the strategic environment and no strategic direction, compounded by constant turnover in leadership, overly optimistic planning, and mistaken metrics that oftentimes measured inconsequential activities to demonstrate "progress." ; U.S. Government affiliation is unstated in article text.