Unraveling the Afghanistan-Pakistan riddle

In: Asian affairs: an American review, Band 36, Heft 2, S. 59-78

Abstract

U.S. President Barack Obama made a campaign promise to the nation that, if elected, he would withdraw combat forces from Iraq and shift the focus of U.S. strategy from the Middle East to the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where a renascent and spreading Taliban movement harbors al Qaeda leaders and foot soldiers and threatens to reverse the forces of change in Afghanistan. Obama's declared intention to increase the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan appears not only to have the general approval of his military advisers, but also to have won over many of the foreign and national security analysts both within and outside the administration. The author examines the wisdom of this policy now, before a thorough debate has occurred and before several significant issues have been addressed. (Asian Aff/GIGA)