Losing the Peace in Afghanistan

“Failure is not an option.” From President George W. Bush on down, this is how American officials describe their policy toward Afghanistan. Yet repetition of the statement alone does not remove the suspicion, oft-heard in Afghanistan, that it reflects more a political calculation of the cost of failure to U.S. and western interests than it does a commitment to the well-being of the Afghan people. Unless the United States, the de facto leader of the international community in Afghanistan, develops and implements policies that take into account and protect the rights and well-being of Afghans, failure is a very real possibility.

Read the full essay.