What Next in Afghanistan?
Those who are grappling with the Afghan riddle today should consider, first and foremost, the regional realities: can the West afford to withdraw? If not, we should stop discussing an “exit strategy” and get on with the business of attending to the neighborhood's many crises while stepping up out military presence and reconstruction efforts in the Hindu Kush.
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BERLIN – Afghanistan’s future does not look good. The Taliban are gaining military and political strength, and President Hamid Karzai is losing support at home and internationally due to his administration’s rampant corruption and the obvious fraud committed in his re-election. Weariness with the war is spreading in the United States, where President Barack Obama finds it difficult to decide about an increase in troops, as demanded by his own generals. European NATO members with troops in Afghanistan would prefer to withdraw them today rather than tomorrow.