v Writing for Al-Monitor, Taştekin said Turkish operations against ISIS inside Turkey and neighbouring Syria had failed to end criticism of its overall strategy, “which is still riddled with gaping holes.” However, an increasing number of domestic raids against ISIS throughout June suggest a change in Ankara’s approach towards the group, which, Taştekin said, “has...
“Consistent with these goals, the United States and Russia will embark together on an integrated bilateral Strategic Stability Dialogue in the near future…Through this dialogue, we hope to lay the groundwork for future arms control and risk reduction measures” Biden-Putin Joint Statement June 16, 2021 By Frank Miller* It is undoubtedly satisfying to some that Presidents...
More than 1,000 have fled across the border, and hundreds more have handed over weapons to the Taliban. Report by Emma Graham-Harrison in Kabul* Last autumn, with the departure of American troops from Afghanistan looming after the US signed a withdrawal deal with the Taliban, several of the most senior security officials in Kabul urged...
Afghanistan has called on India to engage with the Taliban once American troops return home. The signals became public just one day after the US vacated its biggest airbase near Kabul in a step towards ending its 20-year occupation of the war-wrecked nation. By Pratap Chakravarty* The Pentagon has said the withdrawal of US forces...
U.S. President Joe Biden announced that America’s military mission to Afghanistan will end on August 31. His administration refuses to accept the prevalent view that the U.S pull-out from Afghanistan will spark a “Saigon moment.” By Abdullah Muradoğlu* When the United States withdrew from Vietnam in 1973, Northern forces continued to advance in the South....
The United States is unprepared for its current strategic challenges. Since the end of the Cold War, no nation could seriously threaten the territorial or political integrity of America or its allies. But that has changed, and U.S. policymakers now consider the United States to be engaged in strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China, which...
Both stepped into the country with too little forethought, too much arrogance and confidence and knew from the start that they couldn’t stay. By Leonid Bershidsky – Bloomberg Opinion The story of two superpower invasions of Afghanistan is all about the similarities that end up erasing the undeniable differences. As the Soviet Union prepared to...
Iran’s clerical Shiite regime has seemingly overturned its long-held hostility to the Taliban, and may be readying itself to welcome the “enemies of America” as Kabul’s new masters. Analysis by Hamed Mohammadi There can be no doubt the situation in Afghanistan is critical. As U.S. and allied troops depart, the Taliban are exploiting the Kabul government’s weakness...
After war in the Caucasus and unrest in Belarus, Moscow might see Tajikistan’s growing border crisis as just another conflict on its doorstep. But the presence of the Taliban may well cement Russia’s role in regional security. By Paul Robinson* Just over 22 years ago, on 15 February 1989, the last few troops of the “Limited Contingent...
That the war went on so long may be tragic, but it is hardly surprising. By Carter Malkasian* As the United States leaves Afghanistan after 20 years of war, there can be little doubt that we lost the war — or to put it more gently, did not attain our objectives. In recent weeks, the...
