Last week’s U.N. General Assembly session served up reminders that the next White House may have little option but to deal with a number of crises previously deferred
Afghanistan
Must-Reads from Around the World
On deck for Monday: Syria to top the agenda at the U.N. General Assembly, another high-profile Burmese guest arrives in America and farming reforms expected in North Korea
Despite Syria’s Bloodbath, Libya-Style Intervention Remains Unlikely
Besides growing reservations about the dynamic on the ground in Syria, last week’s killings at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi have raised new questions about Libya as a model for intervention
Afghans Without Americans: A Preview of Soldiering When the U.S. Withdraws
The curtailment of U.S.-Afghan patrols because of so-called “green on blue” killings focuses attention on how ready local troops are
Can the U.S. Stop the Wave of Muslim Protests Targeting Its Embassies?
The furor over a provocative video has obscured the deep anger at U.S. foreign policy that has long existed in the Middle East.
Unfriendly Fire: Can the U.S. and NATO Prevent ‘Green on Blue’ Attacks in Afghanistan?
Doing proper background checks to ascertain if recruits have Taliban affiliations is just one of the many challenges facing the U.S. and NATO as they prepare for withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2014
Why Afghanistan Isn’t a Campaign Issue: Neither Obama nor Romney Have a Solution
The ‘systemic problem’ of uniformed Afghans attacking their American mentors raises questions about the viability of a bipartisan exit plan
Afghan Princelings: Are the Children of the Mujahedin Ready to Rule?
Educated in some of the best schools in the world, the scion of commanders involved in four decades of war return to a country at the crossroads. Can they transform the future of Afghanistan?
The CIA and ISI: Are Pakistan and the U.S.’s Spy Agencies Starting to Get Along?
Though the domestic environment in either country is hardly suitable for rapprochement, there are signs of a thaw between the U.S. and Pakistan, particularly in the dealings of their influential spy agencies
Afghanistan Sacks Its Security Chiefs: How Will That Affect U.S. Forces?
The parliamentary denoucement of the ministers of defense and the interior may be a sign of Afghan democracy at work but it makes the security situation much more volatile for U.S. forces preparing to withdraw
Hillary Clinton Goes Globetrotting
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarked on a whirlwind 13-day foreign tour, taking her from palaces in Europe to a ceremonial yurt in Mongolia.
The Taliban Execution: What Happens When a Nation Fails
A gruesome video depicts the Taliban’s take on adultery in today’s Afghanistan. But it also tells of the failures of an 11-year project of nation-building
Taliban Terror or Mass Hysteria: Who Is Poisoning Afghanistan’s Girls?
A recent spate of incidents in which dozens of girls have been forced from school, feeling sick, has set Afghanistan in a tizzy over what the source of the mysterious maladies may be.