Ronald E. Neumann

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Afghan army soldiers unload a helicopter in Helmand province in March. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images)

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Reeling from Taliban victories and the United States’ withdrawal, Afghanistan is in danger of losing the gains in women’s rights, a free press and democratic norms it has achieved over the past 20 years. But on a recent trip to the country, in meetings with government, opposition and military figures, I found a more complex picture — and some positive signals.

First, the bad: The Taliban has overrun many districts, cutting roads and isolating garrisons and checkpoints. Taliban forces have surprised foreign and Afghan militaries by shifting from the south and east — historically the areas of heaviest fighting — and attacking one of the weaker Afghan army corps in the north.…  Seguir leyendo »

Afghan National Army soldiers aarive outside of Kunduz, Afghanistan in September. (Najim Rahim/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo,

The loss of the Afghan provincial capital Kunduz was a psychological shock to the Afghan people, a strategic and tactical defeat for both Afghanistan and the United States, and a tragedy for those at the Doctors Without Borders hospital there. Yet the shock may prompt essential changes. It is important to examine both Afghan and U.S. responsibility for the disaster, what is happening now and what needs to be done. President Obama’s decision Thursday to maintain existing U.S. force levels into next year was absolutely correct to achieve the goal he stated of “sustainable Afghan capacity and self-sufficiency.”

Kunduz, which has since been recaptured by Afghan forces, was more than just the first provincial capital to be taken by the Taliban; its fall was highly symbolic because it was the site of the Taliban’s last stand in 2001.…  Seguir leyendo »

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U.S. strategic interests will be enormously affected by the outcome of Afghanistan’s presidential elections. With the vote for Hamid Karzai’s replacement looming, as well as elections for provincial councils, it is time to set realistic expectations and make sure our actions relate to our interests. Informed, patient diplomacy by the United States would go far in ensuring that the substantial gains made in Afghanistan over the past decade, at great cost, are not lost due to haste.

Regardless of the efforts of the international community or the improving electoral bodies in Afghanistan, the April 5 elections will be corrupt, filled with fraud and marred by violence.…  Seguir leyendo »

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There is good news from Afghanistan: Last week the parliament passed, and President Hamid Karzai signed, a much-improved election law that preserves the existence of an independent electoral complaints commission. Over the weekend Karzai signed into law another measure, approved by parliament several weeks ago, outlining how the vote will be held. Many have feared that next year’s election would be held under deeply flawed presidential decrees. The election will be the most important Afghan political development of 2014 — and an inclusive and accountable election process needs active support now from the United States and NATO.

The April election, which could be the first peaceful transfer of power in the history of Afghanistan, will be a major bellwether of success, or failure, in the United States’ longest war.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAméricaMundoOriente Próximo,

The United States has problems in Afghanistan, with the Taliban, Pakistan and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The Obama administration is making them worse by dilatory decision-making about how many U.S. troops will remain there after 2014.

While recent news has focused on the latest spats with Karzai, there are some bright spots. The Afghan police are denying the Taliban passage in parts of the south where coalition troops have fought for seven years without this progress. Afghans are showing an increased willingness toward self-defense, perhaps partially in reaction to a heavy assassination campaign by the Taliban. This month, I heard accounts in eastern and southern Afghanistan of the Afghan army, national police and local police forces mutually supporting one another in ways that used to be all too rare.…  Seguir leyendo »

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Criticism is easier than understanding but much less useful. Post columnist Al Kamen, writing about his colleague Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s book “ Little America ,” cited an anecdote about an experimental “cobblestone road” that USAID built in Afghanistan as a particular example of the agency’s “follies” [“ Which side was ‘tribal’ again? ,” In the Loop, July 24]. There is another side to the story that neither Kamen nor Chandrasekaran bothered to tell — one that goes to a larger point about how to encourage a creative and innovative bureaucracy.

As Chandrasekaran observed, the Afghans preferred paved roads to stone roads. What he left out was that there was no way we could afford the high cost of paving roads all over Afghanistan.…  Seguir leyendo »

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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta provoked a widespread misunderstanding this month when he spoke of the U.S. military’s changing mission in Afghanistan, to that of an advisory role. Media reports of Panetta’s comments indicated that this meant U.S. forces would speed up their withdrawal from that country, when the White House has yet to make any such decision and the basic strategy of transition is unchanged.

Compounding the confusion is the public’s misunderstanding of the current policy in Afghanistan — of transferring the “security lead” to the Afghans at the end of 2014 — the basic strategy of which remains unchanged.

This transfer is not a timetable for the withdrawal of all foreign troops.…  Seguir leyendo »

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The latest U.S.-Pakistan confrontation on the Afghanistan border underscores what could become a recurring problem if we do not learn how to manage the tension between working with Pakistan and taking stronger action against insurgent sanctuaries in that country. The U.S. effort in Afghanistan is making progress, but on the current timeline it is likely to fail if sanctuaries remain inviolable.

On my most recent trip to Afghanistan I found improvement. The Afghan army is growing and will be better by 2014. Insurgent expansion into the north has been contained. District and provincial government positions are being filled. Despite periodic high-profile attacks, the Taliban was unable to disrupt a recent three-day gathering of more than 2,000 Afghan notables in Kabul.…  Seguir leyendo »

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The Post asked foreign policy experts whether President Obama should maintain a focus on protecting the population and rebuilding the country, or on striking terrorists. Below are contributions from Jane Harman, Kurt Volker, Gilles Dorronsoro, John Nagl, Ronald E. Neumann, Meghan O'Sullivan and Carl M. Levin.

Jane Harman, Democratic representative from California and former ranking member of the House intelligence committee.

It's too early to abandon a strategy focused on protecting the population and rebuilding the country, a key part of which is Afghan buy-in. We should aim to shrink our ground footprint and focus on training a growing army of willing and courageous Afghans.…  Seguir leyendo »

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The security situation in Afghanistan is bad at the moment, as NATO-led forces face a growing Taliban resurgence. There are 40,000 foreign troops there now (including 14,000 from the United States), but that is not enough to maintain control of villages all over the country. The Afghan Army is slowly growing, in both size and competence, but it is still too small to protect a frightened, war-weary population.

To better the situation, the United States has recently made it a priority to improve the training of local policemen in Afghanistan, district by district. Corruption has been an enormous problem among police departments, which are often controlled by local warlords and militias.…  Seguir leyendo »