Time for a Strategic and Intellectual Pause in Afghanistan

A eight years of increasing involvement in Afghanistan, the US-led Coalition appears to be at an intellectual crossroads. Despite progress in a number of sectors, the tipping point in favor of an irreversible momentum toward functional governance remains elusive. As frustration mounts, Coalition members have become more vocal about their desire to withdraw by a certain deadline rather than seeing the effort through to completion. Ironically, the growing impatience emanates not from any successes by the Taliban but from political and strategic missteps by Afghanistan’s international partners. This article focuses on three misconceptions that deserve greater scrutiny: associating Hearts-and-Minds with government legitimacy, using correlation of forces as the foundation of strategy, and assuming unity of effort is a natural consequence of multinational endeavors. As the insurgency in Afghanistan continues to smolder, a strategic pause in thinking is necessary to assess US strategy and its underlying principles, but due to various political pressures, time is of the essence. The purpose of this article is not to propose definitive solutions so much as to raise the debate on premises that have a substantial impact on America’s strategic approach. One thing is clear, though; the current strategy is not working.