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Ammon Frederick Harteis is a recent graduate of The College of William and Mary. He was a research assistant in the Afghanistan and Pakistan Studies Program at the Middle East Institute. His research focuses on South Asian security affairs, the composition of armies, and civilian-military relations.
What do recent successes against ISIS mean for a US withdrawal from Afghanistan?
Afghan security forces, working in concert with U.S. airpower, have launched a series of successful attacks in eastern Afghanistan on ISIS forces, which operate locally under the banner of ISKP. Simultaneously, the Taliban has conducted its own military campaign against ISKP in the same region. These campaigns have significantly degraded ISKP’s position in eastern Afghanistan, a development that may well increase the likelihood of an eventual U.S.-Taliban peace deal.
