Afghanistan

The Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict: A strategic concern for the US
  • Analysis

    • The Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict: A strategic concern for the US

    Pakistan’s relationship with the Afghan Taliban has shifted from open sponsorship in the 1990s to a silent partnership following 2001 to alienation and belligerence since 2021. Their current conflict, which comes at great cost to both countries and seems to have no easy military or political resolution, also poses a threat to the stability and prosperity of neighboring states. Although American strategic interests in the region greatly diminished following the United States’ military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, the region’s altered political dynamics have prompted a growing American engagement with Pakistan and tentatively with Afghanistan. At the same time, the US has become a factor in how both Islamabad and Kabul have come to form their national security strategies.

    Don't believe the hype: The modest reality of the Saudi-Pakistani defense pact
    Image created by Oleksii Liskonih via Getty Images
  • Analysis

    • Don't believe the hype: The modest reality of the Saudi-Pakistani defense pact

    The September 17 Saudi-Pakistani defense agreement generated a wave of overheated commentary about Saudi Arabia now residing under a Pakistani nuclear umbrella and how a new strategic reality was in the offing in the Persian Gulf and South Asian regions. Analysts need to slow their roll. Extended deterrence is an extremely difficult thing to pull off. The devil is in the details, about which we know nothing.

    Featured Experts

    Filter by
    760 Results
    An enduring divide: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Durand Line
    Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
  • Analysis

    • An enduring divide: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Durand Line

    The Durand Line, as the British-Empire-drawn border that separates Afghanistan and Pakistan is known, continues to haunt the region and its leaders. On Sept. 7, Afghanistan’s first vice president, Amrullah Saleh, opened Pandora’s box by saying in an interview that “No Afghan politician of national stature can overlook the issue of Durand Line.”

    September 11, 2020

    Vinay Kaura

    Election 2020: Challenges and Opportunities for US Policy in the Middle East
  • Analysis

    • Election 2020: Challenges and Opportunities for US Policy in the Middle East

    In a new briefing book released ahead of the U.S. elections in November, entitled Election 2020: Challenges and Opportunities for US Policy in the Middle East, MEI scholars lay out key issues across the region, highlight the U.S. interests at stake, and provide policy insights and recommendations for the path forward. 

    Hurdles on the road to peace in Afghanistan
    Photo by National Security Council of Afghanistan/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images 
  • Commentary

    • Hurdles on the road to peace in Afghanistan

    The hurdles encountered in kick-starting the intra-Afghan talks seem to be more daunting than anticipated. This has not only delayed a process that was scheduled to begin immediately after the Doha agreement in February, but has also underlined the bumpy road that lies ahead for various stakeholders to reach a consensus on Afghanistan’s national destiny.

    August 26, 2020

    Vinay Kaura

    Looking to repair ties, Pakistan’s Gen. Bajwa heads to Saudi Arabia
    Photo by FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP via Getty Images
  • Commentary

    • Looking to repair ties, Pakistan’s Gen. Bajwa heads to Saudi Arabia

    All is not well in Pakistan-Saudi relations, which seem to have gone into a tailspin. In order to repair the fractured ties with one of the country’s strongest allies, Pakistan’s army has swung into action and its chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, will travel to Saudi Arabia for talks this weekend.

    August 14, 2020

    Vinay Kaura

    What does China’s growing engagement in Afghanistan mean for the US?
    Xinhua/Yue Yuewei via Getty Images
  • Analysis

    • What does China’s growing engagement in Afghanistan mean for the US?

    On July 27, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a video conference with his counterparts from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nepal to suggest expanding their pandemic cooperation and proposed extending the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor into Afghanistan. Although the details about what this quadrilateral framework would entail and how it would work are unclear, any movement toward its institutionalization would be a serious challenge for the United States.

    August 7, 2020

    Vinay Kaura

    Monday Briefing | Lebanon: The twilight of an impotent government
  • Commentary

    • Monday Briefing | Lebanon: The twilight of an impotent government

    This week’s briefing on recent news and upcoming events in the region featuring Paul Salem, Hafsa Halawa, Marvin G. Weinbaum, Anne-Linda Amira Augustin, and Gerald Feierstein.

    August 3, 2020

    Paul Salem, Hafsa Halawa…

    US-Russia rift exacerbates Afghanistan’s crisis of confidence
    Photo by MANNY CENETA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
  • Commentary

    • US-Russia rift exacerbates Afghanistan’s crisis of confidence

    Multiple signs point to a crisis of confidence in Afghanistan. Ever since the publication of a sensational report alleging that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers, there has been an intense debate about the possibility of peace in Afghanistan following the U.S. exit.

    July 10, 2020

    Vinay Kaura

    Moscow’s Evolving Southern Strategy
  • Analysis

    • Moscow’s Evolving Southern Strategy

    Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, the newly independent states of the Caspian and Russia are still deeply intertwined in each other’s economies, security, and cultures. Moscow has continued to wield considerable military, political, and economic influence in the region.

    July 1, 2020

    Richard Weitz Weitz

    Load More

    Taliban Leadership Tracker

    MEI’s Taliban Leadership Tracker is a detailed database mapping 1,200 leaders and appointees wielding influence throughout the Taliban government. Produced and maintained by MEI Non-Resident Scholar Javid Ahmad, the database can be used to help identify individuals who wield various forms of influence, ones who may be receptive to dialogue and collaboration, as well as those involved in rights violations, abuses, or criminal and terrorist activities.

    View Tracker