More US soldiers may be heading to Afghanistan. That might not solve the problem. – Washington Post
KABUL The emerging signs that the Trump administration may send thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan are generating a variety of reactions here, including relief at a signal of strong commitment from the new administration in Washington, and worry that it may not be enough to turn around a long, expensive war that the Taliban has fought to a draw.
But many Afghan observers agree on one thing: Without a complementary political policy aimed at bolstering the weak Kabul government, pressing fractious leaders to get along and fending off the countrys meddlesome neighbors, no U.S. military surge alone can solve the broader problems that have made peace and stability so elusive.
There is more fighting and more ground held by Taliban now than ever before, and increasing the troops can help reverse that, said Abdul Bari Barakzai, a member of the governments High Peace Council. But people have lost their trust in the government. No matter how many troops you bring now, it will have no lasting impact unless there is real reform and good governance.
[U.S. watchdog finds major internal flaws hampering Afghanistan war effort]
Earlier this week, after a lengthy review, top Trump administration advisers were reported to be urging an ambitious new military role in Afghanistan, led by the Pentagon, with at least 3,000 troops added to the current 8,400, to halt the countrys deteriorating security and push the Taliban back to the negotiating table. President Trump is expected to make a final decision this month.
Such a policy would dramatically ramp up American involvement in the war, which was systematically cut back under President Barack Obama. By the end of 2014, most U.S. and NATO forces had left the country, leaving Afghan troops struggling to hold off a determined Taliban insurgency, at a loss of life that a U.S. watchdog group recently called shockingly high.
Today, Afghan officials and experts agree that the defense forces are desperately in need of both short- and long-term U.S. assistance more equipment, air support and Special Operations partnerships as the summer fighting season intensifies, and more troop training and leadership reforms so that the defense forces can become self-sufficient.
Our biggest challenge is the Taliban. We need help to keep up the pressure and force them to negotiate, said Sediq Siddiqi, a spokesman for the government of President Ashraf Ghani. Were not waiting for the U.S. to go in and take over, but we need help with the transition, he said. We need the Taliban to feel the pressure, and we cant do it alone.
No one in Afghanistan, though, sees the insurgents as operating in a vacuum. Rather, the insurgents are viewed as capitalizing on widespread perceptions that the state is weak, corrupt, consumed with internal and external rivalries, and unable to deliver services, jobs, reforms and modernization.
A wide variety of Afghans, asked this week whether the United States should step up its military presence, almost immediately raised the issues of poor government performance and political quarreling as significant deterrents to peace. One civic activist described the government as being in a state of continuous crisis.
Some said it was more important for foreign allies and donors, especially the United States, to help resolve these problems than to immerse themselves again in a bloody civil conflict. And many said that it was equally crucial for the United States to press next-door Pakistan to stop harboring anti-Afghan insurgents, a charge Pakistan has denied.
[After decades as fugitive, Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returns with appeal for peace]
A U.S. troop increase can be effective, but you need to put maximum pressure on Pakistan to stop training and sheltering terrorists, said Gen. Mirza Mohammed Yarmand, a former deputy interior minister. The challenge of leaders bickering in the government is far more serious, he added. Without sorting out these two issues, there will be no peace in Afghanistan, whatever amount of money you spend here and whatever number of troops you send.
The Trump administration has said little about Afghanistans government problems and has not yet announced any policy decisions on Pakistan, although it has hinted at using both economic and diplomatic sanctions against its former Cold War ally if the Islamabad government does not do more to rein in violent Islamist groups.
Afghans are also worried about the designs of other aggressive neighbors and regional powers, especially Iran and Russia, on their economically weakened and war-torn country. Several said a U.S. decision to send more troops would also send an important hands-off message to those powers.
We know Pakistan, Iran and the Russians do not want to see peace in Afghanistan, but decisive action by President Trump will plant a seed of hope in people, said Ismael Hashimi, director of the private Citizens Foundation here. If he sends more troops, people will feel they have a strong partner on their side.
With no U.S. ambassador in Kabul since December, U.S. military officials, especially Gen. John W. Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and H.R. McMaster, a former military adviser in Kabul who is now Trumps national security adviser, have played especially high-profile roles, and both have urged more military involvement.
But Davood Moradian, director of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies, said the U.S. administration needs to develop complementary military and political policies, especially with the Afghan government embroiled in ethnic disputes and losing public support, while the Taliban is already using the international military presence as an excuse to continue fighting the state.
President Obama overly idealized political and diplomatic solutions. The danger now is that President Trump will see everything as a military problem with a military solution, he said. The challenge is to combine them both, and be smart about it.
Sayed Salahuddin and Sharif Walid contributed to this report.
Read more:
It was a brutal killing that shocked Afghanistan. Now, the outrage has faded.
U.S. defense chief arrives in Kabul as his Afghan counterpart resigns in disgrace
At least 140 dead after Taliban attack on a key Afghan army base, officials say
Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Link:
More US soldiers may be heading to Afghanistan. That might not solve the problem. - Washington Post
- FIFA sanctions creation of Afghanistan womens refugee team - The Athletic - The New York Times - May 10th, 2025 [May 10th, 2025]
- Voices of Afghanistan Interview Series: 'We, the female doctorsonce symbols of womens progress, ability, and independenceare now facing barriers,... - May 10th, 2025 [May 10th, 2025]
- FIFA OKs creation of Afghanistan womens refugee team - Field Level Media - May 10th, 2025 [May 10th, 2025]
- Journalist Kim Cross on reconstructed narratives and the women who led a cycling revolution in Afghanistan - Nieman Storyboard - May 10th, 2025 [May 10th, 2025]
- Taliban Earning Billions, Giving American Weaponry to Terrorist Groups as Afghanistan Once Again Becomes Jihadi Hotbed: Report - freebeacon.com - May 10th, 2025 [May 10th, 2025]
- Gender Apartheid And Mental Health Crisis In Afghanistan - Forbes - May 10th, 2025 [May 10th, 2025]
- BEHIND THE BADGE: Jonathan "Joey" Jones Previews New Book, Weighs in on Biden's Gaza Pier and Afghanistan Withdraw Disasters - FOX News... - May 10th, 2025 [May 10th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: Suspended/Closed Health Facilities due to the U.S. Government Work-Stop Ban (Update as of 6 May 2025) - ReliefWeb - May 10th, 2025 [May 10th, 2025]
- Muhajira: A Girl Born on the Border Between Afghanistan and Pakistan - ReliefWeb - May 10th, 2025 [May 10th, 2025]
- Commentary: Trump caved to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Will he repeat in the Russia-Ukraine talks? - Yahoo - May 10th, 2025 [May 10th, 2025]
- Lavrov Warns NATO Of 'Time Bomb' in Afghanistan Over Military Redeployment Attempts | Watch - Times of India - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- MTN leaves Afghanistan, hands over to M1 Group - Developing Telecoms - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Governments of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan to sign railway project - AzerNews - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Afghan-American appointed to lead U.S. policy on Afghanistan at the State Department - ASIA-Plus - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Veterans who each lost part of a leg in Afghanistan try for new world record with Grand Canyon hike - Stars and Stripes - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: Suspended/Closed Health Facilities due to the U.S. Government Work-Stop Ban (Update as of 22 April 2025) - ReliefWeb - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- On This Day in 2008, a Mortar Attack Halts Toby Keiths USO Concert in Afghanistan - American Songwriter - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Pakistan, Russia agree to boost cooperation on terrorism threats in Afghanistan - MSN - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- US weapons left behind in Afghanistan now with Taliban: Why is Pakistan ringing alarm bells? - Firstpost - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan womens team gets funding from the International Cricket Council - AP News - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Trump administration ending temporary protected status for nationals from Afghanistan and Cameroon - Scripps News - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- US restores urgent food aid, except in Afghanistan and Yemen, two of the worlds poorest countries - AP News - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan women's team gets funding from the International Cricket Council - MSN - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: Has Taliban Handed Over Bagram Airbase to US? | Vantage with Palki Sharma | N18G - Firstpost - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Terrorists used US weapons abandoned in Afghanistan in Jaffer Express attack: report - Dawn - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Anti-US banner appears on former embassy in Afghanistan - Caliber.Az - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan women's team gets funding from the International Cricket Council - The Derrick - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Afghanistan women's team gets funding from the International Cricket Council - Traverse City Record-Eagle - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Taliban carries out public execution of two men in western Afghanistan - Times of India - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- 'Trump and Afghanistan are the perfect illustration of America withdrawing into itself' - Le Monde.fr - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- A midwife says of the aid cuts in Afghanistan: 'No one prioritizes women's lives.' - NPR - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Banned from education: A review of the right to education in Afghanistan - UNESCO - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- The Taliban leader says there is no need for Western laws in Afghanistan - AP News - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- ACAPS Thematic report - Afghanistan: Implications of the US foreign aid cuts on the humanitarian response (01 April 2025) - ReliefWeb - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- American woman held in Afghanistan by the Taliban has been released, AP source says - AP News - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- India says it is monitoring reports of abuse against Sikhs in Afghanistan and Pakistan - Amu TV - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- EU and Central Asian leaders urge inclusive government in Afghanistan - News.az - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- About 140 years old: the oldest person on Earth lives in Afghanistan - EADaily - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Trump hands Taliban-controlled Afghanistan the same 'Liberation Day' tariff as the UK 'after terror group spen - Daily Mail - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- China, Japan, India, Malaysia, Russia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan ,Italy, Poland, Spain, South Korea And More Countries Propel Gilans Tourism To... - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: Suspended/Closed Health Facilities due to the U.S. Government Work-Stop Ban (Update as of 1 April 2025) - ReliefWeb - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Bidens Failure in Afghanistan: Public Relations Was the Concern Not the Dissent Cable - American Center for Law and Justice - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- TTP, BLA's armament: Pakistan urges UNSC to prevent weapons' access to terrorists in Afghanistan - Geo.tv - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Taliban frees an American man who was abducted while traveling in Afghanistan more than 2 years ago - The Associated Press - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- American George Glezmann freed by Taliban more than 2 years after arrest in Afghanistan - CBS News - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- George Glezmann, US man detained in Afghanistan in 2022, released by Taliban in goodwill gesture - The Times of India - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- American detained by Taliban in Afghanistan is freed in deal mediated by Qatar - WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- Afghanistan: Security Council renews UN mission as WHO warns of health catastrophe - UN News - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- American detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan has been released - AOL - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- Taliban frees an American man who was abducted while traveling in Afghanistan more than 2 years ago - The Sun Chronicle - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- American Detained In Afghanistan By The Taliban Has been Released - iHeart - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- Afghanistan's school year begins without girls beyond sixth grade - News.Az - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- American Detained In Afghanistan By The Taliban Has been Released - KLVI - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- American Detained In Afghanistan By The Taliban Has been Released - WIMA - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- Swiss government to deport rejected asylum seekers from Afghanistan - SWI swissinfo.ch in English - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- US citizen George Glezmann released from detention in Afghanistan - Herald Palladium - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- India ranks 118th in World Happiness Report, Afghanistan is last - Deccan Herald - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- We have no presence in India, Afghanistan or anywhere else: BLA - News Vibes of India - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- Afghanistan trying to connect with neighbors via railway - Pajhwok Afghan News - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- 80% Of Afghanistan Services Risk Shutdown By June: World Health Organization - NDTV - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- British pensioners jailed in Afghanistan to appear in court after the Taliban said their arrest was a 'misunde - Daily Mail - March 20th, 2025 [March 20th, 2025]
- Why is India quietly boosting ties with Afghanistan's Taliban? - Nikkei Asia - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan vets group to step down later this spring - Military Times - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Explained: Trump travel ban 2.0 to affect 43 countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan - The Indian Express - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- NewsMakers Afghanistan and the Future of American - Home - The Commune - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- He helped in Afghanistan. Now, his family is blocked from coming to Charlotte under Trump. - Charlotte Observer - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Health Crisis in Afghanistan: 206,000 Infected with Acute Respiratory Diseases in One Month - Hasht-e Subh Daily - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Rule Breakers review: Terrific drama shows the battle for girls' education in Afghanistan - New Scientist - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Trump calls US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan most humiliating moment in history - Amu TV - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- UAE expands healthcare access with state-of-the-art clinics in Afghanistan - The Tribune India - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Pakistan, Afghanistan among 43 nations to be put in Trump administration's new travel ban list - Connected to India - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- I served in Afghanistan. President Trumps war on DEI is making Americas military weaker - Stars and Stripes - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Pakistan says train attack was orchestrated from Afghanistan: It was like a rain of rockets and bullets - The Independent - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- UAE expands healthcare access with state-of-the-art clinics in Afghanistan - ETHealthWorld - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Hizb-ut-Tahrir Afghanistan: West Is Trying To Assimilate Taliban - Middle East Media Research Institute - March 15th, 2025 [March 15th, 2025]
- Remarks by Ambassador Dorothy Shea, Charg dAffaires, at a UN Security Council Briefing on Afghanistan - United States Mission to the United Nations - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- Afghanistan Monthly Protection Update As of January 2025 - ReliefWeb - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- Briefing to the United Nations Security Council by the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan, Roza Otunbayeva, 10 March 2025 -... - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- The UK unequivocally condemns the Talibans ban on girls' education in Afghanistan: UK statement at the UN Security Council - GOV.UK - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]
- A War and the Taliban: Life of a Greek Woman in Male-Dominated Afghanistan - Greek Reporter - March 11th, 2025 [March 11th, 2025]