Malou Innocent

As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meets on May 20 in Chicago, coalition partners hope to stabilize Afghanistan with development projects beyond 2014. One initiative is the "New Silk Road," which aims to revamp Afghanistan's ancient position as the regional trade hub linking the West and Far East. But...

President Obama's arrival in Afghanistan and signing of the strategic partnership agreement with President Karzai supposedly represents yet another corner turned in our nearly eleven year (and counting) war. The commander-in-chief's arrival in secrecy, under darkness, and without live coverage of the signing is reminiscent of Bush the...

The killing of Osama bin Laden marked a significant achievement in America's long war against al Qaeda. Yet, following last year's Navy SEAL raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, it became clear that disrupting, dismantling, and defeating al Qaeda did not require the occupation of distant lands. Indeed, even in the absence...

For years, my colleagues and I have been arguing that disrupting, dismantling, and defeating al Qaeda does not require the occupation of Afghanistan or anywhere else. Wars are incredibly wasteful and counterproductive to the goal of stopping terrorism. Would-be terrorists, moreover, have reduced their...

How many more American soldiers and innocent Afghan civilians have to die before the Obama administration withdraws from Afghanistan? The burning of Qurans at a U.S. base outside of Kabul and the riots that followed might jeopardize the U.S. training mission in Afghanistan. On top of limited and potentially...

Like many Americans, a growing number of post-9/11 veterans care more about protecting and defending the United States and less about transforming failed states, democratizing the Middle East, protecting wealthy allies, and sacrificing more American lives in the name of global hegemony.

Last Friday, ahead of Tuesday's New...

Political leaders and military commanders will dismiss the Taliban's recent coordinated assault on the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul as a "one-off" incident. But the attack is a vivid reminder of how poorly things are going, and why America needs to leave.

By every measure, violence...

As confirmed by yet another U.S. government report, this one prepared by the Democratic majority staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, America's nation-building mission in Afghanistan has had little success in creating an economically viable and politically independent Afghan state.

The Washington Post's Karen DeYoung writes:

Over the last week, widespread suspicion of Pakistan's complicity with al Qaeda has shined a harsh light on Washington's relationship with Islamabad. The outrage on Capitol Hill is understandable, but it's also a bit strange. After all, except for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and other tribally based militant groups, for...

Americans celebrated the death of Osama bin Laden as some closure for the horrific losses of 9/11. However, the circumstances surrounding his death, coupled with widespread suspicion of Pakistan's complicity with al Qaeda, are damning to an already rocky relationship between Islamabad and Washington.

Yet the dangerous illusion persists...

Osama bin Laden's death marks a significant achievement in the fight against al Qaeda. It also highlights the fact that our ostensible objective for continuing the war in Afghanistan has been achieved. Although some lawmakers have been quick to claim that bin Laden's demise proves that our nation-building...

As NATO begins to focus on its new mission in Libya, its main mission in Afghanistan remains an unresolved debacle.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently announced that his central government will be taking over seven areas of the country from the international coalition. But the Afghan government remains...

General David Petraeus, the head of American forces in Afghanistan, has emphasized the importance of winning the "hearts and minds" of Afghans by treating them and their culture with respect. Pentagon officials may want to reexamine that assumption, but not for the reason you might think.

Evangelical pastor

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday about the ongoing unrest in Libya, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted "no option is off the table." In other words, American military intervention is very much still possible.

Like most Americans, I too want to see the...

Last month in Lahore, U.S. citizen Raymond Davis shot and killed two armed Pakistani men whom he thought were trying to rob him. U.S. officials claimed that Davis was a diplomatic employee (despite not having a diplomatic visa) and that his detention violated the Geneva Convention....

Oppressed people rarely get opportunities to express their anguish and disillusionment. Today in Egypt for the seventh straight day, thousands of ordinary citizens are pouring out onto the streets, demanding the expulsion of President Hosni Mubarak, calling for an end to emergency laws giving police extensive powers of arrest and...

In front of the White House last Thursday, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges and Pentagon Papers whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg, were among the 131 people arrested while protesting America's involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Hedges, a veteran war correspondent, recalls what he...

President Obama released his Afghanistan war review today. It highlights progress on the battlefield against insurgents, the success of Special Forces operations and drone strikes, and achievements in training the Afghan security forces.

I have four thoughts on the matter:

First, scattered throughout the document are passages such as "al-Qa'ida's...

The State Department has issued a travel warning for U.S. citizens visiting Europe. The alert comes after U.S. and European officials said there was a credible threat of commando style terror attacks against Britain, France, and Germany, similar to the attack in Mumbai almost two years ago.

In...

Last year, I discussed Afghanistan-Pakistan policy on the blog Jezebel. During my interview I mentioned that upwards of 35% of development aid to Afghanistan is redirected back to Washington through consultancy fees and other circuitous measures. Low and behold, the problem has not gone away, despite...