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What Does 'Securing the People' Mean in Afghanistan?

By Joshua Foust 08 Sep 2009 | World Politics Review What does it mean to "secure the people" of Afghanistan? Some of the U.S. government's best thinkers about defense policy and counterinsurgency have finally begun to consider this question. But although Iraq is vastly different from Afghanistan, there seems to be no end to "importing" lessons from Baghdad to Kabul: tribal militias, awakenings, and, most worryingly, a focus on cities.

The War Over War in Georgia

By Joshua Foust 18 Aug 2009 | WPR Blog We can view the coverage of the Russo-Georgian Conflict as a situation in which traditional journalism has been crowded out by opinion journalism.

Afghanistan Votes: Who Cares?

By Joshua Foust 18 Aug 2009 | WPR Blog Democratic elections usually rest on a few basic principles: a free and fair vote, an uncoerced selection of candidates, and an agreement by all parties to abide by the results. Afghanistan doesn't quite qualify for any of these.

Conventional Wisdom Won't Work in Afghanistan

By Joshua Foust 17 Jul 2009 | World Politics Review The cliché that you must "protect the population" in order to win a counterinsurgency has now become entrenched in conventional wisdom. This is especially so of the war in Afghanistan, where civilian casualties have become a deeply polarizing issue. But protecting the population requires knowing where it lives. Here, the Army's conventional wisdom fails.

Kapisa Province: A COIN Case Study in Afghanistan

By Joshua Foust 31 Mar 2009 | World Politics Review Since 2005, Kapisa Province has been the site of several waves of U.S. counterinsurgency operations. Each has been lauded as a success, yet the problems facing Kapisa remain, and in some cases are worse than before the operations began. Clearly, something needs fixing in the way the U.S. military measures and maintains its successes.

In Afghanistan's Provinces, Troops Aren't Enough

By Joshua Foust 23 Mar 2009 | World Politics Review KHOST PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- Khost Province is one of the only places in Afghanistan where there are strong enough tribal identities for recently announced tribal militias, called Arbakai, to actually work. The one limitation to Arbakai, however, is that to use them effectively, you must understand the ground conditions. That's something the restrictions on movement in Khost Province make extremely difficult.

In Afghanistan, Good Intentions Not Enough

By Joshua Foust 09 Mar 2009 | World Politics Review KAPISA PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- Over scalding cups of tea, an elder said to me, "For two years you have come here and asked me the same questions. I like you, I like the French, but you people never learn." This elder was not hostile to America's goals in Afghanistan. Like others, he was just deeply frustrated by the way, for all our questions, we never seem to learn from our experiences.

Human Rights in Central Asia

By Joshua Foust 22 Dec 2008 | World Politics Review To discuss human rights in Central Asia without resorting to stereotype is a difficult prospect. The area's strategic value is unquestioned and has led some to turn the region's human rights record into a vehicle for promoting their own interests -- distorting reality in the process. What's more, the human rights picture varies significantly from country to country across Central Asia.

The New Turkmenistan: A Strategic Energy Opportunity

By Joshua Foust 18 Apr 2007 | World Politics Review Exclusive There are many encouraging signs that Turkmenistan's new president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, will open his country to the outside world. Already, Berdymukhammedov has reversed some of the more puzzling of former dictator Niyazov's zany policies. This change of leadership represents a huge opportunity, of which the United States should take advantage. Offering fully normalized trade and diplomatic relations would open a remarkable possibility: reducing Russian dominance of South Caspian energy.