Afghan Commentary Post

  Who Does Afghanistan Belong To? It’s an Unsolved Struggle By Wahab Raofi   Forty-five years ago this Christmas Eve, Soviet tanks crossed into Afghanistan, launching a decade-long occupation and a cataclysm that would shape the country for generations. Since then, Afghanistan has been portrayed as a land condemned to perpetual bloodshed — a so-called “graveyard of empires,” trapped in endless conflict.   This belief in the country’s intractability has hardened not only a war-weary population, but also the minds of global leaders.   After two decades of Western military and political engagement, the verdict echoed that of the Soviet Union when it spent time and treasure on a war deemed unsolvable. American presidents have been unusually candid in expressing this view, with one dismissing Afghanistan one of “ Hellholes ” Yet this fatalism — born of repeated intervention and failure — rests on a profound misdiagnosis.   Afghanistan’s confli...

To Solve Afghan–Pakistan Conflict, Kabul’s Regime Must Change The conflict between the Taliban and Pakistan will keep escalating if the Taliban remains in power. Only a democratically elected government in Kabul can lead to peace.   By Wahab Raofi The conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan is not new. The two neighbors have long viewed each other through a distorted lens, projecting historical fears and grievances that obscure reality. This has led to a damaging state of mutual suspicion, deepened by decades of each harboring the other's opponents. Pakistan's security establishment, seeking “strategic depth” against India, provided crucial sanctuary and support to the Afghan Taliban for years. This policy fostered deep resentment among many Afghans who blame Pakistan for the destruction of their state and society and view the Taliban's rise as a direct result of foreign interference. Now the tables have turned, with Afghanistan harboring Pakistan's milita...

  Innocent Afghans in the U.S. Shouldn’t Pay the Price for One Shooter By Wahab Raofi A double shock unfolded this week: one in Washington, D.C., when a man named Amanullah Lakanwal shot two National Guard service members — killing one and injuring the other — and another in the hearts and minds of thousands of Afghan evacuees across the United States who now fear collective punishment for crimes they did not commit. The misfortune has triggered a predictable but overly simplistic political reaction. President Donald Trump called for mass reinvestigations of Afghan refugees, using the attack to question their loyalty. “If they can’t love our country, we don’t want them,” he declared. The Trump campaign also announced a pause on processing immigration applications from Afghanistan, and Mr. TM   it would be a grave mistake to let one individual’s crime become an excuse for punishing an entire community. This heinous act must not be used to justify prejudice against Afg...