The long-term impasse that persists in Afghanistan has lead to nostalgia in the country for a "strong hand" that would instantly resolve all problems. However, such assumptions are illusory
The unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, which for a time occupied the minds of the world's political elites, did not justify the timid hopes that it could provide some kind of healing effect, mitigating the overwhelmingly high degree of tensions in international relations....
... from getting bogged down in low-priority, fleeting issues that take attention away from real, long-term problems?
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapidly growing uncertainty at the global and regional levels. The United States has been hit particularly ... ... forward by Barack Obama during a speech at West Point in 2008. The primary objective of AfPac was to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan in a phased and painless manner (to the extent that this was possible) while at the same time partially shifting the ...