Afghan Taliban

Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to the United Nations, Ghulam M. Isaczai waits to speak during a UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan on August 16, 2021 at the United Nations in New York.

Expert Backgrounder: How Can The Taliban Be Prevented From Representing Afghanistan In The United Nations?

A masterclass in law and practice, of United Nations credentials system by former U.N. Assistant-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs.

Aug. 18, 2021 Larry D. Johnson

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris (on screen) hold a video conference with the national security team (on screen) to discuss the ongoing efforts to draw down our civilian footprint in Afghanistan August 16, 2021 at Camp David in Frederick County, Maryland. Biden sits at a large conference table alone with the video screen on the opposite wall.

CIA’s Former Counterterrorism Chief for the Region: Afghanistan, Not An Intelligence Failure — Something Much Worse

"While it’s certainly convenient to depict the shock and miscalculation U.S. officials claim over Afghanistan’s tragic, rapid fall to the Taliban as an intelligence failure,…

Aug. 18, 2021 Douglas London

A Taliban fighter with a gun patrols along a street in Kabul on August 17, 2021. The flag of the Taliban stands in a traffic cone at a vehicle checkpoint.

Expert Backgrounder: Recognition and the Taliban

An expert analysis of the international law of recognition of governments, and four diplomatic options states have in addressing the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Aug. 17, 2021 Tess Bridgeman and Ryan Goodman

A Taliban fighter holds a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) along the roadside in Herat, Afghanistan's third biggest city, after government forces pulled out the day before following weeks of being under siege. People walk along the sidewalk in the background. August 13, 2021

In Afghanistan, Lest We Forget

As the UN Security Council hosts an emergency meeting, world leaders must understand what the abandonment of the Afghan people involves.

Aug. 16, 2021 Fionnuala Ní Aoláin KC (Hons)

Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants crowd into the Herat Kabul Internet cafe to apply for the SIV program on August 8, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The United States Is the Only Place for Afghan Allies, Not Foreign Bases

As the US scrambles to evacuate its allies, sending them to third countries risks leaving them in limbo without needed resources.

Aug. 14, 2021 Amanda Strayer and Ana Ortega Villegas

Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants crowd into the Herat Kabul Internet cafe applying for the SIV program on August 8, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Someone holds a small sign to the camera reading, “To the attention of Janus/Sterling Former employees! For SIV and HR letter your queries please email to below emails address: [redacted emails] Avoid coming to our office! We cannot help you! Do not waste your time.”

Abandoning Afghan Allies: The Latest Chapter in Shameful History of US in Afghanistan

Existing US refugee and SIV programs are insufficient for Afghan refugee crisis. The US must massively expand programs to bring Afghans to safety.

Aug. 14, 2021 Susan Akram

An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier stands next to a damaged helicopter which was shot down by the Taliban near the hydroelectric Kajaki Dam in Kajaki, northeast of Helmand Province.

Running Out of Time – Do Not Leave Afghan Allies Behind

An Afghan interpreter shares the terror of being targeted by the Taliban, and urges swift evacuations.

Aug. 2, 2021 Khan and Julie Kornfeld

Afghan Taliban militants with large guns and villagers attend a gathering as they celebrate the peace deal and their victory in the Afghan conflict on US in Afghanistan, in Alingar district of Laghman Province on March 2, 2020.

Taliban Ascendance in Afghanistan Risks Return of Global Terrorist Hub

Walking in the Trump administration’s footsteps, the Biden team is making several miscalculations about the Taliban, which will undermine the U.S. ability to protect its counterterrorism…

Jul. 23, 2021 Lisa Curtis

Afghan villagers search for dead bodies of persons who were killed in a NATO airstrike on a home in Sajawand village in Logar province south of Kabul on June 6, 2012.

How US-Funded Abuses Led to Failure in Afghanistan

The primary and defining characteristic of the armed conflict in Afghanistan over the last two decades has been harm to civilians caused by massive human rights abuses and war…

Jul. 6, 2021 Patricia Gossman

Coalition Force service members set up a perimeter under the cover of darkness on the edge of Shurakian in Helmand province. The image is taken through a green night vision lens and multiple vehicles are shown.

Ending the Forever War, But Leaving a Legacy of Impunity in Afghanistan

The international military forces withdrawing from Afghanistan leave behind a legacy of impunity that threatens to undermine hopes for peace and justice in Afghanistan for years…

Jun. 30, 2021 Shaharzad Akbar

Afghan cyclist Kobra Samim talks with a young girl by a roadside in Kabul on April 14, 2019.

A Laser Focus on Women’s Rights Is Key to Sustainable Afghan Peace

Support Afghan women in peace talks, and analyze every plank of a proposed agreement for its impact on women and men, girls and boys.

May 24, 2021 Stephenie Foster

Girls attend their class at a school in Herat on May 9, 2021. A few wear face masks but many do not.

A Just Exit from Afghanistan

The US went to war to serve its own interests; it must acknowledge that those interests will only be served by an enduring peace.

May 12, 2021 Dipali Mukhopadhyay and Helen M. Kinsella