Opinions
The U.N. exposes the limits of the Trump peace plan with the Taliban
By Bruce Riedel
Contrary to the Trump administration’s peace plan with the Taliban, al-Qaida is more embedded in the Afghan Taliban than ever. The Taliban have not renounced their alliance with al-Qaida. The maintenance of...
Afghanistan: in the eye of the storm
By Syed Akhtar Ali Shah
Afghanistan has remained in the eye of the storm for the last 19 years, due to a persistent brutal war which has provided an opportunity for external players to meddle in its affairs. The Doha Agreement s...
Being a badinjan-e rumi is better than not being at all: Reflections on the life of an Afghan Minister
One of my intellectual highlights of 2016 was discovering an autobiography written by a long-serving Afghan Minister. I came across the biography having met during the course...
Afghan peace process — twists and turns
By Syed Akhtar Ali Shah
While the Doha Agreement, brokered between the US and the Taliban, was hailed as a great breakthrough that opened the avenues for peace in Afghanistan, the skeptics called it a deal motivated by the narrow interests of...
Four Priorities for a Global Pandemic Strategy
By Josep Borrell
The world initially met the COVID-19 crisis in an uncoordinated fashion, with too many countries ignoring the warning signs and going it alone. It is now clear that the only way out of it is together.
