What if we fail in Afghanistan?It’s time to start asking: what happens if the US and its allies can’t prevent the Afghani Taliban from taking control of the country and restoring a second Islamic Emirate? Steve Coll explores some hypothetical outcomes (spoiler: none of them are good).
Afghanistan 
The Taliban grows more powerful than Al Qaeda
The power balance between the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan has flipped, with the latter’s numbers dwindling to fewer than 100 members in the country. Some Taliban factions are now shunning the terrorist group in an effort to win over local civilians.
In defense of Hamid Karzai
Afghan President Hamid Karzai may not be a saint or a statesman, but take a look at some of his predecessors, who were responsible for torture, slaughter, dictatorships and harbouring terrorists, says Bret Stephens. No wonder Afghans are “a collective sigh of relief”.
Karzai vs. Abdullah: a 30-year saga of alliance and betrayal
The recent electoral stand-off between Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah is just the latest — and perhaps final — chapter in a conflict that has been going on between the two men for 30 years.
Afghanistan: Karzai wins. What now?
It’s over: Hamid Karzai has been declared the winner of Afghanistan’s Presidential election by default. After such a failure of democracy, what does it all mean for the future of Afghanistan and the war? Five experts weigh in.
Abdullah makes a martyr of himself, and a mockery of democracy
Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah decision to withdraw from the Presidential run-off against Hamid Karzai may have made him a political martyr, but it has hurt Afghanistan’s fledgling democracy, writes Michael O’Hanlon.
Why a one-candidate Afghan election isn’t as stupid as it sounds
A one-horse race in Afghanistan actually offers a unique opportunity, writes Abubakar Siddique: if the election is run with only Karzai, and few Afghanis bother to vote, his mandate will be so weak, co-operation with his political opponents will be vital to keep peace in the country.
Afghanistan: who’s in charge?
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s opponent in the country’s Presidential election, Abdullah Abdullah, has pulled out of the run-off race. So what happens now? A one-horse race? A win by default? No-one seems to know.
Shoot first, pay them later: US loses the Afghan drug war
US military are struggling to handle the Afghan drug trade. Although it’s a violation of Afghanistan’s laws, the US military have complied a kill on sight, drug lord hit list. Too bad some Afghan drug lords are on the CIA’s pay roll, writes Jeff Sparrow.
We outnumber the Taliban 12:1. Why aren’t we winning?
There are about 172,000 international troops in Afghanistan working with a 200,000-strong local force, fighting no more than 25,000 Taliban rebels. Yet more allied soldiers are dying than ever before. Is it finally time to “cut and run”?
Karzai’s opium baron brother and his dirty dealings with the CIA
The parents of Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karazi may be a little ashamed of their son’s alleged involvement in vote rigging, but that’s nothing compared to their other son. Meet Ahmed Wali Karzai, a suspected opium baron who works for the CIA as a US-Taliban go-between.
Video of the Day: The history of Afghanistan in three minutes
Struggling to follow the ongoing dramas in Afghanistan? Brush up on a few thousand years of Afghan history with the ever-informative and laconic Ze Frank.
Put down the dog-whistle
Our government is treating asylum seekers as just the latest ugly political game. But, writes Shakira Hussein, refugees are desperate people who’ve had to abandon their homes, not people in search of flat screen TVs.
The Taliban-Al Qaeda merger
The idea that Al Qaeda and the Taliban are two distinct groups — and that we can defeat the former while tolerating the latter — is a fallacy, says Peter Bergen: Al Qaeda cannot be defeated without first securing Afghanistan.
‘Chaosistan’? US General spills secret CIA report
The US commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, accidentally let slip about a secret CIA report called “Chaosistan”, which advocates letting Afghanistan become a “Somalia-like haven of chaos that we simply manage from outside.”
What if Karzai wins? Can we trust him?
Even if Hamid Karzai manages to legitimately win the second Afghanistan election, questions around his trustworthiness and credibility still remain. Is he a reliable partner for foreign powers?
Afghanistan goes (back) to the polls
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has caved to international pressure and agreed to enter into a runoff election. But will a second election be any less fraudulent and corrupt?
Why a second election will be even more of a balls-up than the first
A nationwide vote instigated by Western power, in one of the world’s most impoverished countries, and organised in less than three weeks? Good luck with that, says Simon Tisdall.
How Clinton convinced Karzai to cave
Negotiations with Afghani President Hamid Karzai to enter into a runoff election have been underway for months, but according to the Times, it was a telephone call three days ago from Hillary Clinton that finally saw him relent.
Auditing the Afghan election
Renard Sexton gets wonky on the UN’s Afghanistan Election audit, concluding that “the situation remains fairly damning for Hamid Karzai”, with millions of votes to be thrown out due to fraud.
Why the US can’t beat the Taliban: their secret finances revealed
It’s no longer just opium poppies funding the Taliban. Fundraising from foreign donations, kidnappings and extortion have created a financial monopoly so strong that the US military have publicly admitted they are struggling to fight it.
NYT reporter tells: Seven months as a Taliban prisoner
NYT reporter David Rohde spent seven months as a prisoner of the Taliban in Afghanistan before making a daring escape in June. In a six-part series, he tells the entire story.
When it comes to Afghanistan, we’re slow learners
Securing Kabul is not the same as gaining control over warring tribes in regional areas. The British realised this in 1839 with the Afghan War, occupation doesn’t equal victory. Can we never learn from history?
