AfPak Channel

The Ultimate AfPak Reading List

A guide to the most critical readings on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

BY PETER BERGEN | OCTOBER 6, 2011

Leaving Afghanistan

Seven Afghanistan experts review the president's plans for ending the war.

JUNE 23, 2011

Raging at Rawalpindi

American leaders are furious with Pakistan’s military in the wake of Osama bin Laden’s killing. But twisting arms will only backfire.

BY SHUJA NAWAZ | MAY 13, 2011

FP Book Club: Peter Bergen's The Longest War

An FP discussion on counterterrorism expert Peter Bergen's latest book. A decade after 9/11, is the war on terrorism a war we can win?

JANUARY 17, 2011

Crazy Like a Fox

In a fit of anger, Hamid Karzai axes his director of intelligence, Amrullah Saleh. But is there method to his madness?

BY ELIZABETH RUBIN | JUNE 8, 2010

Drone Wars

The Obama administration won't tell the truth about America's new favorite weapon -- but that doesn't mean its critics are right.

BY C. CHRISTINE FAIR | MAY 28, 2010

Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan…

Record stores, Mad Men furniture, and pencil skirts -- when Kabul had rock 'n' roll, not rockets.

BY MOHAMMAD QAYOUMI | MAY 27, 2010

The Almanac of Al Qaeda

FP's definitive guide to what's left of the terrorist group.

BY PETER BERGEN, KATHERINE TIEDEMANN | MAY/JUNE 2010

Pumping Iron in Kabul

Images of Afghanistan's bodybuilders as they compete for the ultimate prize.

BY KAYVAN FARZANEH | APRIL 22, 2010

Karzai Unhinged?

The concerns about Afghanistan's volatile president are legitimate, but allies shouldn't lose sight of the big picture.

BY JEFFREY GEDMIN | APRIL 8, 2010

Curing Afghanistan

Two officers on the battlefield offer a new metaphor for the understanding conflict in the region -- and how to end it.

BY LT. GEN. WILLIAM B. CALDWELL IV, CAPT. MARK R. HAGEROTT | APRIL 7, 2010

Into the Hornet's Nest

The United States prepares its troops and its allies for the coming offensive in Kandahar, the Taliban's spiritual home.

BY ANDREW SWIFT, PETER WILLIAMS | MARCH 17, 2010

Operation Marjah

Coalition forces are hunting Taliban insurgents in the largest military operation in Afghanistan since the initial U.S. invasion in 2001.

FEBRUARY 17, 2010

Afghanistan's Ultimate Sport

What do you call men on horses fighting over a headless goat carcass? Buzkashi -- Afghanistan's national sport, which also just happens to be a powerful metaphor for the country's politics.

BY KAYVAN FARZANEH, ANDREW SWIFT | JANUARY 29, 2010

Divide and Conquer

At an upcoming conference in London, the Afghan government will unveil its plan to bring the Taliban rank and file back into the political fold -- and plead for international assistance for its new initiative. 

BY ALIM REMTULLA | JANUARY 26, 2010

I Built an African Army

Now here's what it will take to build Afghanistan's.

BY SEAN MCFATE | JANUARY 7, 2010

How to Whip the Afghan Army Into Shape

Much of President Barack Obama's strategy rests on the creation of a new, more competent Afghan military. Here's what he'll need to know to get the job done.

BY MARK MOYAR | DECEMBER 22, 2009

Obama's Indecent Interval

Despite the U.S. president's pleas to the contrary, the war in Afghanistan looks more like Vietnam than ever.

BY THOMAS H. JOHNSON, M. CHRIS MASON | DECEMBER 10, 2009

Addicted to Contractors

The United States is hooked on privatized warfare in Afghanistan. And it's more costly than you think.

BY ALLISON STANGER | DECEMBER 1, 2009

Afghanistan Is Still Worth the Fight

There may not be a single or short explanation justifying a U.S. presence in Afghanistan. But that doesn't mean it's time to cut and run.

BY J ALEXANDER THIER | NOVEMBER 30, 2009

The Al Qaeda Diaries

As the Pakistani soldiers moved into South Waziristan, they found something almost as valuable as al Qaeda itself: the diaries and books that explain how militant ideology binds the diffuse world of terrorism together.

BY IMTIAZ GUL | NOVEMBER 20, 2009

Zardari in the Crosshairs

Pakistan's leader is losing grip on his presidency and the opposition parties are waiting in the wings. As his popularity plummets, his political fate -- as well as that of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the nation -- hang in the balance. 

BY ARIF RAFIQ | NOVEMBER 19, 2009

The Terrorists Among Us

Why an al Qaeda attack on U.S. soil is still a real threat.

BY PETER BERGEN | NOVEMBER 19, 2009

Could Demography Save Afghanistan?

Afghanistan's sky-high birthrate seems to be declining -- and that's a very good thing.

BY RICHARD CINCOTTA | NOVEMBER 16, 2009

A Web of Lone Wolves

Fort Hood shows us that Internet jihad is not a myth.

BY EVAN KOHLMANN | NOVEMBER 13, 2009

When Generals and Ambassadors Feud

Take it from this former ambassador: Disagreements over the war in Afghanistan may do more long-term harm than short-term good.

BY JAMES DOBBINS | NOVEMBER 13, 2009

No Insurgency Here

Let's be honest: What Afghanistan has on its hands isn't an insurgency, it's a civil war.

BY NADER MOUSAVIZADEH | NOVEMBER 5, 2009

Hollow Victory

According to the Republicans, the United States is once again at the crossroads of losing another critical war because of feckless Democrats. Only this time it's Afghanistan.

BY JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER | NOVEMBER 2, 2009

[ARTICLE DELETED]

This article has been removed by the editors of Foreign Policy.

OCTOBER 30, 2009

Gratitude and Grief

Imtiaz Gul relays the harrowing account of his brother-in-law's brush with death during the suicide blasts that rocked Kabul and Peshawar on Oct. 28 and explains why Pakistan has yet to curb the growing alarm of its people.

BY IMTIAZ GUL | OCTOBER 29, 2009