Open Letter to Obama Calls for Negotiated Settlement in Afghanistan
Twenty-three Afghan scholars and specialists with decades of Afghanistan policy experience have published an open letter to President Obama calling for a negotiated settlement to end the war. The signers include some familiar names, Ahmed Rashid, Matt Waldman, Nir Rosen, Scott Atran, and Afghan Study Group Member Anatol Lieven just to name a few.
The letter suggests the urgent need for negotiations and that the U.S. must play a vital role in them in order to ensure U.S. interests and “vulnerable populations” are protected. The letter also suggests that the 2014 deadline set by Obama is unrealistic without a change in strategy:
The 2014 deadline to put the Afghan national army in command of security is not realistic. Considering the quick disappearance of the state structure at a district level, it is difficult to envision a strong army standing alone without any other state institutions around. Like it or not, the Taliban are a long-term part of the Afghan political landscape, and we need to try and negotiate with them in order to reach a diplomatic settlement.
Focusing solely on timelines at the expense of other aspects of strategy is misguided. Having a timeline to get out of Afghanistan is both useless and unrealistic without a clear plan on how to reach this objective. Indeed, a timeline without a course correction may do more harm than good by encouraging the insurgency.
