After sixteen years of war in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary James Mattis acknowledges that we are not winning. Senators visiting Kabul over the July 4th holiday argue that the U.S can’t win without a new strategy. The Trump Administration has promised a new strategy but seems to defer to the Pentagon on troop levels. Having spent five years in Afghanistan (between 2004 and 2014), I am convinced that the fundamental problem is governance failure. Councils do not exist, and the president personally appoints every mayor in Afghanistan.

Source: Huffington Post August 19, 2017 15:56 UTC