In the Graveyard of Empires

On July 23 Seth Jones, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation, joined the New America Foundation and Peter Bergen, senior fellow and co-director of the New America Foundation's Counterterrorism Strategy Initiative, to discuss Afghanistan and Jones' recently published book, In The Graveyard of Empires.  

Mr. Jones began by emphasizing the widespread concern among Afghans about America's "staying power."  Above all else, the Afghans question how long the U.S. is willing to continue its work in Afghanistan and at what point the U.S. will simply withdraw.

Jones then went on to discuss what he believes to be the two major causes of the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan: governance issues and insufficient international support.  From corrupt contracts and extortion amongst officials to the inappropriate imposition of Western notions of governance, a number of factors led to great dissatisfaction with the Afghan government.  The government was unable to provide the necessary services and security to its people and, as a result, was increasingly seen as an illegitimate institution.  In addition, deteriorating international support for the war in Afghanistan and the shift of focus to Iraq further set the stage for the Taliban insurgency.   Jones emphasized that there was too little assistance from the international front for the Afghan government and far too much readily available assistance from outside neighbors, such as Pakistan and Iran, for the insurgent front. 

Jones concluded by suggesting that the U.S. must modify its approach to nation building in Afghanistan and begin systematically engaging with local districts, villages, and tribes, something at which the Taliban has been far more successful than the U.S. thus far.  Jones believes a top down approach focused on the central government coupled with a bottom up approach centered on local institutions is the key to success in Afghanistan.      

-- Event summary written by Caroline Esser, Intern, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation

Participants
Seth Jones
Author, In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan
Political Scientist, Rand Corporation
Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University

moderator
Peter Bergen
Co-Director, Counterterrorism Strategy Initiative
Senior Fellow, New America Foundation