[link removed]
** CFTNI Policy Brief
------------------------------------------------------------
** The Case for Deeper U.S. Engagement with Afghanistan
------------------------------------------------------------
The Center for the National Interest is pleased to share its latest policy brief, The Case for Deeper U.S. Engagement with Afghanistan, by Center Senior Fellow Andrew Kuchins.
In the nearly five years since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the takeover by the Taliban, America has limited its engagement with the Afghan regime to securing the release of detainees and pursuing modest counter-terrorism cooperation. Kuchins proposes a pragmatic, step-by-step approach to interacting with officials in Kabul that could—in parallel with substantive collaboration that advances important U.S. national interests—eventually lead to removal of U.S. sanctions and Washington's diplomatic recognition of Afghanistan. The proposal is not naive about the Taliban or about the challenges in pursuing such a policy; on the contrary, it reflects realistic thinking about American interests and objectives in an era of intensifying geopolitical and geo-economic competition.
Washington's disinterest in Afghanistan following the Soviet Union's withdrawal, during an earlier period of Taliban rule, contributed to the success of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. In addition to U.S. and allied expenditures of lives, money, and other resources, and mixed results for Afghanistan and its people, America's subsequent long and costly war there was a dangerous distraction from greater strategic priorities. America today should strive to avoid the extremes of neglect and over-commitment and to work with allies and partners, notably in Central Asia, in pursuit of national interests. Those include counter-terrorism, regional stability, economic development, and new supply chains for critical minerals. This new paper outlines a path toward advancing those interests.
I hope it may be of interest.
Read the brief ([link removed]) .
For more CFTNI publications, please see our website ([link removed]) .
Paul J. Saunders
President
[link removed]
The Case for Deeper U.S. Engagement with Afghanistan
The Trump Administration needs a broader strategic policy toward Afghanistan that looks beyond the narrow goals of freeing U.S. hostages and containing ISIS-Khorasan, because failing to act risks further damage to American interests in a rapidly shifting region. The minimalist approach of non-recognition and limited counterterrorism cooperation pursued by both the Biden and Trump Administrations has left the U.S. poorly positioned, and waiting for pressure to force Taliban concessions is a strategy that already failed in the 1990s.
Instead, the paper argues for a pragmatic, "win-win" engagement with the Taliban that would project American influence and counter China, Russia, and Iran, each of whom seeks to pull Afghanistan into its own sphere and deny the U.S. lasting access to the country's minerals, bases, and transit routes.
Read it here ([link removed]) .
About the Author:
Dr. Andrew C. Kuchins ([link removed]) is a senior fellow at the Center for the National Interest and an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington D.C. For more than 35 years he has been a widely renowned expert on Russia and Eurasia. He has previously served as the President of the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, directed the Russia and Eurasia Programs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and the Carnegie Moscow Center as well as held research and teaching positions at Georgetown Stanford, and UC Berkeley. He is the author and editor of six books and more than 100 articles, reports, book chapters on the region and U.S. policy.
Copyright (C) 2026 Center for the National Interest. All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Center for the National Interest
1025 Connecticut Avenue NW
Suite 709
Washington, DC 20036
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences ([link removed]) or unsubscribe ([link removed])
