A Year Later, the Afghanistan Withdrawal Causes Enduring Pain

An Afghan woman begs for money from passing cars in the snow, with her child huddled beside her, on the Kabul road south to Pul-e Alam, Afghanistan, on January 17, 2022. (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

One year after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, many still question whether the United States made a mistake in withdrawing its forces. In the Washington Examiner, Director for South and Central Asia Ambassador Husain Haqqani reviews the consequences of the American and allied withdrawal and considers what the US could have done differently.

Afghanistan Adrift One Year after the Taliban Takeover

Taliban fighters check vehicles and passengers at a security checkpoint on January 14, 2022, in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

From America’s over-the-horizon counterterrorism capabilities and regional instability to the humanitarian crisis and foreign governments’ dealings with the Taliban, Hudson Senior Fellow Richard Weitz provides an in-depth update on the grim reality inside Taliban-ruled Afghanistan for the Middle East Institute.

Russia’s Crimes of Colonialism

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia Demeke Mekonnen at the Russian Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 27, 2022. (Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently wrote that African nations should support Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and that Russia has avoided “the bloody crimes of colonialism.” Hudson Adjunct Fellow Casey Michel counters in The Wall Street Journal that the idea the Kremlin avoided colonization projects is as risible as it is ahistorical.

Virtual Event | Saudi Arabia’s China Option

President Joe Biden takes part in a working session with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Al Salam Royal Palace in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah on July 15, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese President Xi Jinping will soon visit Riyadh as Beijing seeks to capitalize on tensions between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Please join Hudson Institute for a discussion with Senior Fellow Mohammed Alyahya, Senior Fellow Michael Doran, and Princeton Professor Bernard Haykel on how far Chinese-Saudi cooperation can go.

Virtual Event | From Fist Bumps to Missile Fire: One Month since President Biden’s Middle East Trip

An Iranian flag fluttering in front of Iran's Safir Omid rocket at an undisclosed location on August 16, 2008. (Vahidreza Alai/AFP via Getty Images)

In the month since President Biden’s trip to the Middle East, the US has participated in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, Israel has fought terrorist groups in Gaza, and Iran has trained Russian forces. Please join Hudson Institute for a panel with Senior Fellow Michael Doran, Senior Fellow Jonathan Schachter, Adjunct Fellow Robert Greenway, and FDD Research Fellow Andrea Stricker on what has changed and what has stayed the same in the region since the president visited the region.

BEFORE YOU GO...

On the one-year anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan, Hudson Institute hosted an event with Javid Ahmad, former ambassador of Afghanistan to the UAE; Matin Bek, former chief of staff to former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani; Metra Mehran, fellow at the Center for Global Affairs, and Bill Roggio, editor of FDD’s Long War Journal. Senior Fellow and former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani moderated the discussion.