Escaping the "graveyard of empires"
Subtitle: a strategy to exit Afghanistan
By: Malou Innocent, Ted Galen Carpenter
Contributors: Carpenter, Ted Galen; Cato Institute
Publisher: CATO Institute
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 22
Description: "Given the nature of the conflict in Afghanistan, a definitive, conventional victory is not a realistic option. Denying a sanctuary to terrorists who seek to attack the United States does not require Washington to pacify the entire country, eradicate its opium fields, or sustain a long-term military presence in Central Asia. From the sky, U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles can monitor villages, training camps, and insurgent compounds. On the ground, the United States can retain a small number of covert operatives for intelligence gathering and discrete operations against specific targets, as well as an additional small group of advisers to train Afghan police and military forces. The United States should withdraw most of its forces from Afghanistan within the next 12 to 18 months and treat al Qaeda's presence in the region as a chronic, but manageable problem."--Executive summary.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 18-22).

Also available via the Internet.