Interview
Steve Coll: The Fight for the Future of Afghanistan
- A forthcoming sequel to Ghost Wars is expected to provide a reliable account of the conflict status 17 years post-initial engagement for Americans, Afghans, and Pakistanis.
- The international community is anticipated to have entered the post-2021 reconstruction phase with significant goodwill, though failure to distinguish between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda is predicted to cause long-term negative consequences comparable to the dissolution of the Ba'ath Party and the Iraqi army which ceded the Sunni insurgency.
- Historians are likely to view Mullah Muhammad Omar's decision to forfeit government power rather than surrender a Muslim guest to American justice as principled, noting that the Taliban had never directly attacked the United States while Al-Qaeda was the direct actor.
- The 2009 Obama administration strategy of deploying 100,000 soldiers to pursue interests in Pakistan is characterized as containing a logical flaw, while the Trump administration's approach is feared to represent a repetitive cycle expecting different results.
- All American military commanders are expected to publicly assert that the war in Afghanistan cannot be won by military means and instead requires a stabilizing political settlement.
- Suspending aid to Pakistan without linkage to a specific negotiating or political strategy is predicted to be unlikely to alter Pakistani conduct, amidst a massive national security system described as "stovepiped" and requiring a forceful president to direct its leverage.
- The rise of computation is identified as the primary challenge facing journalism, necessitating that journalists possess the ability to perform mathematical analysis to effectively hold power accountable.
- Current students are expected to bring a sense of mission to focus on professional reporting basics rather than "solvism" or self-narrative, with faculty support anticipated to assist in covering polarized environments such as Charlottesville.