Carnegie Europe
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The Obama administration announced its new Afghanistan strategy, which asks European allies to send as many as 5,000 extra combat troops in support of a war which more than two-thirds of the European public believe is already lost.
European governments are finding it ever more difficult to convince their constituencies back home that a sustained European presence in Afghanistan is of critical importance to any sort of lasting peace.
The European Union’s Afghanistan policies are the result of two different and contradictory constituencies: the transatlantic one, consisting of the United States and its European interests, and, on the other end of the spectrum, local party activists, who view Afghanistan as an unnecessary and dangerous war.
The reality is that many Afghans see Kabul as part of the problem, and a runoff election is unlikely to change that. If the new Afghan government is to earn public support, and NATO is to find a way out of Afghanistan, a civilian surge will be vital.
In his first major foreign policy address, NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, presented the basis for a new strategic partnership with Russia, laying out the specific areas where practical cooperation could be extended.
When Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO's secretary-general, addresses an audience at Carnegie Europe on Friday, 18th September, he will speak about the possibility of a new dialogue between two former foes – NATO and Russia. Dmitri Trenin suggests that these discussions could initially take place through the NATO-Russia Council of 2002, but in time, that they might spawn a new framework altogether.
The EU should commit itself to a ‘civilian surge', but with Afghan rather than European civilians.
Both the U.S. and French Presidents, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy, have brought key opposition figures into their administrations. As Fabrice Pothier argues, in both cases their policy influence has been minimal.
Pakistan’s continuing instability is a matter of international concern. Leading Pakistani experts discussed the situation in their country and the role Europe could play in helping Pakistan achieve greater stability.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO's new Secretary-General, must provide transformational leadership, not just status-quo management, for the alliance to bridge the chasm between its ambitions and its capacities.