1、Tell Me Why Were There?Enduring Interests in Afghanistan(and Pakistan)j a n u a r y 2 0 0 9By Nathaniel C.Fick,Dave J.Kilcullen,John A.Nagl,Vikram J.Singhp o l i c y b r i e fIn 2009,the Obama administration will attempt to deliver on campaign promises to change the Afghan wars trajectory.In April,t
2、he Strasbourg NATO summit will determine the alliances role in shaping the future of the country and the region.By the fall,Afghans will have voted for their president for only the second time since 2001,an event which may irrevocably set the countrys course.By the end of this summers fighting seaso
3、n,the war in Afghanistan will not yet be won,but it could well be lost.After seven years and the deaths of more than a thousand American and coalition troops,there is still no consensus on whether the future of Afghanistan matters to the United States and Europe,or on what can realistically be achie
4、ved there.Afghanistan does matter.A stable Afghanistan is necessary to defeat Al Qaeda and to further stabil-ity in South and Central Asia.Understanding the war in Afghanistan,maintaining domestic and international support for it,and prosecuting it well requires three things:a clear articulation of
