Afghanistan seems an overwhelming, complicated, and, for many Americans, distant problem. There is a lack of fully-informed, objective discussion of the issue. No matter where legislators begin in the spectrum of opinion, from advocating redeployment now, to a commitment to full-fledged counterinsurgency, they and their staffs need the most accurate portrayal of the situation possible, in the least amount of space.
We endeavor to stress non-kinetic, non military factors, because we believe that over-emphasis on solely military issues such as troop levels has led to a lack of consideration of the civilian side. There must be a healthy, inclusive discourse about this part of our engagement as well.
The importance of the ACCH’s role is therefore to inform and expand the underlying framework of the Afghanistan policy debate, to:
- build greater understanding of the realities of Afghanistan: its land, people, politics, culture.
- increase awareness of its many limitations, that could govern the scope of US aspirations.
- examine the question of what relation the outcome in Afghanistan has to US, regional and global security.