PANORAMIC VISION - U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Christopher Cohen briefs teammates before an inspection of Qalat City hospital construction on Forward Operating Base Smart, Afghanistan, May 27, 2010. Cohen is a a transportation airman assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul. Airmen with the team help government officials use reconstruction, health and social projects to improve lives for Afghan citizens in the region. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Manuel J. MartinezHas Afghanistan Aid 'Failed'? -- Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., National Journal
An article in the latest issue of the Army War College's official journal, Parameters, fires a shot across the bow of the current U.S. strategy in Afghanistan with its call for "Counterinsurgency 3.0." Authors James Gavrilis, a retired lieutenant colonel, and Peter Charles Coharis, an international consultant, bluntly state that "massive international development assistance" to Afghanistan -- over $225 billion from the U.S. alone since 9/11 -- has "failed" to win hearts and minds because "policy-makers have incorrectly assumed that international development aid is inherently beneficial... and invariably leads to a grateful populace." Instead, the article argues, "aid is inherently disruptive and potentially destabilizing, and development does not necessarily translate into pro-American or pro-Afghan government sentiments."
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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
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Israel As Strategic Liability -- Anthony Cordesman, Real Clear World
The Cheonan sinking ... and Korea rising -- Peter Lee, Asia Times
India should learn from Phillipine's Huk rebellion -- Ramon Magsaysay, Rediff News
U.S. drone strikes come under U.N. fire -- Eli Lake, Washington Times
If Europe's economy goes down, it's taking America's with it. -- Daniel McDowell, Foreign Policy