March, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    

Afghanistan: A Road Map For Progress
Seeking Global Security
CPC Hosts Series of Forums to Discuss Military, Political,
Economic and Social Policy Options in Afghanistan

The Conflict, Security and Development Group (CSDG) at King's College London together with the Africa Leadership Centre (ALC), is pleased to announce a call for applications for the Peace and Security Fellowships for African Women for 2009/2010.

On Sunday, Rick Barton appeared on the BBC with Kim Ghattas to discuss the direction Obama will take U.S. engagement in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Every few weeks, the PCR Project sends out an e-mail blast of news, events, publications, and interviews to our list serve.  Below is the blast sent out on March 13, 2009.  To join our list and receive more information about the work of the PCR Project, e-mail us at pcrproject@csis.org. 

In the latest CSIS Critical Questions, Rick Barton, with Mark Irvine and Thomas Patterson, comment on the latest series of internal events to raise concern about the future and stability of Pakistan.

Good news for fans of the ICC as the Nethercutt Amendment is no longer with us. Excerpt:

Should the International Community do Post-Conflict State-Building? | Event at USIP

Karin von Hippel appeared on World Focus to discuss the more controversial aspects of talking with the Taliban and what this means for Obama’s approach based on what has already been done.

Flikr photo by  TailspinT used under a Creative Commons license. According to the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, coalition air strikes killed 552 civilians in 2008. That figure represents 64 percent of civilian casualties caused by coalition forces and 25 percent of all civilian combat fatalities. Although coalition forces are aware of the problem – and released more restrictive guidelines in August – a November 3 bombing undermined many of the resulting gains.   Such deaths have both a human and a political toll.  At a recent CSIS event, ABC Director of Polling, Gary Langer, described their impact on popular support for the coalition. The ABC/BBC/ARD poll found that local experience with U.S. bombing and artillery fire was strongly correlated with both negative attitudes towards the U.S., towards the Afghan central and provincial governments, and regarding Afghanistan’s direction. This dissatisfaction can lead to radicalization: some 44 percent of Afghans who experienced local bombing believe that attacks against coalition forces could be justified.  Air strikes are not the only factor; they are also highly correlated with perceptions of bad security. To help differentiate between these two factors, I asked Mr. Langer to compare attitudes about bombings among those who believed security was good, and those who thought it was bad. He was kind enough to provide the results:

Bacevich on Kilcullen | The COIN Conundrum

Here's a terrific review of some of the philosophical issues behind counterinsurgency doctrine (COIN), by one of the best - Andrew Bacevich - about one of the best - David Kilcullen.

Evelyn Farkas writes in the Boston Globe:

Listen to a recent discussion (March 1) I partcipated in about U.S. Afghanistan and Pakistan policy on Voice of America's Encounter program:

Full details after the jump.