Afghanistan Study Group final report : a pathway for peace in Afghanistan

"This report is provided to, and at the request of, those in Congress who oversee American foreign policy and provide the resources to ensure that our national interests are met." "February 2021." Includes bibliographical references (pages 83-84). Executive summary. -- U.S. national interests and Afghanistan. -- A new pathway for peace. -- Alternative pathways. -- Conclusion. -- Introduction. -- Interests and key judgments. -- Analytical assessments. -- Status of the peace process. -- Evolution of the terrorist threat from Afghanistan. -- Afghanistan's economic dependency. -- Politics and the state. -- Civil society, rights, and social gains. -- The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. -- The Taliban: organization and objectives. -- Regional stakeholders and dynamics. -- The strategic logic behind a new approach. -- Recommendations. -- 1. Clarify the end states. -- 2. Reinforce the conditionality of a final U.S. troop withdrawal. -- 3. Clarify the U.S. commitment to the current Afghan State. -- 4. Work diplomatically to promote the success of the negotiation process. -- 5. Design an overarching regional diplomatic strategy. -- Alternative pathways. -- Conclusion. -- Annexes. -- Notes. This report presents a series of detailed recommendations to guide the implementation of the revised strategy. The recommendations are buttressed by an extensive analysis of the drivers of conflict and stability in Afghanistan. The analysis is intended not only to clarify the complexity of the issues and the challenges ahead, but also to explain why we believe it is possible to reach the desired end state. Nonetheless, the challenges and the possibility of failure also compelled us to propose a set of alternative policy pathways that can form an iterative pathway forward should potential roadblocks impede the primary strategy we recommend. We hope that both the extensive analysis and the alternative pathways will prove useful to decision-makers now and in the future. Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (USIP, viewed February 5, 2021).