By STEVE COLL
CIPS Policy Brief No.16, March 2012

  • The NATO transition plan for Afghanistan is based on faulty assumptions and must be rethought before time runs out.
  • The international community must invest in a successful political transition in 2014, lest fraudulent elections lead to renewed civil conflict in Afghanistan.
  • Canada and other NATO allies have the opportunity to exercise leadership in spurring consideration of an exit strategy that will better promote the shared security of Afghanistan and the West.

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Steve Coll is president of New America Foundation and a contributor at The New Yorker magazine. This Policy Brief is based on a public lecture delivered at CIPS on February 27, 2012.