A balanced, comprehensive, and clear-eyed survey of the alternative strategies that can be pursued with the hope of restoring peace and stability to Afghanistan.

Hy Rothstein served in the US Army as a Special Forces officer for more than 26 years, spending much of his time training and advising governments threatened by active insurgencies. He is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Defense Analysis at the US Naval Postgraduate School. He is the author of Afghanistan and the Troubled Future of Unconventional Warfare.

John Arquilla is a professor of defense analysis at the US Naval Postgraduate School and is the author of Insurgents, Raiders, and Bandits: How Masters of Irregular Warfare Have Shaped Our World.

Preface

Part I: Overview

1. Understanding the Afghan ChallengeHy Rothstein and John Arquilla

2. A Familiar Western Experience in Ancient AfghanistanVictor Davis Hanson

3. Afghan ParadoxesThomas Barfield

4. America’s Longest WarHy Rothstein

Part II: Strategic Alternatives

5. A Case for WithdrawalAndrew J. Bacevich

6. A Case for Staying the CourseFrederick W. Kagan

7. Afghanistan: A Third Way Edward N. Luttwak

8. Beyond Victory and DefeatScott Sigmund Gartner and Leo Blanken

Part III: Other Perspectives

9. The Ethics of Exit: Moral Obligation in the Afghan EndgameRussell Muirhead

10. Shaping Strategic CommunicationRobert Reilly

11. Civil and Uncivil Society Jade I. Rodriguez and Rebecca Lorentz

Part IV: Conclusion

12. Conclusion: Assessing the Strategic AlternativesJohn Arquilla and Hy Rothstein

ContributorsIndex