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Afghanistan

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Afghanistan has long been a crossroads of world cultures, economies, politics, and militaries. RAND's early research on Afghanistan examined the 1980s Soviet military campaign and the subsequent fundamentalist Islamic regime. Since Operation Enduring Freedom, the 2001 U.S. military effort to rout the Taliban and find Osama bin Ladin's Al Qaeda network, RAND has engaged the new Afghan government, military, and people to support reconstruction, counterinsurgency, and nation-building efforts.

Report
U.S. Policy Toward the Taliban: Engage, Isolate, or Oppose?
With the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and a growing humanitarian crisis, the United States faces several policy options. While isolation is the usual response to an unwelcome regime change, engagement offers the only prospect to advance U.S. interests in the country, mainly counterterrorism and humanitarian relief.
May 26, 2022
Commentary
Afghan Refugees Are Being Recruited to Join an Iranian Paramilitary
As Western policymakers consider how to deal with Afghan evacuees, including former members of the Afghan security forces, they might consider how to prevent adversaries such as Iran from recruiting Afghan refugees for dangerous and destabilizing operations. Greater attention to these risks may become increasingly important as refugee flows from Afghanistan continue.
Nov 23, 2021

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Commentary
Expanding the Caliphate
ISIS in South Asia, which it calls the Islamic State of Khorasan, is larger than most recognize, boasting between several hundred and several thousand fighters. But for now, it is closer to a loose affiliate than a direct arm of the organization.
Jun 12, 2015
Commentary
Veterans Battle Mental Health Issues After Iraq and Afghanistan
Researchers have made great progress capturing the consequences of coping with injuries sustained in the theater of war, but the emerging picture is shadowed in grays. A series of recent findings presents a bleak portrait of the cost of modern war to service members, their families, and their health care providers.
Jun 4, 2015
Journal Article
Determining U.S. Commitments in Afghanistan
As the Obama administration's tenure winds down and the United States withdraws nearly all of its troops from Afghanistan, debates about the nature and scale of future U.S. involvement in Afghanistan continue.
May 21, 2015
Commentary
Has Islamic State Entered Afghanistan?
The bulk of the Islamic State of Khorasan is thought to be in Pakistan, but the group is trying to make inroads into Afghanistan. That said, the group's actual ability to operate in Afghanistan appears rather limited.
May 4, 2015
Commentary
The Afghan Warlord with a Cheshire Cat Grin
Matiullah Khan was an Afghan militia leader turned police chief whose rise to power demonstrated both the dangers and opportunities posed by the lack of governance in Afghanistan. The victim of a Taliban suicide bomber, his death left a power vacuum that persists today. His successor, Gulab Khan, was murdered last week.
Apr 30, 2015
Journal Article
Prevalence Of, Risk Factors For, and Consequences of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Other Mental Health Problems in Military Populations Deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan
Factors such as deployment conditions and social support during and after deployments could help identify, prevent, or mitigate the risk of PTSD among military populations in future conflicts.
Apr 28, 2015
Commentary
Give Ghani a Chance: Why This Time Is Different
After years of broken promises, there's reason to believe that these will be kept under President Ashraf Ghani and that the pronouncements about a better U.S.-Afghan future deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Mar 31, 2015
Commentary
A Better Afghan Strategy: Lose the Timeline
It's in America's strategic interest to once and for all do away with its arbitrary timeline in favor of a strategy that provides its Afghan partners with something to preserve and nurture, not something to dread losing.
Mar 26, 2015
Commentary
How to 'Fix' Afghanistan
Sowing the seeds of future success in bringing peace to Afghanistan requires no new U.S. boots on the ground or extravagant financial commitments. Rather, it takes a willingness to continue to engage with Afghanistan's dynamic set of political challenges in small, but meaningful ways.
Mar 24, 2015
Commentary
What Afghanistan Wants from Washington
Afghan President Ghani's main mission in coming to Washington is to change the American view of Afghanistan, not so much inside the Obama administration as on Capitol Hill. This view remains a mostly negative one, formed by a seemingly endless war, high levels of government corruption, and repeated expressions of rank ingratitude on the part of Ghani's predecessor.
Mar 23, 2015
Q&A
Q&A: What to Expect from Ghani's U.S. Visit
With Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's first official visit to the United States set to begin Sunday, a trio of RAND researchers discuss what to expect after the president and his chief executive officer, Abdullah Abdullah, arrive in Washington.
Mar 20, 2015
Report
Cost-Effective Helicopter Options for Partner Nations
Department of Defense assistance to partner nations entails supporting helicopter fleets, often composed of outdated and difficult-to-service equipment. What is the cost-effectiveness of migrating partner nation fleets to alternative aircraft?
Mar 2, 2015
Multimedia
Lessons from 13 Years of War
In this podcast, Linda Robinson discusses how U.S. conventional and special operations forces have worked closely together during the past 13 years and how special operations forces could be used in current conflicts in Iraq and Syria.
Dec 10, 2014
Multimedia
The Challenges for Democracies Facing Asymmetric Conflicts
In this podcast, Admiral Amichay Ayalon and Brian Michael Jenkins discuss lessons learned in using military force in response to terrorism, and their legal, ethical, and moral implications.
Dec 4, 2014
Commentary
What's the Plan? The Afghan National Security Forces
The Afghan National Security Forces remain very much a work in progress. In the coming months, the resiliency and cohesiveness of the ANSF will be put to the test as the NATO coalition transitions to a non-combat mission. Growing pains can be expected.
Dec 2, 2014
Commentary
What's the Plan? The NATO Coalition in Afghanistan
The imminent changes to the NATO mission in Afghanistan will be profound and, more crucially, carry unpredictable outcomes. After January 1, the removal of tens of thousands of coalition troops will trigger an inevitable period of adjustment as all sides involved in the conflict press for a new equilibrium that tilts in its favor.
Nov 19, 2014
Commentary
Afghanistan After America: A Fragile Stability
Since 2011, the United States, the Afghan government, and the Taliban have engaged in intermittent and often indirect talks about peace negotiations. It may be stalemate on the battlefield that eventually forces the parties to break this stalemate over the shape of a peace process.
Nov 14, 2014
Commentary
Are Ethnic Politics Afghanistan's Great Hope?
Afghanistan's ethnic politics have tended to absorb inter-communal struggle more than exacerbate it. Afghan politicians have consistently opted for an ethnic balance of power once the votes are counted. The unity government deal brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry aims to restore the ethnic balance that persisted under Hamid Karzai for more than a decade.
Nov 11, 2014
Commentary
What's the Plan? The Afghan Government
With the election dispute settled, one can sense a feeling of hope and opportunity among the Afghan political spectrum. Members of each camp are voicing optimism and saying the right things, but before the unity government can address the country's issues, it must first clear the hurdle of appointing new leadership.
Nov 10, 2014
Commentary
The Future Lies in Afghanistan's Hands
With the signing of international security agreements this week, there's been a resurgence of hope that a bright future for Afghanistan is possible. But that future will ultimately be determined only by the Afghans.
Oct 3, 2014

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Researcher Spotlight

Daniel Elinoff

Defense Analyst

Daniel M. Elinoff is a defense and homeland security analyst at the RAND Corporation, where he works in security cooperation, strategic planning, workforce development, disaster recovery, and homeland security policy. He came to RAND from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where he…
Leslie Adrienne Payne

Political Scientist

Leslie Adrienne Payne (she/her) is a political scientist at the RAND Corporation with a combined background in social and political science and qualitative research methods. Since 2012, much of her research has focused on terrorism and counterterrorism, counterinsurgency and civilian-military…

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