Senior Fellow Husain Haqqani joins Mike & Marshall to reflect on how and why we misunderstood the Afghanistan project. Ambassador Haqqani details how ethnic, tribal and historical divides required greater emphasis in supporting the development of a national government in Kabul. Additionally, he forecasts the regional troubles on the horizon as an axis forms between the Taliban, Pakistan and China.
About Counterbalance:
Counterbalance is a foreign policy podcast that embodies 91’s tradition of challenging conventional wisdom. The Trump era attacked the elite consensus regarding several key issues, including the rise of China, American policy toward the Middle East, and the compartmentalization of domestic and foreign policy. Many observers in the media and in establishment foreign policy circles are presenting the advent of a Biden presidency as a total repudiation of President Trump’s policies and a return to “normalcy.” But, regardless of how one feels about the Trump era or any of his specific policies, there is no turning back the clock. The elite foreign policy consensus will never be the same. Counterbalance will reckon with what’s next.