The Demise of USAID Efforts in the West Bank and Gaza

by Larry Garber Twenty years ago, I was assigned to manage the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) program in the West Bank and Gaza. At the time, the region was awash with optimism. Peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians… Continue Reading

Stabilization of Afghanistan: The Little Engine That Couldn’t

by Diana Ohlbaum “Between 2001 and 2017, U.S. government efforts to stabilize insecure and contested areas in Afghanistan mostly failed.” Those are not my words. They’re not from some partisan pundit or ideological crusader. It’s the conclusion reached by the… Continue Reading

Georgia: US Works to Counter Russian Narratives

by Joshua Kucera Using means like television programs, fact-checking websites, and book clubs, the United States government is combatting what it sees as a Russia-directed disinformation campaign aimed at getting Georgians to abandon their Western geopolitical orientation. These efforts began… Continue Reading

Into the Afghan Abyss (Again)

by Alfred W. McCoy After nine months of confusion, chaos, and cascading tweets, Donald Trump’s White House has finally made one thing crystal clear: the U.S. is staying in Afghanistan to fight and — so they insist — win. “The killers… Continue Reading