Quadriga

It is the beginning of the end of the 10-year war in Afghanistan. US President Barack Obama recently announced plans to bring American soldiers home. The United States is dealing with its own domestic problems, including some 14 million unemployed and sovereign debt of nearly $15 trillion. Military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq has cost Washington $1 trillion alone. Ahead of next year's presidential elections, Obama has underscored plans to withdraw remaining troops from the country by 2014. One-third of soldiers stationed there are scheduled to return home by 2012. The president's decision goes against his army generals' recommendations - and it has sparked debate among both Democrats and Republicans. Critics claim a premature withdrawal from the country could compromise lasting success there.

The prospects for winning the war against the Taliban have deteriorated increasingly in recent times. Attempts to introduce a strong democracy have also been less than successful. Thousands of civilians and soldiers - both Afghan and foreign - have been killed in the fighting. The battle against regional warlords and opium farming is never-ending. The planned reconstruction of Afghanistan has run into difficulties. And the respect for human rights and the equality of women is not a given either. The military campaign has reached its limits. And now that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been killed, the Americans can at least point to one achieved goal.

Obama's withdrawal plans are a signal to other alliance members to follow suit. Germany wants to begin pulling out troops later this year. For the time being, they'll keep up efforts to train Afghan security forces. Afghan president Hamid Karzai has welcomed the withdrawal plans, but Taliban insurgents have dismissed them as a purely symbolic act. The United States is seeking a political solution that will include peace talks with the Taliban. All sides have learned that the Afghan war is a conflict that cannot be resolved by military power alone.

What do you think?: Afghanistan - A War Lost

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Our guests:

Abdul Ahmad Rashid - Born to an Afghan/German family, he undertook German and Islamic studies in Cologne, Damascus and Cairo. Following training as a journalist with "Deutschlandfunk" in Cologne, he began his career as a freelancer working with German public radio. During these early years he already focussed on Islamic affairs. Since June of 2007 Abdul Ahmad Rashid has been working for the German public broadcaster "ZDF".

Michael Lüders – Born in Bremen, in 1959, Lüders studied Arabic literature in Damascus as well as Islamic studies, political science and publishing in Berlin. His dissertation focused on the Egyptian cinema. His works include documentaries for German public television and a long stint as Middle East correspondent for the “Die Zeit” newspaper. Lüders lives in Berlin, working as a political adviser, publicist and writer.

Andrew B. Denison is a political scientist from the United States. He studied both there and in Germany, and is an expert in foreign policy and security issues. He works for the Institute for Strategic Analysis in Bonn, as a researcher and author. Denison is also director of ”Transatlantic Networks”, a research consortium based in Königswinter, Germany. His main emphasis lies on international and domestic security policy focusing particularly on Obama and the USA’s second century, the relationship between US and European economic policies, the future of NATO, Moore’s Law and future security policy.