Thinking Long on Afghanistan: Could it be Neutralized?

Having crushed the al-Qaeda leadership, the US and its NATO allies should exit Afghanistan without leaving behind the kind of instability that prompted their intervention in the first place. No other sub-region of the world contains such a dangerous intersection of radical ideologies, clashing interests, and regional nuclear arsenals. Further proliferation, lucrative drug corridors, and exploitable mineral wealth will make future Afghan conflicts more dangerous than ever. For decades, the rational long-term political solution for Afghanistan has been a strategy called neutralization. Here, Cronin examines the potential for Afghan neutralization today, to reduce threats to the US and increase regional stability.