Obama's New Policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan (AF-Pak): An Explanation

Barack Obama’s new policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan -- AF-Pak -- declared in the US White Paper in March 2009 is, in fact, the roadmap for his administration to deal with the Afghanistan situation. Development of the new policy, as also underlined by the US administration, was made necessary by the continuation and worsening of the difficult situation the US and NATO faced in their fight against the Taliban in various parts of Afghanistan. This article tries to look into the factors that forced Washington to formulate the new policy, which implies that the US and NATO have failed after 8 years to succeed in their struggle against the Taliban and establish peace and stability in Afghanistan. It also appears that the Taliban have been able to continue their military operations and create and maintain instability in Afghanistan. As discussed in the article, the new US policy involves some changes in the war management, as well as political approaches towards deterring US regional allies from cooperating with Taliban and solving security problems in South Asia. The policy intends to place a higher emphasis on using Afghan domestic capacities.