Reassessing the International Role in Afghanistan During the NATO Summit --- On September 4, world leaders and ministers from 60 nations will gather in Wales for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, summit One item on their agenda will be particularly important: After 13 difficult years, the international community is preparing to mark the conclusion of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, mission in Afghanistan. --- British Prime Minister David Cameron will host President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President François Hollande, among others. The NATO member state leaders will discuss the shape of future long-term international support for Afghanistan’s people and for its shaky security and governance institutions, as NATO and the United States make plans to reduce their military footprint in the region. However, with the ongoing political uncertainty in Kabul, neither presidential candidates nor President Karzai will attend this important summit meeting. Afghanistan will be represented by Defense Minister Bimullah Khan Mohammadi. -- Afghanistan has seen real progress. Two decades ago, it was a desperate nation, stuck under Taliban rule while Al Qaeda flourished. Today, the country has achieved significant development—from broadened access to health care and education to expanded economic opportunity. Since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, 8 million boys and girls have enrolled in school, a huge increase from the 900,000 boys enrolled under Taliban rule. Child mortality rates have declined by 50 percent, and maternal mortality rates by 80 percent. With the withdrawal of foreign forces, Afghanistan’s stability will depend on how its leaders approach the upcoming economic, security, and political challenges. In May, President Obama rightly noted that the United States can and should play a supporting role to help Afghans sustain the gains made over the past 13 years. -- Nearly two months after a runoff election between leading candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, allegations of election fraud persist—undermining Afghanistan’s progress toward a viable democracy and stability after decades of bloodshed and violence. Amid nonviolent street protests and demonstrations that call for a transparent democracy—as well as two visits by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry—to negotiate a political agreement and form a government of national unity, Afghanistan has become embroiled in a self-inflicted political crisis. The fragile and politically tenuous government continues to battle a nationwide Taliban insurgency, which only stands to gain from this political impasse. -- As the United States plans to withdraw its last troops by the end of 2016, the NATO summit kicks off a two-year period in which the international community will assess how to assist the key political, security, and economic transitions. Afghanistan’s short- and long-term stability depends on the success or failure of these transitions and the roles Afghan leaders and the international community play in securing the gains of the past decade. This issue brief provides recommendations for effectively responding to these challenges. - Read More, Aarthi Gunasekaran, Center for American Progress