In this  War Studies Advanced Program, Drs. Frederick and Kimberly Kagan, who spent 15 months in Afghanistan working with General David Petraeus and General John Allen, will examine America’s campaign in Afghanistan. Balancing history, theory, and military strategy, this seminar will consider the U.S.-led coalition’s objectives, the lasting legacies of the Cold War, and the specificities of Afghanistan’s tribal society and regional dynamics.

War Studies Advanced Programs are open only to alumni of the basic War Studies course. These sessions are offered in the winter and summer, and focus either on a national security challenge or on a historical conflict. Learn more about the War Studies Program.

Image courtesy U.S. Department of Defense

Frederick Kagan on the U.S. Military in Afghanistan

Faculty

James M. Dubik

LTG James M. Dubik (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for the Study of War and a Professor at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program. General Dubik has extensive operational experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Bosnia, Haiti, Panama, Honduras, and in many NATO countries.

James M. Dubik

LTG James M. Dubik (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for the Study of War and a Professor at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program. General Dubik has extensive operational experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Bosnia, Haiti, Panama, Honduras, and in many NATO countries.

His last job on active duty was as Commanding General of the Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) and the NATO Training Mission-Iraq during the Surge of 2007–2008. He is a member of the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame and a distinguished member of the U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment.

General Dubik taught Philosophy at West Point and Campaign Theory and Practice at the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  He has completed an MIT fellowship program for national security studies as well as executive programs in national security at Harvard’s JFK School of Government and Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He is the author, most recently, of Just War Reconsidered: Strategy, Ethics, and Theory.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy from Gannon University, Erie, Pennsylvania; a Masters in Military Arts and Sciences from the Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Johns Hopkins University.

 

 

Frederick W. Kagan

Frederick W. Kagan is a Senior Instructor with the Hertog War Studies Program at the Institute for the Study of War. The author of the 2007 report “Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq,” he is one of the intellectual architects of the successful “surge” strategy in Iraq. He is the director of AEI’s Critical Threats Project.

Frederick W. Kagan

Frederick W. Kagan is a Senior Instructor with the Hertog War Studies Program at the Institute for the Study of War. The author of the 2007 report “Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq,” he is one of the intellectual architects of the successful “surge” strategy in Iraq. He is the Robert H. Malott Chair and Director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

In 2009, he served in Kabul, Afghanistan, as part of General Stanley McChrystal’s strategic assessment team, and he returned to Afghanistan in 2010, 2011, and 2012 to conduct research for Generals David Petraeus and John Allen. In July 2011, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen awarded him the Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest honor the Chairman can present to civilians who do not work for the Department of Defense, for his volunteer service in Afghanistan.

He is coauthor of the report Defining Success in Afghanistan (AEI and the Institute for the Study of War, 2010) and author of the series of reports Choosing Victory (AEI), which recommended and monitored the US military surge in Iraq. His most recent book is Lessons for a Long War: How America Can Win on New Battlefields (AEI Press, 2010, with Thomas Donnelly). Previously an associate professor of military history at West Point, Dr. Kagan is a contributing editor at the Weekly Standard and has written for Foreign Affairs, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and other periodicals.

He holds a Ph.D. from Yale University in Russian and Soviet military history.

Kimberly Kagan

Kimberly Kagan is a Senior Instructor with the Hertog War Studies Program and founder and president of the Institute for the Study of War. She is a military historian who has taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Yale, Georgetown, and American University.

Download the Full Syllabus

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Preview the Syllabus by Week/Session

Readings: 

 

Recommend Reading:

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. To what extent does Afghanistan’s ethnic puzzle shape internal and external relationships?
  2. What are the most significant impacts of the Afghan-Soviet war and Afghan Civil War on the rise of the Taliban?
  3. Why were the Taliban so easily toppled in 2001?
  4. What are the primary drivers of Pakistan’s policy and strategy toward Afghanistan?

Readings: 

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What were the primary reasons for the Taliban’s re-emergence after 2004?
  2. What were the major achievements and shortcomings of the U.S. efforts prior to 2009?
  3. What role did Pakistan play from 2001-2009?
  4. What were the major achievements and shortcomings of the Afghan government from 2001-2009?

Readings: 

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What was the theory of success that underpinned the McChrystal Assessment?
  2. To what extent did the “surge” work?
  3. Assess the efficacy of the 5 lines of effort as expressed by President Obama in May 2012.
  4. What were the major challenges in implementing the post-2009 strategy?
  5. What was the Taliban’s theory of success?

Readings: 

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What were the main challenges to building the ANSF?
  2. What were the major challenges in building Afghan government capacity? Aid and development?
  3. How were the 5 lines of effort prioritized and integrated?  How well were they integrated?  What were potential alternatives for prioritization and integration?
  4. What were the strategic implications of kleptocracy and the nature Obama-Karzai relations?
  5. Assess the advantages and disadvantages of the U.S. policy on reconciliation.

Readings: 

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. In what ways have the Taliban adapted since 2009?
  2. What are the most significant risks and opportunities for U.S. aims post-2014?
  3. What is the best approach toward a favorable and durable outcome in Afghanistan from a U.S. perspective, Afghan government perspective, Taliban perspective?
  4. What were the major achievements and shortcomings of the Afghan government from 2001-2009?
  5. What are risks and opportunities associated with China’s increased interest in Afghanistan?

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Mick Ryan is a retired major general in the Australian Army. He is now an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, and a non-resident fellow of the Lowy Institute in Sydney. In January 2023 Mick was also appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.

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John R. Allen

John R. Allen is President of the Brookings Institution and a retired U.S. Marine Corps four-star general. He previously served as commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and special presidential envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.

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James M. Dubik

LTG James M. Dubik (U.S. Army, Ret.) is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for the Study of War and a Professor at Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program. General Dubik has extensive operational experience in Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Bosnia, Haiti, Panama, Honduras, and in many NATO countries.
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Frederick W. Kagan

Frederick W. Kagan is a Senior Instructor with the Hertog War Studies Program at the Institute for the Study of War. The author of the 2007 report “Choosing Victory: A Plan for Success in Iraq,” he is one of the intellectual architects of the successful “surge” strategy in Iraq. He is the director of AEI’s Critical Threats Project.