Afghanistan in the Balance

<p>The United States faces a classic challenge in Afghanistan the graveyard of empires as it attempts to meet its pragmatic security interests. The rugged landlocked terrain has provided historic sanctuary for its warrior-tribes and safe havens for terrorist groups that have attacked and continue to threaten America. Afghanistan's geographic and cultural realities favor insurgency as a normal form of warfare. The context in Afghanistan is different today than it has been in the past however and the military forces available to the US are more mobile effective and powerful than ever before. These capabilities emanate from its unprecedented airpower without which the United States would have no seat at the balance-of-power table in Central Asia. If it employs its airpower responsibly America can help sow the seeds of a previously unknown creation-a stable economically vibrant Afghanistan. The balance-of-power dynamics of the nineteenth century Great Game in Afghanistan between Britain and Russia reveal timeless patterns of realist behavior. The record of airpower's use (and misuse) in the twentieth century informs the failures of Britain and the Soviet Union and instructs the employment of airpower by the United States today.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>