Ten years after the first international conference that discussed Afghanistan’s political future, dozens of countries and organizations meet again in Bonn, Germany, to devise a roadmap of cooperation beyond the international troop withdrawal in 2014. Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the country will require $10 billion annually over the next decade to shore up security and reconstruction, and commits to tackling corruption in exchange for continued international assistance. The conference fails to achieve its objectives—to lay down a blueprint for Afghanistan’s transition to a self-sustaining and secure government—as the insurgency continues to rage, and Pakistan, a crucial player, refuses to attend.
2021-01-18