Steve Coll, Robert Grenier, and Daniel Markey look at changes in U.S.-Pakistan relations over the past year and make recommendations for moving forward.

The Pentagon's plan for an end to U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2013 has drawn familiar battle lines in the public debate over the proper endgame for the war.

Steve Coll, Robert Grenier, and Daniel Markey look at changes in U.S.-Pakistan relations over the past year and make recommendations for moving forward.

Steve Coll, Robert Grenier, and Daniel Markey look at changes in U.S.-Pakistan relations over the past year and make recommendations for moving forward.

The newly announced U.S. plan to end its combat mission in Afghanistan by mid-2013 could make it more difficult to realize the chief goal of helping Afghan national forces become self-sufficient, says CFR's Stephen Biddle.

Leslie H. Gelb says the Obama administration's announcement of a quick end to U.S. combat in Afghanistan is a surprise decision of strategic skill and political courage.

The winner of the 2012 U.S. presidential race will have to make critical decisions on Afghanistan, including how to support and fund Afghan forces as well as possible concessions to the Taliban, says CFR's Stephen Biddle.

The United States continues to pursue peace talks with Afghanistan's Taliban as a means to secure stability. Bruce Riedel discusses the challenges faced by the administration, including its ongoing tensions with Pakistan.

Ed Husain reviews Imran Khan's Pakistan.

A potential Taliban office in Qatar has raised hopes for a negotiated end to the Afghan war. But numerous challenges remain even as a new controversy over U.S. troop behavior threatens to derail talks.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says the the shocking torture of Sahar Gul is just one example of widespread violence against women in Afghanistan, which mostly goes unreported and unpunished.

Abandoning counterinsurgency doctrine after Afghanistan would doom the U.S. military to irrelevance and impotence, writes Christopher Sims and Fernando Luján. Not so, says Bing West; like it or not, the United States will be much less ambitious in future wars.

Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi discusses the factors behind anti-Americanism in Pakistan. He says the two countries have failed to develop a strategic relationship because of their differences in Afghanistan.

Frank G. Klotz argues that both India and Pakistan have an interest in taking steps to enhance strategic stability in the region and to reduce the possibility of nuclear conflict resulting from miscalculation or deliberate escalation in a crisis.

The U.S. Department of Defense released this statement, regarding the late November 2011 death of Pakistani soldiers, on December 22, 2011.

The United States gives Pakistan billions of dollars in aid each year. Pakistan returns the favor by harboring terrorists, spreading anti-Americanism, and selling nuclear technology abroad. Washington must tell Islamabad to start cooperating or lose its aid and face outright isolation.

Leslie H. Gelb interviews U.S. vice president Joe Biden.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee released this report on December 19, 2011. The press release states,

"As part of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's ongoing oversight of U.S engagement in Afghanistan and the broader region, Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) today released a report examining Central Asia's critical role in Afghanistan.

Central Asia and the Transition in Afghanistan is based on an October 2011 field visit by the Committee's majority staff to Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan as well as extensive staff meetings with experts and policymakers. It provides several important statistics and offers three overarching recommendations for the Administration as it prepares for the 2014 transition in Afghanistan and continues to engage with countries in the region."

Attacks on Shia Muslims in Afghanistan claimed by a Pakistani militant group are a disturbing omen -- for sectarian ties and the prospects for a peace deal with insurgents, says counterterrorism expert Brian Fishman.