The Chicago summit attempted to map a new NATO agenda, but instability in Afghanistan and the European fiscal crisis still cloud the alliance's path, says CFR's Charles Kupchan.

President Obama and President Karzai of Afghanistan gave these joint remarks on May 20, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois.

NATO has been the foundation of transatlantic security for more than sixty years, but despite its longevity, critics question whether the alliance can stay relevant in the face of emerging threats, limited funding, and debates over its mission.

Transforming Afghanistan's opium farming from heroin to morphine production would thwart the Taliban and stabilize the economy, writes Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The April 2012 update of the U.S. Department of Defense's "Report on Progress toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan" covers the period from October 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012.

President Obama's speech in Afghanistan lacked a strong rationale for continuing a substantial U.S. commitment beyond 2014, says CFR President Richard N. Haass.

President Obama and President Karzai signed the "Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the United States of America" on May 1, 2012.

President Obama gave these remarks to the troops in Afghanistan at Baghram Air Base on May 1, 2012.

President Obama and Afghan president Karzai gave these remarks at the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement on May 1, 2012 in Afghanistan.

President Obama gave these remarks on May 1, 2012 from the Baghram Air Base in Afghanistan.

Blake Hounshell writes that despite Romney's denunciations of Obama's Afghanistan strategy, he would pursue the same course of action. The U.S.-Afghanistan policy will not change with the election.

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney finds himself in a policy conundrum on Afghanistan issues: His views are at times identical to Obama's, and at other times contradictory, write the editors of Bloomberg View.

The new U.S.-Afghan strategic partnership agreement is a step forward as the Western troop drawdown clock ticks down, but Washington must provide more specific pledges for Afghanistan's security, says CFR's Max Boot.

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton and Defense Secretary Panetta gave these remarks on Afghanistan at a meeting at NATO headquarters on April 18, 2012.

The latest spate of violence in Afghanistan is unlikely to change the course of planned troop withdrawals, but should refocus efforts on bringing under control Pakistan-based militants, says CFR's Daniel Markey.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon says a battle is on to keep Afghan women from falling off the political agenda while Washington and its NATO allies seek a diplomatic solution to America's longest-ever war, and the fight becomes more urgent as the NATO summit in Chicago approaches.

Max Boot argues that the only way the Taliban can shoot their way back into power is if the United States abandons Afghanistan.

CFR Senior Fellow Stephen Biddle considers ways to adapt governance ambitions in Afghanistan to the constraints of diminishing time and resources.

Micah Zenko says it's time for the United States to think of new ways to combat terrorism in Southwest Asia.

John McCain, Joseph I. Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, believe President Obama should "resist the short-sighted calls for additional troop reductions" in Afghanistan.