Amy Belasco of the Congressional Research Service explains the estimated allocation for funds authorized by the enactment of the sixth FY2011 Continuing Resolution through March 18, 2011 and breaks down several cost components of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror.

Stephen Biddle and Michael O'Hanlon argue that headway toward a viable state is slow but worth sustaining in Afghanistan.

The Century Foundation recently released a report from an international task force sent to Afghanistan, in the hopes that it might help to identify possible ways in which to end the war in Afghanistan.

Afghan security forces will start taking over some areas from NATO in July, but questions persist about the competence of those forces. Analysts say an effective transition requires emphasis on political reforms and anti-corruption measures.

Richard A. Falkenrath says that with Osama bin Laden gone, life is about to become more complicated for U.S. policymakers trying to combat terrorism.

Steve Coll writes about the secret negotiations between the Obama administration and members of the Taliban.

Leslie H. Gelb says the U.S. military has lost its way in Afghanistan.

There are clear indications of direct U.S. talks with the Taliban to end violence in Afghanistan, says expert Steve Coll. But the process is fraught with challenges posed by all parties to the conflict, he says.

Al Qaeda is stronger today than when it carried out the 9/11 attacks.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon examines incorrect assumptions about Afghanistan that are influencing U.S. policy in the region.

Journalists Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington discuss their sojourn in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan filming a platoon of U.S. soldiers for their documentary "Restrepo."

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon examines women-owned business in Afghanistan.

In The New York Review of Books, Ahmed Rashid sifts through the conflicting reports of U.S. forces' success in Afghanistan and the distinct perspectives of the many players involved in the Afghan conflict.

The story of a young entrepreneur whose business created jobs and hope for women in her Kabul, Afghanistan, neighborhood during the Taliban years.

In light of potentially insurmountable challenges to Obama's Afghanistan plan, Michale O'Hanlon and Bruce Ridel express alarm over alternative propositions that emphasize targeted counterterrorism operations, and outline their own fallback option. (Washington Quarterly)

Leslie H. Gelb remembers Richard Holbrooke.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon discusses one Aghan woman's efforts to stop the reality that every 30 minutes, a pregnant woman dies in Afghanistan.

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon argues that unwanted attention on women's shelters in Afghanistan has sent a chill through women's rights supporters in Kabul and created an environment of both fear and defiance among shelter workers.