US policy failure in Afghanistan
Very informative discussion. It seems the current administration must have watched this discussion as well, or at least reread the notes of what was being considered during this time. Bringing the neighboring countries in to buy into a framework before approaching the parties.
But in this discussion, I heard that the region (the larger Middle East) could have been more stable if it got the economic development similar to eastern Europe or south east Asia; $100 billion in the 1990s. Instead there seems to be an attitude specifically towards the Middle East to just neglect engagement in substantial ways (on the order of Eastern Europe relative to its population). This is currently a problem in the Middle East but will soon be a problem in Africa and Latin America if the US doesn’t commit to substantiate economic engagement.
the risk of a one sided offer, is that it will come across flat out disrespectful and demeaning like the “deal of the century” offered to the Palestinians. All the while China waits in the wings to invest and partner with who ever is in charge in the end.
hopefully, Biden is not Obama or Hilary Clinton, and will respect those in the US foreign policy establishment, like the late Richard Holbrooke, that understood the value of working with stakeholders like Pakistan and understanding what sustainable peace would look like (he was a diplomat during the Vietnam war and helped broker the peace deal to end the Bosnian war).
Holbrooke literally died (he had an aneurysm if I remember correctly) in Hilary Clinton’s office trying to convince her to talk peace with the Taliban. I guess Trump freed the policy wonks from their hubris, and forced talks through his 2019 deal.
I have been a strong proponent of psywar. 
