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Afghanistan Lost the Cognitive War Before It Lost the State

The collapse of Afghanistan in August 2021 is still widely interpreted as a military or political failure. That interpretation is incomplete.Afghanistan collapsed because it lost the cognitive war [...] More

Confidence, Interoperability, and the Limits of U.S. Decision Systems

OPINION -- In recent months, U.S. policy debates have increasingly acknowledged that the decisive contests of the 21st century will not be fought primarily on conventional battlefields. They will be [...] More

More from Masoud Andarabi

The Next Battlefield Is Perception, Not Territory

The Gray Zone is no longer a peripheral space between war and peace. It has become the primary arena in which strategic advantage is tested and [...] More

Confidence, Interoperability, and the Limits of U.S. Decision Systems

In recent months, U.S. policy debates have increasingly acknowledged that the decisive contests of the 21st century will not be fought primarily on [...] More

Iran at the Breaking Point: How Afghanistan and Iraq Still Inform U.S. Strategy

Iran is experiencing its most consequential period of internal unrest in years. Nationwide demonstrations driven by economic collapse, social [...] More

A Trained Eye Sees Strategic Patterns in Venezuela

OPINION -- Venezuela presents a long-standing challenge tied to narcotics trafficking and transnational criminal networks. For years, the country has [...] More

Afghanistan Is Becoming India and Pakistan’s Proxy Battlefield—Again

On Oct. 15, 2025, Islamabad and Kabul announced a 48-hour ceasefire after days of shelling and cross-border clashes around Spin Boldak/Chaman and in [...] More

I Sat Across the Table from China’s Spies. Here’s How They Operate in Fragile States

In 2016, I sat across the table from China’s Director of Operations for the Ministry of State Security (MSS). Their visit to Kabul was tightly [...] More

Russia’s Outreach to the Taliban: Strategic Calculations or Regional Security Fears?

In recent weeks, reports of Russia considering formal engagement and recognition of the Taliban have reignited debate around international approaches [...] More