Is Afghanistan A Lost Cause for America? Observations from One of the Last Americans Out

Posted: April 24th, 2024

By Dave Pitts

Dave is a senior national security executive with over four decades of experience in challenging and critical missions, ranging from counterterrorism and special operations to regional and global affairs. Dave has a proven track record of leading and managing large and diverse teams, building lasting partnerships across the U.S. government and with foreign allies, and delivering results in high-stakes and high-pressure situations. Until his retirement in Oct 2023, Dave served as the Assistant Director of CIA for South and Central Asia. Dave was responsible for all CIA activities and engagement across South and Central Asia and for policy coordination in Washington related to this important, unpredictable region. Dave developed a strategic approach to critical global issues; managed a large, integrated organization; built global partnerships; and ensured the safety and welfare of officers in high-risk areas.

SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — More than two years after its withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S. still does not have a clear way forward in the country, which means that two decades of investment and sacrifice by the U.S. and its allies – and two decades of gains for Afghans – seems to have disappeared almost as if we’d never been there.

Today, Afghans continue to suffer under a brutal regime. Millions of Afghans have been displaced, women and girls have no access to education, the country is facing humanitarian and economic crises, and instability and the potential for terrorism create legitimate concerns across the region as well as in Europe and the United States.

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