CIAO DATE: 08/2009
August 2009
Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination
A new report published by the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination contains a series of recommendations related to Afghanistan. The report, "A 'New' Strategy for Afghanistan and Its Region," assesses the current strategy of the Obama Administration towards Afghanistan and provides additional recommendations for Afghanistan and its region. The report notes that "the Obama Administration's new Afghanistan strategy resembles a strategic framework more than a specific strategy," and that it lacks "a concrete political strategy with specifics on how the civilian surge will occur and how democracy and institution-building will be supported, and a plan that distinguishes Al-Qaeda from that of the Taliban insurgency."
The report's recommendations focus specifically on regional cooperation, the drugs-insurgency-corruption nexus, the Taliban insurgency, reconciliation, income generation, infrastructure and energy, institutional capacity, and the roles of the UN and of the media. The report also contains a special recommendations section for the August 20, 2009 Afghan presidential elections.
The report is the result of a private workshop, "A Strategy for Afghanistan and Its Region," convened by LISD May 7-10, 2009 in Triesenberg, Liechtenstein. Some twenty leading international experts from the region, Asia, Europe and the United States participated. The meeting was co-funded by LISD, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Stiftung für Selbstbestimmung und Internationale Beziehungen (SiBiL) in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. The workshop was co-chaired by Francesc Vendrell, LISD Senior Visiting Fellow and former EU Special Representative for Afghanistan, and Wolfgang Danspeckgruber, LISD Director.
Resource link: A "New" Strategy for Afghanistan and Its Region [PDF] - 3.1M