April 13, 2021

With Afghan Decision, Biden Seeks to Focus U.S. on New Challenges

Featuring: Lisa Curtis

Source: The New York Times

Journalist: David Sanger

President Biden’s decision to pull all American troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 was rooted in his belief that there is no room for continuing 20 years of failed efforts to remake that country, especially at a moment when he wants the United States focused on a transformational economic and social agenda at home and other fast-evolving threats from abroad.

Though Mr. Biden would never use the term, getting out of Afghanistan is part of his own version of “America First,” one that differs drastically from how his predecessor, Donald J. Trump, used the phrase. His years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as vice president convinced him that the United States-led effort in Afghanistan was destined to collapse of its own weight.

Read the full story and more from The New York Times.

Author

  • Lisa Curtis

    Senior Fellow and Director, Indo-Pacific Security Program

    Lisa Curtis is a senior fellow and director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). She is a foreign policy and national securit...