Contributions for Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA) funds assessed dues to U.N. peacekeeping missions working to reduce violence, protect civilians and stabilize some of the world’s most volatile conflict zones. U.N. operations do not require U.S. troops and cost the American taxpayer eight times less than a U.S. military deployment would.
As Congress works to get Americans back into jobs lost in the COVID-19 crisis, it must focus on proven solutions. Dollar for dollar, spending on the Pentagon and national defense creates fewer jobs than other top industries. According to a Brown University study, $1 billion invested in education will create over twice as many jobs as $1 billion spent on the Pentagon.
The idea that it is necessary to maintain residual forces in Afghanistan to conduct counterterrorism operations is based on the flawed premise that “terrorism” must be fought and can be defeated militarily.
Afghanistan still depends upon foreign assistance for its survival. Even Taliban leadership has acknowledged that Afghanistan will require international development aid moving forward.
Before the most recent talks, the United States had other key opportunities across its nearly twenty-year war in Afghanistan to facilitate a negotiated settlement but squandered each of them, prolonging the violence and losing more leverage along the way.
The United States-Taliban deal—parts of which remain secret—envisions the withdrawal of all U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan, in exchange for assurances that the Taliban will not allow Afghanistan to harbor terrorist groups that threaten the United States. Because the deal was negotiated without any participation by the Afghan government or Afghan civil society, it sets the terms for a U.S. military exit without setting the stage for peace.
Dr. Alex Stark is clerk of the FCNL policy committee. She works as senior researcher at New America Foundation. Dr. Stark worked as a research fellow at Harvard University’s Middle East Initiative and the United States Institute of Peace. She was an FCNL Young Fellow, 2011-2012.
In April, 225 Friends gathered online for the event, “The Future of Quakers.” The conversation focused on several queries, including what Friends have to offer during this pandemic and how inward transformation can grow prophetic ministries.
In early March, when reports hit that the coronavirus was spreading throughout the country, we knew that FCNL had to shift our 500-person Spring Lobby Weekend from a physical event in Washington, DC, to a virtual gathering.
I have been fortunate to regularly travel to Iran since my childhood. I have seen how living conditions have improved and how social restrictions have gradually been loosened.
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