Should the UK and US send more troops into Afghanistan?
A resurgent Taliban has brought a spike in civilian deaths and a rising threat to the government

Afghanistan's spiralling death toll from terrorist attacks is lending a new urgency to questions about whether the UK, US and their allies should do more to prop up the country's fragile government.
A car bomb in Kabul on Monday killed up to 35 and wounded more than 40, reports Reuters and The Guardian says civilian deaths in the 16-year civil war are at a record high with the Taliban resurgent.
There are 13,000 Nato troops currently in the country, 8,400 of them American; the UK, with 500 service personnel in Afghanistan, plans to send 85 more in training capacities, Politics Home says.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
More troops are a "tactical necessity", claims former Nato commander James Stavridis writing in Time. He highlights estimates that Taliban influence could now extend to some 40 per cent of the country.
US media reported in June that almost 4,000 more American troops will be deployed. But Rebecca Zimmerman, policy researcher at RAND Corporation, told Bloomberg TV that "if 100,000 troops (the number under Obama in 2010) weren't able to be decisive in a combat sense I don't think we can say a few thousand extra troops are going to be able to do that… we really need to focus on building a more stable Afghan government."
An unpopular influx of foreign soldiers could even be "adding wood to a fire", says Al Jazeera - particularly as the Taliban refuses to come to the negotiating table until alien troops are out of the country.
But the real problem, according to the National Interest website, is that since invading in 2001 America's objectives remain unclear. "How is it that Washington still does not have an achievable strategy? And worse, why aren’t elected officials debating and voting on policy?" Asks retired brigadier general Rob Givens.
Last week, President Donald Trump finally appointed an ambassador to Afghanistan - longtime diplomat and current Turkey ambassador John Bass.
That might finally give US policy a focal point and mouthpiece in a country so difficult to handle it has become known as the "Graveyard of Empires".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Harvard sues Trump over frozen grant money
Speed Read The Trump administration withheld $2.2 billion in federal grants and contracts after Harvard rejected its demands
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump tariffs place trucking industry in the crosshairs
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the White House barrels ahead with its massive tariff project, American truckers are feeling the heat from a global trade war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
How Poland became Europe's military power
The Explainer Warsaw has made its armed forces a priority as it looks to protect its borders and stay close to the US
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK
-
Munich Security Conference: will spectre of appeasement haunt old world order?
Today's Big Question Trump's talks with Putin threaten the international rules-based order, say critics
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK