Andrew Watkins Former Senior Analyst, Afghanistan Please submit all media inquiries to media@crisisgroup.org or call +32 (0) 2 536 00 71 In The News 9 Aug 2021 After August 31, I fear the war [in Afghanistan] could carry on as intensely or even more than it has the past three months. Bloomberg Andrew Watkins Former Senior Analyst, Afghanistan 15 Jul 2021 You see a sense of surprise and alarmed reaction from regional powers to the speed of the Taliban advance, but the counterpoint is a lot them saw the writing on the wall as early as [Barack] Obama’s announcement that the US was going to draw down and withdraw nearly a decade ago. The Guardian Andrew Watkins Former Senior Analyst, Afghanistan 24 Jun 2021 The Taliban are strengthening their chokeholds around major cities [...] The fall of Kabul is not imminent. The Taliban is not an unstoppable military juggernaut. Al Jazeera Andrew Watkins Former Senior Analyst, Afghanistan 23 Apr 2021 It is unclear how much Iran's essentially defensive, border-oriented interests in Afghanistan would expand, if at all. RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Andrew Watkins Former Senior Analyst, Afghanistan 27 Mar 2021 [The legitimacy the Taliban want is] never going to come without engaging with the outside world and the international community. The Washington Post Andrew Watkins Former Senior Analyst, Afghanistan 8 Dec 2020 If the Taliban want to become a legitimate power in an Afghan state, then they’re going to need to show the world that they take global counterterrorism concerns seriously. The Washington Post Andrew Watkins Former Senior Analyst, Afghanistan Latest Updates Q&A / Asia 14 August 2021 Are the Taliban on a Path to Victory? With the Taliban sweeping through provincial capitals, and massing near Kabul, the Afghan government is thus far vowing to resist. In this Q&A, Crisis Group experts Laurel Miller and Andrew Watkins explain that outside powers’ priority should now be to minimise further human suffering. Podcast / Asia 22 July 2021 The Taliban’s Advance in Afghanistan This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood talks to Crisis Group experts Laurel Miller and Andrew Watkins about the Taliban’s recent gains across Afghanistan as U.S. and NATO forces withdraw, what this means for the war’s trajectory and prospects for peace talks. Q&A / Asia 15 April 2021 How the U.S. Withdrawal Decision Will Affect the Afghan Conflict Washington’s decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan by 11 September spells an end to the U.S. military deployment but not peace. Crisis Group expert Andrew Watkins anticipates that negotiations will likely stall and Afghans will fear an intensified civil war as the U.S. role evolves. Podcast / Asia 8 April 2021 How Afghanistan Views the U.S. Troop Drawdown This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk to Crisis Group’s Afghanistan expert Andrew Watkins about the looming withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country, how Afghan leaders are preparing and the challenges ahead. Op-Ed / Asia 15 March 2021 There’s No Shortcut to Peace in Afghanistan Washington’s latest idea of a transitional government would be worse than the dysfunctional status quo. Originally published in Foreign Policy Load more