No Closure in Afghanistan

The withdrawal of Western combat forces from Afghanistan in 2014, far from being the end of political and strategic conflict in that region, is likely to herald the resumption of tensions with deep historical roots both within Afghanistan and among its neighbours. The security of Central Asia has always been driven by regional tensions and the internal stability of its states. Sectarian, ethnic and tribal tensions compound the problems of unemployment and radical inequalities. Add the tensions between Sunni and Shi’ite Islam. On top of all that, almost all the major powers of continental Asia—Iran, Russia, China, India, Pakistan—border on Afghanistan; and most or all of them have strong economic and political interests in the country’s future.

Most citizens of the Western world have been hoping that the Afghanistan intervention would bring “closure” in at least three different senses. First, an end to costly and not hugely effective military effort in faraway places….