Crystal Ball

U.S. Intel Sees Afghan Failure

Chaos likely within three years of troop withdrawal.

Afghanistan will likely descend into chaos within three years and erase all gains made by the U.S. and its allies if Washington and Kabul don’t sign an agreement to keep a military presence, according to a report by the U.S.’s top intelligence agencies. The U.S. and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have fought over the conditions of the deal for the U.S.’s involvement after the majority of American troops are withdrawn in 2014, putting at stake billions of dollars of aid the U.S. and its allies provides. The report, authored by the National Intelligence Estimate, also predicts the Taliban and other groups will gain more influence as the American troops leave. Some in Washington warned that the NIE report is extremely “dark,” and the group has increasingly been responsible for other “gloomy” reports on Afghanistan in the past.