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Michael McFaul

17 Aug, 11 tweets, 3 min read

Seeing lots of revisionist history (on left and right) on Obama's surge in Afghanistan. Im not an expert, but I did work at the WH at the time and do teach that "case" in my comparative foreign policy decision-making course. Posting that section of the syllabus here. THREAD 1/

April 22: The U.S. Decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan (2009-2010)
Guest Speaker: Ambassador Karl Eikenberry 2/

Required Readings:
Obama, Barack H. “Remarks by the President in Address to the Nation on the Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan.” The White House, December 2009. 3/ obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-offi…

Chollet, Derek. “Rebalance, Reset, Resurge.” In The Long Game: How Obama Defied Washington and Redefined America’s Role in the World, 51-88. New York: Public Affairs, 2016. eikenberry/the-limits-of-counterinsurgency-doctrine-in-afghanistan. 4/

Eikenberry, Karl. “The Limits of Counterinsurgency Doctrine in Afghanistan: The Other Side of the COIN.” Foreign Affairs, September/October 2013. foreignaffairs.com/articles/13964…. 5/

Landler, Mark. “Holbrooke Agonistes.” In Alter Egos: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and the Twilight Struggle Over American Power, 75-98. Random House, 2016. 6/

Gates, Robert. “Afghanistan: A House Divided.” In Duty: Memories of a Secretary at War, 335-386. Knopf, 2015. 7/

Obama, Barack H. “Nobel Lecture: A Just and Lasting Peace.” The Nobel Prize, December 2009. nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2….
8/

Recommended Readings:
Marsh, Kevin. “Obama’s Surge: A Bureaucratic Politics Analysis of the Decision to Order a Troop Surge in the Afghanistan War.” Foreign Policy Analysis 10, no. 3 (July 2014): 265-288. doi.org/10.1111/fpa.12….
9/

Saunders, Elizabeth N. “Leaders, Advisers, and the Political Origins of Elite Support for War.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 62, no. 10 (October 2018): 2118-2149. doi.org/10.1177/002200…. 10/

Mann, James. “Afghanistan: Flip of the COIN,” “‘It’s Not Like This Ghost in His Head’” and “The Speeches: ‘Evil Does Exist.’” In The Obamians: The Struggle Inside the White House to Redefine American Power, 117-155. Penguin Books, 2012. 11/ END THREAD

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More from @McFaul

Michael McFaul

@McFaul

1 Sep

"President Biden should state explicitly as a matter of policy in his 2021 National Security Strategy that the United States will not use military intervention to promote democratic regime change." THREAD 1/

"The truth is that American presidents have almost never invoked democracy promotion as a justification for war; the U.S. military interventions in Grenada and Panama may be the only exceptions." 2/

"Even before the invasion of Iraq, President Bush and his administration focused primarily on security threats like Saddam Hussein’s alleged weapons of mass destruction." 3/

Read 7 tweets

Michael McFaul

@McFaul

22 Aug

This is Item 4 of the Doha agreement: "A permanent and comprehensive ceasefire will be an item on the agenda of the intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations." THREAD 1/

"The participants of intra-Afghan negotiations will discuss the date & modalities of a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, including joint implementation
mechanisms, which will be announced along with the completion & agreement over the future
political roadmap of Afghanistan"

Is there any evidence that the Taliban committed to this part of the Doha agreement? If not, then why are we obligated to leave by 8/31? 3/

Read 4 tweets

Michael McFaul

@McFaul

9 Aug

A true hero, Sergey Adamovich Kovalev, has passed away today. He was one of the most honest, principled & courageous men I have ever known. I saw him last as my farewell reception in 2014 in Moscow (after which I was put on the sanctions list) speaking here with another friend.

I met Kovalev in 1990. His clarity of conviction back then helped to destroy Soviet dictatorship.

One of the most memorable days of my time as US ambassador to Russia was when Kovakev served as our personal tour guide to me, my wife, and sons at the Sakharov Museum. His stories about the gulag were riveting and horrifying.

Read 4 tweets

Michael McFaul

@McFaul

30 Jul

During the Cold War, some US leaders praised our autocratic allies & friends as "strong leaders" and labeled Soviet allies as brutal dictators ...THREAD 1/

They sold "constructive engagement" as a policy to democratize apartheid South Africa & celebrated Savimbi in Angola and the mujahadeen in Afghanistan as "freedom fighters." 2/

In our new era of great power competition with China (& Russia), we should learn from our successes during the Cold War, but also learn from our mistakes. 3/

Read 4 tweets

Michael McFaul

@McFaul

23 Jun

"AFTER GENEVA
Biden is right to test whether Putin might embrace a more stable, predictable relationship with the United States. " THREAD 1/

"Should the Russian president opt instead to continue invading countries, mounting hacking and disinformation campaigns, and arresting innocent Russians and Americans, it will be clear that he, not Biden, is responsible for confrontation with the United States." 2/

Biden is also right to try to work with the Kremlin on a limited agenda of mutual interest, particularly on arms control. Even during tense moments of the Cold War, U.S. presidents saw the wisdom in cooperating with their Soviet counterparts to reduce the risk of nuclear war. 3/

Read 5 tweets

Michael McFaul

@McFaul

23 Jun

"Biden must provide a counterweight to Putin’s promotion of autocracy." THREAD 1/

"He should continue to speak publicly in support of all those fighting for democracy across the region, from Alexei Navalny in Russia to Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in Belarus to the hundreds of lesser-known political prisoners in both countries." 2/

"His administration should also make it easier for students from Russia and elsewhere in the region to study in the United States; for high-skilled workers to immigrate to the United States; and for political leaders to seek asylum, if necessary." 3/

Read 9 tweets

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