Find a Political Solution in Afghanistan, Not a Military One

Find a Political Solution in Afghanistan, Not a Military One

Find a Political Solution in Afghanistan, Not a Military One

Nation Editor and Publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel tells Ed Schultz that McChrystal’s departure gives Obama an opening for changing the trajectory of the American presence in Afghanistan. 

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

In the wake of President Obama’s acceptance of General McChrystal’s resignation and the subsequent appointment of General Petraeus, The Ed Show hosts an eight-guest panel to discuss the future of the war in Afghanistan. Nation Editor and Publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel chimes in, expressing a rare dissent from host Ed Schultz, who said that Obama had made it "very clear that we’re not backing out."

"Ed, you know we usually agree," vanden Heuvel said. "I have to disagree with you tonight… I would argue that General Petraeus coming in, there’s an opening that President Obama can seize, because it is good to know that there is a debate among his advisers." She also spoke of the recent Nation-inspired congressional report on the US taxpayer-funding of Afghan warlords, which has been overlooked in discussions of McChrystal’s departure and what it signifies for the war.

—Carrie Battan

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

I urge you to stand with The Nation and donate today.

Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x