President Karzai

On his last trip to Sri Lanka, Defence Secretary Liam Fox called on the country to properly investigate its actions at the end of the civil war. But what, blogs Channel 4 News Foreign Editor Ben De Pear, was Adam Werritty doing at Mr Fox’s meetings with the regime?

The fact that the Kabul conference is taking place is undoubtedly a step forward, blogs Lindsey Hilsum. But the Afghan government will soon be expected to organise mult-million dollar development projects and reintegrate the Taliban.

Kabul was the emptiest of cities this morning. The only way to move around – given the universal ban on private vehicles that has successfully staved off the predictable attack by the Taliban – was on foot. The traffic that usually blocks the city vanished. We found ourselves learning that routes between places we normally…

The West first bends President Karzai’s arm to concede to a second round of voting. Few people see how the fraud or insurgent-led violence of the first round won’t worsen this time. Then the challenger drops out. Why would he stay in? He won’t win, and prefers a principled withdrawal to an unruly defeat. So…

Channel 4 News reporter Lindsey Hilsum examines the shrinking number of options available to the US in Afghanistan.

It is very hard today to read the foreign secretary’s new strategy for Afghanistan. The aims of Nato are laudable.  They are invariably necessary and they are vital for the security of both Britons and Afghans alike.  But, worringly, they are becoming more unattainable every day.

It is hard to say which meeting is more important: Obama’s meeting with the president of Afghanistan or with the president of Pakistan. For it is becoming increasingly clear that Obama’s foreign policy reputation – indeed his presidency – will depend upon success in what US officials call the “Af-Pak” region, in much the same…