At Atlantic Council, Koch-Funded Effort to Marginalize Human Rights Causes Uproar
Battle likely to spread across Washington as aggressive Koch effort has seeded programs at numerous think tanks Charles Koch / AP
March 16, 2021 5:00 AM
The drama that unfolded at the Atlantic Council last week as nearly two dozen scholars wrote to dissociate themselves from the work of their colleagues is likely to be the opening skirmish in a broader war over the funding for American foreign policy research playing out in academia and in some of Washington, D.C. s most influential think tanks.
The source of the drama was an analysis published earlier this month by Emma Ashford and Mathew Burrows, who argued that putting human rights at the center of the U.S.-Russia relationship undermines American interests. The piece was published under the aegis of a new national security strategy center funded by the Charles Koch Institute, which has advocated for an isolationist foreign policy or, as
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Taliban fighters in the Alingar district of Laghman, Afghanistan, last year. Credit.Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
To the Editor:
William Ruger’s argument for a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan works only if we forget what we’ve learned and pretend that there will be no consequences for us and our Afghan partners.
A year ago, the Taliban promised the United States that it would prevent terror groups from regrouping in Afghanistan, pursue peace with the Afghan government and others, and contribute to a more stable and secure country. But the Taliban is failing to deliver on all of these, and other, promises.
The letter to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani states that the U.S. is still considering whether to withdraw its remaining 2,500 troops by May 1 under the terms of a deal struck last year between the Trump administration and the Taliban.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns the Afghan president that a full U.S. departure remains an option and calls for more international involvement in the peace process.
In the letter, first reported by Afghanistan’s Tolo News, Blinken told Ghani the U.S. is still considering the withdrawal, saying an abrupt departure could give the Taliban “rapid territorial gains.”
Afghan officials, meanwhile, said their U.S. counterparts do not have the authority to make decisions for the country, according to the Post.
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“We thank the U.S. for its support. They can make a decision on their troops, not on the people of Afghanistan,” Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said in an event aired on Afghan television Monday.
Saleh added that Blinken s letter does not change the Afghanistan government’s position.