Nation Topics - Nation Building | The Nation

On the tenth anniversary of the US invasion, the country is mired in a permanent crisis of sectarian violence, pervasive corruption and broken infrastructure.

Is there any benefit to be found in an unbroken record of waste, futility and shame? Only if lessons learned prevent a catastrophe in Iran.

As the infrastructure of many U.S. cities crumbles, the Pentagon continues to pump over a billion dollars into military bases throughout the Middle East. 

 In Obama's Afghanistan speech, signs of the Great American Unraveling. 

Jeremy Scahill on The Rachel Maddow Show following peace talk fraud revelation: "If they can't even figure out who is a real Taliban leader to meet with, what does that say about the people who are being killed on a regular basis by special operation forces?" 

It’s over for the US in Afghanistan, but that doesn’t mean the death and destruction are about to stop. Quagmires don’t just go away.

The Army's plan to professionalize Iraq's police could backfire, as militia-infiltrated squads become more effective killers.

Five years after the United States ousted the Taliban, optimism about Afghanistan's future is evaporating. Three new books shed light on what went wrong.

Even if the United States has the will to do the hard work necessary to
rebuild Afghanistan, there are few signs that senior Administration
officials are engaged.