No silver bullets but plenty of potential misfires.

American strategy in Afghanistan and the Middle East, plus a counterintelligence note on Russia.

Afghanistan

As the United States withdraws, Taliban gains should not be a surprise. What is surprising are some of the arguments being made that leaving Afghanistan is a mistake. The latest example is found in this Foreign Affairs piece by Seth G. Jones. One of the three main reasons why leaving Afghanistan is a mistake, according to Jones, is that the U…