Online published on 2 May, 2013.
In view of the announced withdrawal of NATO troops in 2014, there is increasing uncertainty and speculation about the future of Afghanistan, where the US government has failed to achieve its stated objectives. The main beneficiaries of the West's retreat are likely to be the Taliban and Pakistan though they will not be unopposed. Pakistan itself seems to be succumbing to internal disorder and terrorism, mainly of its own creation and Afghanistan may prove too much for Islamabad to deal with whereas India, Iran and Russia could cooperate to prevent a total takeover by the Taliban.
