, Columnist
Baby Powder Is the Secret Weapon in the Afghanistan War
Mining materials like talc could bring the country great wealth, but for now only fuels corruption and violence.
Digging for peace?
Photographer: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
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After a few days of hopeful cease-fire for the Eid holiday -- and remarkable images of Taliban and government security forces embracing -- Afghanistan seems headed back to the insurgency that has plagued it for 15 years.
America’s longest war grinds on with little hope, with neither side able achieve a lasting victory. What could break the deadlock? Where should the U.S. focus its efforts to find a path to a negotiated ending to a violent civil war, such as we saw in the Balkans in the 1990s and in Colombia this decade?