Afghanistan Update: Avoiding the U.S. 'Zero Option'

As the United States continues to debate whether it will withdraw its troops from Afghanistan entirely after 2014 — dubbed by Washington as the "zero option" — the government in Kabul continues to rely heavily on the U.S. and NATO presence. The Pentagon noted as much in a report released to the U.S. Congress on July 30. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is well aware of this reliance, and even though Kabul and Washington disagree on several matters, including customs issues and the post-2014 status of forces agreement, he understands that the onus is on him to resolve these disputes. His administration simply cannot survive the zero option.