Afghan men wait in line to get their registration card on the last day of voter registration for the upcoming presidential elections outside a school in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
SPECIAL REPORT: Afghanistan Election
Read the best of Defense One's Afghanistan coverage as the nation votes this weekend for a new president and sets the course of its future. By Defense One Staff
As Afghanistan heads to the polls to elect a new president and set the course of its future, Defense One compiled a collection of the best of our coverage of the war-weary nation’s future and the fate of the U.S. mission there.
The U.S. Military’s Most Crucial Mission Yet in Afghanistan
This weekend’s presidential election in Afghanistan will help determine the fate of the U.S. mission there. By Stephanie Gaskell
After Afghan Election, Debate Over Post-2014 Troops Continues
Military and diplomatic officials worry that the gains in Afghanistan will be lost if U.S. and NATO forces pack up and leave. By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
The Future of Afghanistan Depends on Local Politics—Not Kabul
Want to know what’s in store for Afghanistan? Saturday’s presidential election only offers a partial answer. By Faiysal AliKhan
America’s longest war has become its forgotten war. If there was ever a time to pay attention to Afghanistan, it’s now. By Stephanie Gaskell
Each U.S. Troop In Afghanistan Now Costs $2.1 Million
The average U.S. troop cost will nearly double in the final year of the war. By Kevin Baron
Stunning images from the war in Afghanistan by Associated Press photographer and Pulitzer Prize winner Anja Niedringhaus.
Do U.S. Troops Really Need to Stay in Afghanistan?
A top U.S. commander says Afghan security forces can take on the Taliban. Does the U.S. need to stay for Afghanistan to succeed? By Stephanie Gaskell
Poll: 49 Percent of Americans Think Afghan War Was a Mistake
It's a significant change since 2002, when 93 percent of Americans supported the war in Afghanistan. By Dustin Volz
Pentagon Wants to Keep Controversial War Budget Beyond Afghanistan
The war in Afghanistan is winding down, but the Pentagon hopes its war budget goes on. By Stephanie Gaskell
Obama Needs to Explain Why We're Breaking Up with Afghanistan
President Obama has switched from a message of 'we have to win' to 'we have to exit,' with little conversation in between. By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Forget the Troops, Can the Afghan Government Lead?
Sure, the Pentagon hypes Afghan forces taking the security lead, but there’s a “gigantic truth that we keep missing.” By Stephanie Gaskell
Will Corruption Force U.S. Troops to Abandon Afghanistan?
There’s growing concern that the number of U.S. and NATO troops that remain past 2014 might be too small to oversee billions of aid money to Afghanistan. By Stephanie Gaskell
Just 75 Al Qaeda, Room for the Taliban and Organized Crime. Is This How It Ends in Afghanistan?
The enemy in Afghanistan is “a complex mosaic” and "may continue this fight for many, many years.” By Stephanie Gaskell