Emerging Themes Focus of Afghanistan War Commission’s Second Report to Congress

Today the Afghanistan War Commission submitted its second interim report to Congress, outlining several themes emerging from its independent research into the 20-year war.

To date, the Commission has secured tens of thousands of pages of records; completed more than 160 on-the-record interviews; convened three public hearings; held numerous roundtables with veterans, Afghans, and others; collected hundreds of written submissions via its on-line veterans and civilian portals; and traveled on several fact-finding missions in the United States and overseas.

The report outlines twelve themes emerging from this research which the Commission will study further over the next year to inform its final conclusions and recommendations.  These emerging themes, described in full in the report, include:

1. One Purpose, Multiple Objectives, and Myriad Ways
2. Two Cojoined Wars: The War inside Afghanistan and the Counterterrorism Campaign Beyond
3. Strategic Drift: Expanding and Contracting Resources and Ambitions
4. Interagency Incoherence and Competition
5. Relations with the Afghan Government and Elites
6. Top-down Strategy and Ground-level Realities
7. Fighting while Talking: Tensions between Military Operations and Political Settlement
8. State-building, Dependency, and Corruption
9. Testing Alliances: NATO and Coalition Cohesion
10. Pakistan’s Pivotal Role: Leverage and Constraints
11. Managing Time and Expectations: The Exit Paradox
12. The Evolution and Durability of U.S. Strategic Aims in Afghanistan

The Commission’s second interim report also outlines the analytic framework for its final report; summarizes findings from its public hearings; and explains how it is integrating Afghan perspectives and considering international and allied input.  It also charts the Commission’s year-three goals, including its push to close research gaps in interviews, government access, and analysis, and its a focus on finishing and delivering its final report to Congress in August 2026.

The Afghanistan War Commission is an independent legislative commission established by Congress in the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, Sec. 1094).  For detailed information, visit www.afghanistanwarcommission.senate.gov.

The following 16 commissioners were appointed by Congressional leaders on a bipartisan basis: