“When the U.S. announced a total withdrawal, that sent a signal to Afghan soldiers and police that the end was near, and converted chronically poor motivation into acute collapse as nobody wanted to be the last man standing after the others gave up,” says Stephen Biddle.

The war in Afghanistan was basically an afterthought in U.S. politics, Stephen Biddle recently observed. “It’s been invisible.”

Stephen Biddle comments on Afghanistan: “Certainly since early in the Obama administration, this war has been almost invisible in American domestic politics. A catastrophe makes it front-page news.”

For decades, presidents have been concerned with a group of countries pushing up oil prices. Joe Biden is not weak on climate for sharing that concern, says Jason Bordoff.

According to Stephen Biddle, the announcement that 3,000 US troops would go to to Kabul to pull out American diplomats and embassy staff likely made Afghan morale even worse.

SIPA's Wolfram Schlenker is among scholars who found that some African nations, after years of progress on food security, have seen sharp reversals.

Nancy Pelosi may face a significant challenge in rounding up the necessary votes to pass the infrastructure bill — but don't underestimate her ability to get it done, writes Lincoln Mitchell.

Jason Bordoff does not see anything inconsistent in expressing concern over the pace at which OPEC+ is bringing oil back to the market and pursuing strong climate policy for the long-term.

"As the world seeks to chart an economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis in 2021... debt-related issues must be central to the global cooperation agenda," writes José Antonio Ocampo.