India offered $1 billion in economic aid to Afghanistan, the latest sign of tightening ties between the two countries that is likely to raise concerns in neighboring Pakistan. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
India has lined up several big-ticket defense projects for discussion between its prime minister, Narendra Modi, and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit meeting in Goa next month, according to a Ministry of Defence (MoD) official. – Defense News
The United States undermined its own efforts to rebuild Afghanistan by injecting billions of dollars into a corrupt system while being too slow to realize the magnitude of the issue, according to an inspector general report released Wednesday. – The Hill
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has sharply criticized new authorities giving the U.S. military greater freedom to fight Taliban insurgents, saying they were a further erosion of the country's sovereignty. - Reuters
A panel of Afghanistan experts writes: Although the extensive turmoil there leads some to believe that the United States is incapable of playing a constructive role in stabilizing and transforming the region’s politics and security situation, we cannot escape this conflict. To succeed, we need, above all, allies in the region with whom we can partner militarily and politically. Our strategies and policies going forward should include ensuring the success of this American-Afghan partnership. – The National Interest