President Joe Biden’s decision to stick to the path set by President Trump’s administration, regarding the drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan has been widely criticized. The decision came but should not have come as a surprise to many allies and partners. The foundation for the ignominious withdrawal – the unsuccessful transformation of the Afghan military (and broader society supporting it) – were laid already during the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. As part of a broader research project, FIIA’s Visiting Research Fellow Eoin McNamara will discuss this in his CUSPP Research Series talk “George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Afghanistan: The Risk Society and Faulty Stabilization Policy.”