Nearly 1,000 delegates from more than 100 countries, including some 60 foreign ministers, are meeting today in Bonn, Germany, to discuss the future of Afghanistan. With both Pakistani and Taliban leaders absent, expectations are modest. The conference is a reminder that, as Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) writes, a successful transition in Afghanistan rests on continued political and economic engagement that focuses on building a legitimate and effective state, even as NATO military presence winds down. An acceptable solution also needs regional buy-in, first and foremost from recalcitrant Pakistan. Here, too, resources should be aimed toward empowering civilians and making clear that Pakistan's other choice is international isolation, not just punishing the security apparatus. As former Congresswoman Jane Harman writes, "Congress should not confuse security aid to the Pakistani military with economic assistance designed to shore up civilian political capacity."

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This weekend, a suicide bomber blew up an armored bus in the capital of Afghanistan, killing 17 people, including 13 Americans. That attack is one more tragic event in a mixed picture where violence in Afghanistan is trending. While the Pentagon sees fewer insurgent-initiated attacks, the UN notes a rise in civilian casualties. No attack should derail the essential process of transition to Afghan authority - on security but also in politics and the economy. The first of two international conferences aimed at coordinating the transition process begins this week in Istanbul, Turkey. That conference will focus on security, good governance and economic growth. Governance, specifically, is an area that needs strengthening for the handover to be successful. As a Pentagon report noted last week, the government of Afghanistan has made only "limited progress" towards being sustainable and accountable.

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This week marks the tenth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, waged in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. America has accomplished, by and large, what we set out to do. Through the exceptional efforts of our fighting men and women, as well as their civilian counterparts, we have decimated al Qaeda, including killing the man responsible for the 9/11 attacks, Osama bin Laden. Our military has grown stronger and more adaptable - at costs little-understood by the civilians they serve. Now is the time to reconsider our global objectives and the role the military plays in accomplishing them: rebalancing the tools of our national power, refocusing on the sources of our strength at home and matching our priorities with resources.

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This week insurgents grabbed headlines by staging a nearly 20-hour attack in Kabul. This incident is the latest in a string of acts of violence aimed at creating a sense of instability in the country. These attacks underscore the challenges facing transition to Afghan leadership and - as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen have said - the importance of its continuing on pace. Part of that process must be finding a political solution that can incorporate all parts of Afghan society. We see small signs of progress in the lead-up to two international conferences on Afghanistan this fall - but negotiations with the Taliban will be long, tough and characterized by a mixture of progress and setbacks along the way to an agreement.

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For the last week, targeted violence aimed at derailing the transition to Afghan control has plagued Afghanistan. In the wake of the death of Ahmed Wali Karzai, head of the provincial council in Kandahar province and brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, as well as another high-level assassination, the U.S. and the broader International Security Assistance Force should focus on the need to improve governance so that it relies on institutions, not individuals. Such a shift can assist the transition that began this week, symbolized by the promotion of Marine General John Allen to the commander of forces in Afghanistan and initial transfers of provincial control to Afghans. If the Afghan government is going to keep control of the country, the focus should shift to finding a political solution, both among the parties in Afghanistan – including the Taliban – and regionally. As NSN Senior Adviser Maj. Gen. (ret.) Paul Eaton notes, “Rebalancing American and ISAF efforts from an almost-exclusively military focus to a more balanced approach that values diplomacy and political solutions is long overdue.”

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Last week, President Obama put the Afghanistan war effort in the broader context of America’s role in the world. This vision represents widely accepted mainstream views on national security and foreign policy and has proven effective. Meanwhile, as the 2012 presidential primary season begins, conservative candidates continue to try and one-up one another on who is either the strongest isolationist or the greatest war hawk. Today’s foreign policy speech by Tim Pawlenty further demonstrates the divide. These two extremes within the conservative movement have been rejected by the public who seek a results-oriented approach, not distractions and posturing.

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This week the National Security Network was in the forefront of analyzing and framing President Obama's pledge to begin a responsible transition in Afghanistan by removing 33,000 "surge" troops by the end of 2012.

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