Counterinsurgency

General David Petraeus has taken over of command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan at a time when many are questioning the success of the ongoing U.S. mission. Attacks on U.S. forces this summer have reached record highs and the number of military casualties continues to rise, while corruption remains a serious problem within the Afghan government. However, Pakistan has made progress against extremists on its side of the Afghan border and General Petraeus has built on some of the reforms initiated by General Stanley McChrystal. Afghan army forces are strengthening and signs of progress are emerging even in Afghanistan’s most challenging regions.

On August 24, Foreign Policy at Brookings will host a discussion assessing the state of the U.S. mission and the future of international involvement in the military and civilian effort in Afghanistan. Vali Nasr, senior advisor to the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the State Department and Steve Coll, president of the New America Foundation and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Ghost Wars (Penguin Press, 2004) will join Brookings Visiting Fellow General Jehangir Karamat (Ret.), former Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistani Army and Brookings Senior Fellow Michael O’Hanlon, co-author of Toughing it Out in Afghanistan (Brookings Press, 2010). O’Hanlon will discuss his new article, “Staying Power,” which appears in the current edition of Foreign Affairs.

Vice President Martin Indyk, director of Foreign Policy at Brookings, will provide introductory remarks and moderate the discussion. After the program, panelists will take audience questions.

Introduction and Moderator

Martin Indyk
Vice President and Director, Foreign Policy

The Brookings Institution

Panelists

Steve Coll
President
New America Foundation

Vali Nasr

Senior Advisor to the Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan

United States Department of State

Michael O’Hanlon
Senior Fellow and Director of Research, Foreign Policy

The Brookings Institution

Gen. Jehangir Karamat (Ret.)

Visiting Fellow

The Brookings Institution

      To RSVP for this event, please call the Office of Communications at 202.797.6105 or click here.

The Mathew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies in conjunction with the U.S. Army War College will host a two-day conference on Sept. 16 and 17 entitled “Violent Armed Groups: A Global Challenge.”  This conference will explore the challenges posed by violent armed groups to security and stability in many parts of the world. While some of these challenges seem to be in areas peripheral to U.S. interests, others involve strategic areas, while yet others raise questions about the security of the global commons.

This conference seeks:

• to examine the rise of a wide variety of armed groups operating in key parts of the world, including areas of responsibility of the combatant commands;

• to identify key characteristics of these groups including their ability to mobilize support and raise funds;

• to assess the challenges posed by these groups to national security of various states, including key United States allies as well as the U.S. itself; and

• to examine the implications of these groups and their activities for U.S. strategy, doctrine, and force posture. 

To register and for hotel information, please click here, or to download an event flyer, click here.

Draft agenda