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The Wilson Center Hosts Global Experts Offering “Hindsight Up Front” on the Future of Afghanistan

WASHINGTON – Today the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum hosted a high-level discussion on the implications of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan featuring Wilson Center President and CEO Ambassador Mark Green, former CIA Director and Commander of U.S. and ISAF Forces in Afghanistan General David Petraeus (ret.), and former Chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) Sir John Scarlett. The discussion was the premier event of the new Wilson Center initiative, “Hindsight Up Front: Lessons & Implications of Withdrawing from Afghanistan.

Ambassador Green said “I am delighted to welcome such an eminent and experienced group, each of whom have been a critical player in the history of U.S. and allied engagements in Afghanistan over the past two decades.” The discussion covers several critical issues related to the implications of the ongoing withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, including:

•           Potential security risks, especially the increased threat of terrorism, from a post-withdrawal Afghanistan.

•           How U.S. policy should focus on maintaining support for Afghanistan post-withdrawal.

•           European reactions to the withdrawal.

•           Perceptions of the sustainability and reliability of U.S. security commitments.

“Hindsight Up Front” builds upon over 20 years of independent, non-partisan research and events on Afghanistan conducted by the Wilson Center. Additional events will follow examining how the region – China, Russia, Pakistan, India, and Iran – are likely to view and respond to the withdrawal, exploring the implications of withdrawal for human rights and civil society in Afghanistan, and assessing the future of counter-terrorism and related security issues for the United States. Also featured will be a series of interviews with veterans, voices from Afghanistan’s civil society, prominent scholars, senior officials and Members of Congress.

The initiative is run by Center’s Asia Program, featuring Michael Kugelman, Senior Associate for South Asia and a leading specialist on Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan.

 

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Asia Program

The Asia Program promotes policy debate and intellectual discussions on U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific as well as political, economic, security, and social issues relating to the world’s most populous and economically dynamic region.   Read more