Afghanistan Today:

Drugs, Detention, and Counterinsurgency

Hosted by The Center on Law and Security

at NYU School of Law, co-sponsored by

The New America Foundation

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY AMBASSADOR RICHARD C. HOLBROOKE

As the U.S. engages in a simmering war as well as in continued attempts at building infrastructure, the conference will consider a wide-ranging set of questions in order to clarify policy choices regarding both military and civilian investment in the country. What is the current state of the Taliban? What might the reversion of Afghanistan into failed-state status mean? How prevalent – and how effective – has counterinsurgency been in the country? What are the possibilities for increasing the size of the Afghan army and for embedding U.S. advisors and troops? What role does NATO play? What are the realistic scenarios for stemming the drug trade, and for mounting reconstruction?  As a result, the day promises to provide a comprehensive picture of the challenges that face America’s foreign policy establishment as one administration transitions power to the next.

Event Details

*This event is free and open to the public*

Date: October 17, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
Location: Lipton Hall, 108 W. 3rd Street

Featuring speakers: Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, Steve Coll, Peter Bergen, Barnett Rubin, Scott Horton, Steve Simon, David Kilcullen, Joanne Mariner, Imtiaz Ali, Lt. Gen., David Barno, Shuja Nawaz, Lawrence Wright, Elizabeth Rubin, Nir Rosen, Sean Langan, Doug Wankel, Andrew Wilder, Stephen Holmes, Karen Greenberg, Ambassador Omar Samad, and others.

9:00 a.m.                                 

Introductory Remarks, Karen J. Greenberg

9:15-9:45 a.m.                          

KEYNOTE SPEAKER, Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke

 

10:00 – 11:15 a.m.                   

TODAY’S AFGHANISTAN: AN OVERVIEW

Steve Simon

Peter Bergen

Barney Rubin

Imtiaz Ali

Hekmat Karzai          

 

11:15-12:30 p.m.                      

COUNTERINSURGENCY, NATO, AND THE MILITARY

Scott Horton

Lt. Gen. David Barno

Dr. David Kilcullen

Steve Coll

Shuja Nawaz

12:30-1:30 p.m.            

Lunch Break

 

 

1:30-2:00 p.m.                          

CHALLENGES AHEAD: THE INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Ambassador Omar Samad

 

 

2:00-3:15 p.m.              

STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY

Stephen Holmes         

Joanne Mariner

Clare Lockhart

Andrew Wilder

             

3:15-4:30 p.m.                          

THE TALIBAN, DRUGS, AND U.S. POLICY

Lawrence Wright

Elizabeth Rubin

Nir Rosen

Sean Langan

Doug Wankel

FULL ARCHIVE