NEWS & EVENTS

On Wednesday, September 18, 2019, the Edwin O. Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies hosted Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne, Ambassador James Cunningham, Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann, Laura Miller, the Director of Asia at International Crisis Group and Rohullah Osmani, founder of Resilient States and Visiting Scholar at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies | SAIS with Vice Dean Kent Calder as the moderator for a discussion on U.S. engagement on security, political stability and economic growth in Afghanistan.

Prompted by Dr. Calder, Ambassador Neumann opened up the panel by noting the importance of coinciding timelines of U.S.-Afghanistan peace negotiations and the 2019 Afghani election. Ms. Laura Miller stressed the importance of clarifying the U.S. stance and the necessity of settling U.S. and Taliban deal before negotiating with Afghanistan. Ambassador Cunningham advised that the withdrawal of U.S. troops was unrealistic in terms of both bolstering security efforts and strategy in regards to Pakistan’s role in Taliban functions. Ambassador Wayne expanded on Pakistan’s presence and introduced Chinese presence to the discussion and its implications for regional peace.

Mr. Rohullah Osmani explained the centrality of both donor commitments and private growth and their reliance on a peaceful international system. The diverse array of knowledge from the panelists provided for a nuanced discussion of the complexities of external engagement in Afghanistan’s future.