August 30th will mark the 3-year anniversary of the final day of the controversial US withdrawal from Afghanistan, an event that marked the end of a nearly twenty-year conflict. The rapid collapse of the Afghan government in the absence of American support and the resulting takeover by the Taliban led to a massive humanitarian crisis and called into question the utility of decades of American occupation. The collapse led to a surge in refugees, a rollback of women’s rights, and a strengthened position for Islamic extremist groups. The region remains unstable, and many American concerns, whether security, economic, or humanitarian in nature, remain in flux. Can the United States negotiate with a group it has viewed as an illegitimate terrorist organization to accomplish these priorities? In what ways can this be most effective? Does engagement with the Taliban set an unwanted precedent for other non-state groups vying for international recognition?
Join us for a conversation with Carter Malkasian, Chair of the Defense Analysis Department at the Naval Postgraduate School, and Masuda Sultan, an Afghan American women’s rights activist and the CEO of Symbio Investment.
