Please join like-minded “global thinkers” for a monthly discussion on the major political/economic issues that our world is currently experiencing. Due to the Delta-Variant, this will be an online zoom discussion. Hopefully, in the future, we will be able to return to an in-person discussion at the Shoal Creek Saloon. The topic will be Afghanistan.
Over the course of the last month, we have seen the immense changes that have occurred in Afghanistan. To say that the withdrawal was not well managed would be an understatement. However, there are a variety of complex issues that arise from this. Can the Taliban even be trusted? What role do countries such as Iran, Russia, China, Pakistan, and even India have in filling in the vacuum our departure has created? How has this impacted the credibility of the United States? The President of France has asked the question: Can the U.S. be trusted? What about our ongoing commitments elsewhere in the world – from the Middle East to Asia? Finally, there are the allies and comrades that we left behind. What is their future?
From the state department perspective, some have suggested that the lack of tours of duty sufficient to master the problems and the confusion of policy and implementation are both ongoing issues, and not just for Afghanistan. For a more historical perspective, others have cited an “imperial aversion to instability,” from the British in 19th century Sudan, to our own years in Vietnam. And now perhaps Afghanistan?
How will our Afghanistan experience impact our actions and foreign policy decisions in the future?
Please join us for what will be a very lively discussion.
