While still on the campaign trail, President Barack Obama called the tenuous situation in Afghanistan, the “war we have to win.” While German troops have been stationed in the country as part of the ISAF mission since 2003, the conflict was only recently termed a ‘war’ by the country’s new Secretary of Defense. Many in the international military community hope that this announces a sea change in German policy toward Afghanistan. But are military means the right way to tackle the country’s seemingly intractable problems? Experts from both sides of the Atlantic will debate the Western lens through which solutions for counterterrorism, corruption, and development in Afghanistan are refracted.

Speaker:

Samina Ahmed South Asia Project Director at the International Crisis Group

Gerard Russel British diplomat, formerly UN mission to Afghanistan

Ronja Kempin German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)

Mohammad Akbar Quraishi Former Director of Assessments at the Afghan National Security Council

Annette Heuser Executive Director Bertelsmann Foundation, Washington, DC