The war in Afghanistan has become the longest in U.S. military history, and Iraq, with its ongoing struggle between Western-backed security forces and militant insurgents, continues to be a thorn in the side of U.S. regional security. Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, Afghanistan has become a land of warring factions and Afghan security forces now control less than 60 percent of the country’s territory according to U.S. estimates. The Taliban, in addition to numerous extremist groups and al-Qaida, oversee contested areas inhabited by more than 11 million Afghans. The humanitarian toll has also grown – 31 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces are engaged in conflict, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced, adding to regional uncertainty.

Iraq also faces internal challenges with the fight against radical extremists, the governance of Kirkuk, and the future of its Kurdish minority in question. Moreover, the quandaries of Afghanistan and Iraq have implications for the Transatlantic alliance as both the United States and NATO consider sending more troops to the beleaguered region. Join Asia Society for a conversation on Afghanistan, Iraq, and U.S. foreign policy with Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Washington’s former top-ranking envoy to Baghdad and Kabul.

Schedule

6:30 pm | Registration
7:00 pm | Program

About the Speaker

From 2007 to 2009, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad served as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Prior to that, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq (2005-2007) and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan (2003 to 2005). He also served as U.S. Special Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan (2001 to 2003). Ambassador Khalilzad sits on the boards of the National Endowment for Democracy, America Abroad Media, the RAND Corporation’s Middle East Studies Center, the American University of Iraq in Suleymania, and the American University of Afghanistan. He is also a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He maintains close ties with high-level leadership throughout the Middle East and Central Asia and is regularly called upon to provide strategic advice to numerous heads of state. He appears frequently on U.S. and foreign media outlets to share his foreign policy expertise. Ambassador Khalilzad earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the American University of Beirut, as well as a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

About the Moderator

F. Gregory Gause, III is professor and John H. Lindsey ‘ 44 Chair in international affairs at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University, as well as serving as head of School’s International Affairs Department. He was previously on the faculties of the University of Vermont and Columbia University and was Fellow for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. His research focuses on the international politics of the Middle East, particularly the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf. He has published three books, most recently The International Relations of the Persian Gulf (Cambridge University Press, 2010). His articles have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Middle East Journal, Security Studies, Journal of Democracy, Washington Quarterly, National Interest, and in other journals. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University in 1987 and his B.A. from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia in 1980.

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