THE HILL: "How the AWC aims to learn from our longest conflict" - Shamila N. Chaudhary & Dr. Colin F. Jackson
August 30, 2023
The bipartisan leadership of the Afghanistan War Commission, Co-Chairs Shamila N. Chaudhary and Dr. Colin F. Jackson, discuss the importance of the Commission’s work in an Op-Ed published this morning in The Hill:
"Two years ago in August, the 20-year U.S. intervention in Afghanistan came to a sudden and devastating end. On August 23, the independent and bipartisan Afghanistan War Commission began its crucial work to conduct a comprehensive review of U.S. government decisions on Afghanistan between June 2001 to August 2021. A thorough examination of the U.S. engagement in Afghanistan serves as a critical foundation for improving future performance, avoiding mistakes and achieving U.S. goals at an acceptable cost. This is the minimum we owe to both the fallen and the living."
The publication builds on the Afghanistan War Commission's first business meeting that occurred on August 23, 2023, marking the start of its three-year mandate laid out by Congress. The session set the tone for a rigorous and nonpartisan study of the Afghanistan intervention and its implications for U.S. policy going forward.
Background
In FY 2022, a bipartisan group of members of the U.S. Congress from majority and minority leadership and various committees (Foreign Affairs; Intelligence; Armed Services) appointed the following sixteen commissioners to the Commission:
Dr. Anand Gopal
Luke Hartig
Dr. Seth Jones
Hon. Michael Lumpkin
Laurel Miller
LTC Chris Molino (ret.)
Gov. Bob Taft
Dr. Andrew Wilder
Shamila N. Chaudhary, Co-Chair
Dr. Colin F. Jackson, Co-Chair
Michael Allen
LTG Robert Ashely (ret.)
Jeremy Bash
Amb. Ryan Crocker
Jeffrey Dressler
Daniel Fata
Click here to read biographies of the Commissioners.
Click here to read the full text of Sec. 1094 of the FY22 NDAA establishing the Commission.
Contact Us
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Media queries and meeting requests should be directed to Harris Samad: awc@awc.senate.gov