Afghanistan War Commission Appoints Research Director
September 20, 2023
The bipartisan leadership of the Afghanistan War Commission, Co-Chairs Shamila N. Chaudhary and Dr. Colin F. Jackson, today announced the appointment of Dr. Jonathan Schroden as Research Director.
The Commission was established by the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to conduct a comprehensive review of key strategic, diplomatic, and operational decisions related to the war in Afghanistan from June 2001 to August 2021 in order to craft “lessons learned and recommendations for the way forward that will inform future decisions by Congress and policymakers throughout the United States Government.”
“Dr. Schroden has the strong combination of policy research, field experience, and two decades of Afghanistan analysis necessary to lead a rigorous study of U.S. engagement in Afghanistan. He knows how to work with the different constituencies of the U.S. government, including the policy, military and intelligence communities” said Commission Co-Chair Shamila N. Chaudhary.
Commission Co-Chair Dr. Colin F. Jackson said, “Dr. Schroden brings an incredible depth and breadth of experience on Afghanistan and is a deeply respected professional in assessments. We look forward to him bringing his objective, inquisitive approach to the Commission.”
Dr. Schroden served as strategic advisor to U.S. Central Command, the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and deployed or traveled to the country 13 times since 2008. Most recently, Dr. Schroden worked as the Director of the Countering Threats and Challenges Program and the Special Operations Program at the Center for Naval Analyses, where his work has supported U.S. government efforts to better understand and counter state and non-state threats and challenges. His portfolio includes work on counterterrorism, security cooperation, irregular, proxy, and information warfare, as well as the challenges facing special operations forces today and in the future. Dr. Schroden is an adjunct professor at the George Washington University, where he lectures on U.S. Special Operations. He previously served as a senior advisor to the U.S. Institute of Peace's Afghanistan Study Group and as an adjunct scholar with the U.S. Military Academy's Modern War Institute. Dr. Schroden holds PhD and MS degrees from Cornell University.
Dr. Schroden will join the Commission on October 2, 2023.
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 Ashley (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.
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