In Historic Hearing, Afghanistan War Commission Examines Past to Prepare for Future
July 19, 2024
At today’s first public hearing of the Afghanistan War Commission (AWC), commissioners questioned expert witnesses on lessons learned from the early years of the 20-year U.S. war in Afghanistan, as well as from past forensic reviews, such as the 9/11 Commission’s report on the 2001 terrorist attacks.
“Today, we make history. Never before has the United States commissioned such a wide-ranging and independent legislative assessment of its own decision-making in the aftermath of a conflict,” said AWC co-chair Shamila Chaudhary in her opening statement.
“We seek to do something simple but very hard – to extract foresight from hindsight. If we do our job well, then we can draw meaning from the sacrifices of those who served and give insight and tools to those who may follow us,” said AWC co-chair Dr. Colin Jackson.
A capacity public audience joined commissioners, witnesses, and guests for the four-hour hearing, which was hosted at the Washington Office of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and broadcast via livestream and C-SPAN. Video of the hearing, as well as prepared statements of the co-chairs and witnesses, are available at https://www.afghanistanwarcommission.org/events.
In the hearing’s first panel, “Past, Present, Future: Why Revisiting the Afghanistan War Matters,” commissioners heard testimony from the Honorable Amb. Ronald Neumann, President of the American Academy of Diplomacy; Dr. Alexis Albion; Dr. Halima Kazem, Oral Historian and Project Manager with Stanford University’s Hoover Institute; and Mr. Nader Nadery, Senior Fellow with the Wilson Center.
The second panel, “In the Beginning: Recalling the Roots and Early Days of the Afghanistan War,” featured testimony from the Honorable Dr. Michael Vickers, former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence; and Dr. Noah Coburn, Provost and Vice President for Academics at the Evergreen State College.
Commissioners commented on the impetus and importance of the AWC’s inaugural hearing and ongoing work.
“I look forward to doing my part to help bring some context, clarity, and closure to our fellow Americans both those who served and those who supported those who served,” said AWC Commissioner Daniel Fata.
“Our goals are to provide objective findings and recommendations that will not only prepare the nation for future decisions, but also provide a better understanding of what happened in Afghanistan for the American public and all who served and sacrificed during the war,” remarked AWC Commissioner Dr. Seth Jones.
“Transparency with the American public is paramount as we study America’s twenty years in Afghanistan. It is important we engage and provide the opportunity for dialogue with our citizens throughout the commission’s three-year journey,” said Commissioner LTG (ret.) Robert Ashley.
“Today’s hearing underscores our commitment to take a hard look at the entire 20-year Afghanistan War, and to do so in an objective, nonpartisan, and candid way. The American people, and especially our veterans, deserve nothing less,” remarked AWC Commissioner Jeremy Bash.
“Leadership of the AWC has already assembled a talented staff, built relationships with key agencies and decision-makers, and laid out a research plan. The first public hearing is an essential next step in raising public awareness of the importance of the Commission's role and further building credibility with those from whom we will be gathering information about key decisions during the war and their implementation,” said AWC Commissioner Gov. Bob Taft.
Background
The Afghanistan War Commission is an independent legislative commission established by Congress in the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, Sec. 1094). The following 16 commissioners were appointed by Congressional leaders on a bipartisan basis:
Shamila N. Chaudhary, Co-Chair
Dr. Colin F. Jackson, Co-Chair
Michael Allen
LTG (ret.) Robert Ashley
Jeremy Bash
Amb. Ryan Crocker
Jeffrey Dressler
Daniel Fata
Dr. Anand Gopal
Luke Hartig
Dr. Seth Jones
Laurel Miller
LTC (ret.) Chris Molino
Dr. Dipali Mukhopadhyay
Gov. Bob Taft
Dr. Andrew Wilder
Biographies of the commissioners may be found here.
Contact Us
Join the Commission mailing list here to receive updates and other important news. and follow us on X (Twitter) @AfghanWarComm and on LinkedIn.
Media queries and meeting requests should be directed to Matt Gobush, Strategic Communications Advisor, at matthew_gobush@awc.senate.gov.