Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Events

Afghanistan Study Group Releases Final Report

Bipartisan, Congressionally Mandated Study Group Unveils Recommendations for U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan

Date: Wednesday, February 3, 2021 / Time: 2:30pm - 4:00pm EST

Center: Asia Center

Read the Event Coverage
Share This
Print the Page

Afghanistan’s 40-year conflict has entered a new and potentially final phase. A real opportunity to reach a peaceful resolution now exists, and the United States can play a key role in determining whether this opportunity is realized. A responsible and coherent set of U.S. actions could greatly increase the chances of a sustainable peace agreement. But a rash and rushed approach could further prolong this long and tragic war—with negative consequences for the region and heightened threats to the security and interests of the United States and its allies.

Over 10 months, the Afghanistan Study Group explored options for effective U.S. action in Afghanistan. The bipartisan study group, convened by USIP at the request of Congress, brought together distinguished experts and former policymakers to develop policy recommendations that consider how a peace settlement—or the failure to reach one—could affect Afghanistan’s future as well as U.S. resources and commitments in the region.

On February 3, USIP hosted the co-chairs of the Afghanistan Study Group for a discussion of the group’s findings and the report’s recommendations for how the United States can fully align our policies, practices, and messaging across diplomatic, military, and assistance efforts toward the overarching goal of achieving a durable and just peace in Afghanistan. 

Continue the conversation on Twitter with #AfghanistanStudyGroup.

Agenda

Welcome

  • The Honorable Stephen J. Hadley
    Chair, Board of Directors, U.S. Institute of Peace

Framing Remarks and Moderated Discussion

  • Senator Kelly A. Ayotte
    Co-Chair, Afghanistan Study Group 
  • General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr.
    Co-Chair, Afghanistan Study Group
  • The Honorable Nancy Lindborg
    Co-Chair, Afghanistan Study Group 
  • David Ignatius, moderator
    Columnist, The Washington Post

Related Publications

Afghanistan’s Two Years of Humanitarian Crisis Under the Taliban

Afghanistan’s Two Years of Humanitarian Crisis Under the Taliban

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

By: Dayne Curry;  Becky Roby;  Ellen Bevier;  Anastasia Moran

The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 immediately exacerbated the country’s precarious humanitarian situation, leaving millions in need of food assistance and other support. Two years later, the situation remains dire, with Afghan women and girls acutely affected by the Taliban’s draconian restrictions on their daily lives. The international community continues to struggle to find a balance between providing desperately needed aid while also pressuring the regime in Kabul to moderate its hardline policies. While Afghans need emergency assistance, the country will continue to deal with cycles of crises until its deep-seated economic challenges are addressed.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Gender;  Human Rights

Two Years of the Taliban’s ‘Gender Apartheid’ in Afghanistan

Two Years of the Taliban’s ‘Gender Apartheid’ in Afghanistan

Thursday, September 14, 2023

By: Belquis Ahmadi;  Scott Worden

Two years after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the human rights situation in the country is abysmal, with women and girls experiencing the worst of the regime’s policies. There is growing evidence that the Taliban are committing the crime against humanity of gender persecution of women and girls, an assertion Human Rights Watch made in a new report. This summer, the World Economic Forum slated Afghanistan last of the 146 countries it ranked in a study on gender gaps. The scope of the Taliban’s women’s rights restrictions is truly unprecedented.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Gender;  Human Rights

The Latest @ USIP: Documenting the Taliban’s Assault on Human Rights

The Latest @ USIP: Documenting the Taliban’s Assault on Human Rights

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

By: Richard Bennett

Despite initial promises to the contrary, the Taliban have systematically stripped human rights protections from large swaths of the Afghan population — particularly women, minorities and children. With the gains of the last two decades nearly wiped out, accountability for human rights abuses will be a major factor in the international community’s policy toward the Taliban going forward. Richard Bennett, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Afghanistan, explains why documentation is the first and most important step in upholding human rights; discusses various forms of accountability for human rights abuses; and offers ways that Afghan and international human rights advocates can contribute to this crucial work.

Type: Blog

Gender;  Human Rights

Two Years Under the Taliban: Is Afghanistan a Terrorist Safe Haven Once Again?

Two Years Under the Taliban: Is Afghanistan a Terrorist Safe Haven Once Again?

Tuesday, August 15, 2023

By: Asfandyar Mir, Ph.D.

Two years into Taliban rule, the question of whether Afghanistan would once again become a safe haven for international terrorism remains alive. Longstanding fears were affirmed a little over a year ago, when the U.S. government located al-Qaeda leader Aimen al-Zawahiri in Kabul, Afghanistan, before killing him in a drone strike. The fact that the Taliban would bring Zawahiri back to Kabul, despite repeated assurances to U.S. negotiators both before and after the Doha agreement that they had distanced themselves from al-Qaeda, significantly elevated concerns.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Violent Extremism

View All Publications