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How We Missed the Story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of Afghanistan

Date: Thursday, January 31, 2008 / Time: 4:30am - 6:30am 

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Afghanistan in the 1980s and 1990s was a hotbed of possible threats, yet there was no strategic U.S. foreign policy to end the danger posed by Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. The United States, the United Nations, and the Western media failed to recognize the complexity and severity of the situation brewing in Afghanistan and essentially missed the leadup to 9-11. Drawing on his newly published USIP book, How We Missed the Story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of Afghanistan, author Roy Gutman and panelists will discuss the U.S. policy missteps and media lapses prior to 9-11.

The book will be available for purchase at the event.

Speakers

  • Roy Gutman
    Author of How We Missed the Story: Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and the Hijacking of Afghanistan; foreign editor at The McClatchy Company, Washington bureau; and award-winning journalist.
  • Bruce Riedel
    Senior Fellow of foreign policy at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution; former CIA officer; and senior advisor to three U.S. presidents.
  • Tom Gjelten
    Correspondent, National Public Radio
  • Richard Smyth
    U.S. Army War College
  • J Alexander Thier
    Senior Rule of Law Advisor, U.S. Institute of Peace

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