Press Conference: Experts Speak on War in Afghanistan

WHAT: Press Conference and Panel Discussion

WHEN: Thursday, May 31, 2012, 2 PM EST

WHERE: B-318 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC

One week after the NATO announcement on Afghanistan, the American people are still waiting for Congress to catch up and bring about an end to war in Afghanistan.  Members of the House directed a request to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) that Lt. Col. Danny Davis be invited to testify in a relevant hearing.  Since no invitation has been forthcoming, the Members received the testimony of Lt. Col. Danny Davis at a panel discussion.

Speaker Info and Testimony

Lt. Col. Daniel Davis has served in the U.S. Army since 1985. He was twice deployed to Afghanistan, and twice to Iraq in both the recent Iraq War and the first Persian Gulf War. He is the author of two reports, one classified and one unclassified, summarizing the situation on the ground in Afghanistan after interviewing over 250 soldiers, Afghan security officials and civilians. He is currently serving as an Army officer in Washington, D.C. In the reports, he contends that some top U.S. military officials have mischaracterized the true state of affairs in Afghanistan. He was recently awarded the Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling.

Read Lt. Col. Daniel Davis's Prepared Remarks.

Malou Innocent is a Foreign Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute. She is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and her primary research interests include Middle East and Persian Gulf security issues and U.S. foreign policy toward Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China. She has appeared as a guest analyst on CNN, BBC News, Fox News Channel, Al Jazeera, Voice of America, CNBC Asia, and Reuters. Innocent has published reviews and articles on national security and international affairs in journals such as Survival, Congressional Quarterly, and Harvard International Review. She has also written for Foreign Policy, Wall Street Journal Asia, Christian Science Monitor, Armed Forces Journal, the Guardian, Huffington Post, the Washington Times, and other outlets both in the United States and overseas.

Read Malou Innocent's Prepared Remarks.

Shukria Dellawar is a fellow at the Center for International Policy and Director of the Afghanistan Study Group, a network of policy experts advocating more emphasis on the use of soft power rather than hard power. Ms. Dellawar has led three fact-finding missions (2008-11) to Afghanistan, interviewing Afghan policy makers, research organizations, members of Parliament, former Taliban Commanders, and women’s rights activists. Ms. Dellawar speaks fluent Dari, Pashto, Urdu and English.

Read Shukria Dellawar's Prepared Remarks.

Participating Members of Congress:

Rep. Barbara Lee (CA)
Rep. Walter Jones (NC)
Rep. John Duncan (TN)
Rep. Timothy V. Johnson (IL)
Rep. James McGovern (MA)
Rep. Lynn Woolsey (CA)
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX)
Rep. Janice Hahn (CA)
Rep. Peter Welch (VT)
Rep. Steve Cohen (TN)