Ten Years In Afghanistan

On Thursday, October 6, the Congressional Progressive Caucus Peace and Security Task Force hosted a panel entitled: “Ten Years On: Why the War in Afghanistan Must End Now.” The panel was a showcase of opposition to another decade of war by leading experts and Members of Congress.

FCNL is hosting testimony and other documents related to the panel. The event, organized with the help of FCNL, raised awareness of the tenth anniversary of the invasion Afghanistan. The Panel was split into two subject areas, the “Cost of War” and “Peaceful Alternatives to War.”

Cost of War Panelists:

Neta Crawford – Professor of Political Science & U.S. Foreign Policy at Boston University.

Malou Innocent – Foreign Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute

David Wildman – Executive Secretary at United Methodist Church

Peaceful Alternatives to War Panelists:

Brock McIntosh – Army National Guard Specialist and applicant for conscientious objector status.

Ria Dellawar – Afghanistan expert with extensive contacts in Afghan civil society.

Lisa Schirch – Executive Director at 3P Human Security: Partners for Peacebuilding Policy

Each panelist spoke about:

Neta Crawford is a Professor of Political Science & U.S. Foreign Policy at Boston University. Professor Crawford has done instrumental work with the Eisenhower Study Group and the website www.costsofwar.org. Professor Crawford spoke on the actual costs of war and how they have been underestimated.

See testimony here.

Malou Innocent is a respected Foreign Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute. Ms. Innocent has worked throughout the Persian Gulf and the Middle East and has written for The Christian Science Monitor, the Guardian, and the Harvard International Review. Ms. Innocent spoke on the cost-benefit analysis of imposing western notions of liberal freedoms on the people of Afghanistan.

See testimony here.

Ria Dellawar is an Afghanistan expert with extensive experience and contacts in Afghan civil society. Ms. Dellawar recently led a delegation to Afghanistan, and spoke on the panel on the centrality of the reconciliation process in forming a lasting peace.

See testimony here.

Lisa Schirch is the Executive Director at 3P Human Security. Ms. Schirch, a former Fulbright Fellow, currently works in Afghanistan supporting the peace process and dialogue between civil society and the military. She spoke on the panel on the way forward with a comprehensive peace process.

See testimony here.

Brock McIntosh is a specialist in the Army National Guard Specialist who left the armed services as a conscientious objector. Mr. McIntosh spoke on the non-violent movement both in the U.S. armed services as well as in Afghanistan where a youthful peace movement has blossomed. He recently returned from Afghanistan where he visited with Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers, a group engaged in created nonviolence in the province of Bamyan.

See testimony here.

David Wildman is the Executive Secretary for Human Rights and Racial Justice at United Methodist Church and literally wrote the book on ending the war in Afghanistan, along with his co-author Phyllis Bennis. David spoke on the hidden costs of relying on northern supply lines and why we must pick the least harmful U.S. exit strategy.

See testimony here.

Congressional Participants:

HOSTS: Congressional Progressive Caucus Peace & Security Task Force Co-Chairs
Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA)
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (CA)
Congressman Mike Honda (CA)
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA)

ATTENDING MEMBERS:
Congressman Raul Grijalva (AZ)
Congressman Keith Ellison, (MN)
Congressman John Conyers (MI)
Congressman Jim McGovern (MA)
Congressman Pete Stark (CA)

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See Rep. Jim McGovern's remarks here.