Mershon and Institute for Public Humanities Faculty Panel

Afghanistan: The Choices

Monday, November 9, 2009
5 p.m.
Saxbe Auditorium
Moritz College of Law
55 W. 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210

Should we bring our troops home, increase their number, stay the course, alter our strategy? Afghanistan: The Choices is a discussion of the way forward for the United States in Afghanistan, with a panel of leading Ohio State experts (Richard Herrmann, Peter Mansoor, John Mueller, and Alam Payind), moderated by Fred Andrle.

Participants
Fred Andrle, Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities; former WOSU Open Line radio talk show host
Richard Herrmann, Social and Behavioral Distinguished Professor of Political Science
Peter Mansoor, Gen. Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair in Military History
John Mueller, Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies
Alam Payind, Director, Middle East Studies Center

Should we alter our strategy, stay the course, bring our troops home, increase their number? Afghanistan: The Choices is an interdisciplinary discussion of the way forward for the United States in Afghanistan, with a panel of leading Ohio State experts (Richard Herrmann, Peter Mansoor, John Mueller, and Alam Payind), moderated by Fred Andrle.

In August 2009, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, submitted a report on the conflict in Afghanistan to be reviewed by President Barack Obama and his top national security advisers. In his report, Gen. McChrystal gave a grim assessment of the conflict in Afghanistan and later requested 40,000 more troops be sent to fight the Taliban-led insurgency, bringing the total number of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan to 108,000.

The possibility that more troops will be needed to ensure success in Afghanistan has presented the Obama administration with a number of challenges and new considerations in dealing with the conflict Obama has called the central front on the war on terrorism. In addition to facing pressure from both conservatives and members of his own political party, Obama is also facing new questions over the credibility of the Afghan government compounded with mounting American and NATO casualties.

Afghanistan: The Choices will explore the future of the United States involvement in Afghanistan through an interdisciplinary discussion of strategies for success in Afghanistan. The panelists will discuss and answer questions relating to the application of a more comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy, implications of the U.S. presence on the Taliban insurgency, the level of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and the national security interest of the United States in Afghanistan.

This event is co-sponsored by the Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities and the Mershon Center for International Security Studies.