“What lessons should the United States learn from its debacle in Afghanistan?”

Moderated by David Borris of Chicago Area Peace Action, these speakers give their individual responses:

Fahima Gaheez grew up in Afghanistan and from an early age was involved with the women’s rights movement. After immigrating to the U.S she founded the Afghan Women’s Fund and in 2011 it was incorporated as a charity. She often travels to Afghanistan to oversee the work of the foundation.

Valentine M. Moghadam is Professor of International Affairs and Sociology. She is the author of Modernizing Women: Gender and Social Change in the Middle East. A native of Tehran, Iran, she is a member of MAPA’s board of directors and of its Middle East Working Group.

Erik Edstrom graduated from West Point in 2007. He was then deployed to Afghanistan, where he served as an infantry platoon leader. In his book, Un-American: A Soldier’s Reckoning of our Longest War, he explains how blind support for war exacerbates the problems it’s intended to resolve.