Preventing Afghanistan from becoming the ground for new terror attacks against the US and its allies was the major justification for the intervention in 2001.

During almost 20 years of international presence, the US, and its closest allies suffered no terror attacks planned or executed from Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s commitment to prevent new terror attacks from Afghan soil was key in the February 2020 Agreement between them and the US. Yet, as President Joe Biden made clear in his speech the day after the Taliban’s entry into Kabul last August, terror networks have ‘metastasized’ and now constitute an element in an ever-larger share of the worlds’ armed conflicts. Against this background, how are we do judge the intervention in Afghanistan, which signalled the onset of the War on Terror?

Chair: Kristian Berg Harpviken

Panellists

Anne Likuski
Nagieb Khaja
Andrew Watkins