Event on-site registration starts at 6:30 pm and the event starts at 7:00 pm.

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About the Event

With the 20^th Anniversary of 9/11 approaching, the US has made the difficult decision to withdraw combat forces from Afghanistan. Our nation’s longest war has taken the lives of over 2,300 US soldiers and over 20,000 have been wounded, many of them gravely.

Over 60,000 Afghan soldiers and police have died in the efforts to bring security and stability to the nation. At least 47,000 Afghan civilians have been killed and many more injured; and millions have been displaced by the fighting. Over 400 aid workers, 70 journalists and 1,100 non-US NATO soldiers have also been killed. The total of all costs for the US is estimated to be well over $2 Trillion dollars.

Along with the massive toll in human lives and resources, and despite the many flaws of the Afghan government, progress has been made in many areas. In the dark days of the Taliban before the US invasion, girls were banned from schools, women’s rights were largely non-existent and even minor alleged infractions could lead to public executions. 

Now approximately 10 millions children are enrolled in school, of which over 4 million are girls. Women have held high positions within the government and about 30% of the members of the lower house of parliament are women. Both infant mortality and maternal mortality rates have been reduced by over 50%; and life expectancy for Afghans has increased from 56 to 64 years.

With the withdrawal of US combat forces, what is the outlook for Afghanistan, as the Taliban continues to make significant territorial gains and Afghan forces will be forced to fight without direct US support? What will happen to the gains pmade in education, women’s rights, health care and infrastructure? If the Taliban take back most or all of Afghanistan, how much of a threat is posed again by Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan who want to attack the US again?

Join the Council, as we host two unique experts with years of experience in Afghanistan. Rt. Colonel Christopher Kolenda was the first American to have lead combat forces in battle against the Taliban, and then to have engaged them in high-level diplomacy as an official US representative during early exploratory talks. Belquis Ahmadi was a head nurse & administrator in Kabul from during the time of the Soviet withdrawal and through the rise of the Taliban. Since 2001, she has spent years on the ground in Afghanistan leading efforts by USAID, the Red Cross and other organizations to strengthen women’s rights, civil society, the rule of law and democracy.

About the Speakers

Rt. Colonel Christopher D. Kolenda

Retired U.S. Army Colonel Christopher Kolenda served as the Senior Advisor on Afghanistan and Pakistan to Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy, and three 4-Star Generals in Afghanistan. He was decorated with the Department of Defense’s highest civilian award for his work on strategy. 

In 2007-08, Kolenda commanded an 800-solider task force in Kunar and Nuristan provinces where he pioneered an innovative approach to counterinsurgency in one of the most violent areas of the country. His unit is the only one in the history of the war to have motivated a large insurgent group to stop fighting and join the government.

In 2009, Kolenda was hand-selected by the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy to develop a new U.S. strategy for the conflict and was then ordered back to Afghanistan where he drafted the groundbreaking McChrystal assessment, counterinsurgency guidance and military strategy. His advice has been adopted by three Secretaries of Defense and the President of the United States.

Kolenda was selected to be the Secretary of Defense’s representative in exploratory talks with the Taliban from 2010-2013. He is the only American to have fought the Taliban in combat and engaged them in high-level diplomacy.

Kolenda is a graduate the United States Military Academy and holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from King’s College, London; his dissertation is a critical analysis of American strategic leadership in post-9/11wars. A highly sought-after speaker and writer, Kolenda is the editor and coauthor of Leadership: The Warrior’s Art, which has appeared on the professional reading lists of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and many professional schools. His new book, The Counterinsurgency Challenge, maps the journey of a leader in a difficult and dangerous conflict.

Kolenda is the Founder of the Strategic Leaders Academy, which helps nonprofits and small businesses maximize their impact by developing their Leadership, Culture and Strategy.

Belquis Ahmadi, Senior Program Officer, US Institute of Peace

Belquis Ahmadi

Belquis Ahmadi has over 20 years of experience working in Afghanistan on issues related to gender, human rights, civil society development, rule of law, governance and democracy.  Ahmadi’s extensive experience includes senior management positions under large USAID programs in Afghanistan, evaluation of USAID gender and democracy and governance programming, and analysis and design of gender and human rights programming, and training and mentoring Afghan civil society and government candidates.  She has also published extensively on democracy, governance and women’s rights in Afghanistan.

From November 2010 to March 2014, Ahmadi worked on the USAID-funded Regional Afghan Municipalities Program for Urban Populations Regional Command East (RAMP UP), implemented in 14 provinces.  In this role, Ahmadi managed the technical work of the program to ensure high quality results and deliverables.  In addition, she developed core skills training modules to integrate and mainstream gender in all aspects of governance, service delivery, and leadership to over 200 municipal officials in fourteen provinces.

From 2006 to 2009, Ahmadi served as senior human rights advisor in Afghanistan.  In this role, she provided leadership and management oversight of resources, including budget, planning, and program monitoring; designed and implemented activities promoting women’s rights through the use of religious arguments, providing analysis of the Shiite Personal Status Law, as well as providing advice and guidance in drafting of the Law on Elimination of Violence Against Women; and oversaw the preparation of training materials for programs.

From 2000 to 2004, Ahmadi served as program coordinator for Global Rights Partners for Justice in Washington D.C., managing their Afghanistan program.  From 1987 to 1999, Ahmadi worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross, CARE International, and the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR) in Afghanistan. Ahmadi earned her LLM in International Human Rights Law from Georgetown University Law Center and her LLB of Law from Kabul University.