President Biden says that he is winding down the U.S. role in Afghanistan and that all the troops will be home from America’s longest war by Sept. 11. It’s time for a reckoning. What did the war do to the people of Afghanistan? What was its impact on Americans—soldiers, contractors, and those at home? Can we possibly learn anything from this war?
Join us for a conversation with Fahima Gaheez and Matthew Hoh to discuss these issues. Following their comments, there will be an opportunity for questions. Don’t miss a very interesting and important conversation: Wednesday June 30, at 7:30 pm. Click here to register.
About the Speakers:
Fahima Gaheez grew up in Afghanistan and from an early age was involved with the women’s rights movement there. After immigrating to the U.S., she continued her work for the people of Afghanistan from afar. In 2001, she founded the Afghan Women’s Fund in collaboration with another group, and in 2011 it was incorporated as an independent charity. Fahima continues today as its president, raising money to support schools for girls, cooperatives for women, clinics in rural areas, and more. She has addressed the United Nations, has traveled widely to speak at university-based conferences, and has appeared on many national and international television and radio stations, including BBC and NPR. She has been featured in various publications, including the Washington Post. Many members of her family still live in Afghanistan, and she travels there often to oversee the work of the foundation.
Matthew Hoh is a retired military officer and U.S. foreign policy strategist. In 2009 he resigned a diplomatic post in protest at Afghan War policy including large U.S. troop deployments.Hoh is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and is the former director of the Afghanistan Study Group, a network of foreign and public policy experts and professionals advocating for a change in US strategy in Afghanistan.
Prior to his State Department assignment in Afghanistan, Hoh served in Iraq; first from 2004 to 2005 in Salah ad-Din Province with a State Department reconstruction and governance team, and then from 2006 to 2007 in Anbar Province as a Marine Corps company commander. When not deployed, Hoh worked on Afghanistan and Iraq policy and operations issues at the Pentagon and State Department from 2002 to 2008.Hoh’s writings have appeared in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Defense News, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. He has won the Ridenhour Truth-Telling Prize.
Sponsor: Maryland Peace Action. Cosponsors: Baltimore Yearly Meeting Peace & Social Concerns Committee; Massachusetts Peace Action; PeaceAction Maine
