Afghanistan crisis: Commentary and Insights from Members of the Fletcher Community

Below we offer a list of articles and activities by or featuring members of the Fletcher community regarding the current situation in Afghanistan.

• Crisis in Afghanistan: Repercussions for Russia, China, and Central Asia – On Thursday, September 23, 2021, the Russia and Eurasia Program and the Initiative on Religion, Law, and Diplomacy at The Fletcher School held a virtual panel discussion about the security implications of the ongoing Afghanistan crisis for Russia, China, and Central Asia. The event was chaired by Professor Elizabeth Prodromou. Watch video on YouTube.
   
• Lima Ahmad, Fletcher alumna, and a Research Fellow at the Center for Strategic Studies, is featured in a BBC article about "Afghan women hit back at Taliban with #DoNotTouchMyClothes campaign."
   
• Andrea Walther-Puri, a Ph.D. candidate at Fletcher, writes in Just Security about Afghanistan: A Tragic Lesson of the US Military’s Flawed Approach to Capacity Building.
   
• Daniel W. Drezner, Professor at Fletcher, writes an op-ed in the Washington Post about the competency of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. 
   
• Janine Di Giovanni, Fletcher Class of 2016, writes in Foreign Policy about the tragic fate of Afghanistan's journalists and the future of press freedom under the Taliban.
   
• Alex Betley, recent graduate of the Fletcher School, writes in MinnPost on the lessons learned by the US and the militarization of US foreign policy in Afghanistan. 
   
• Monica Duffy Toft, Professor and director of the Center for Strategic Studies at Fletcher is quoted about the US operation in Afghanistan in TuftsNow, the lessons that US leaders have learned, and how the US got so enmeshed in Afghanistan in the first place.
   
• Daniel W. Drezner, Professor at Fletcher, writes for the Washington Post about what the United States can learn from the tragedy of the Fall of Afghanistan. 
   
• Daniel W. Drezner, Professor at Fletcher, writes for the Washington Post about Afghanistan.
   
• Sarah Chayes, an anti-corruption activist, author, and reporter, writes for the Boston Globe about "The Taliban seizure of Afghanistan was long — and invisible — in the making."
   
• Sarah Chayes an anti-corruption activist, author, and reporter, speaks with an NPR reporter about the Taliban as the Islamic militant group has regained control in Afghanistan.
   
• Elliot Ackerman, Fletcher Class of 2003, former Marine and intelligence officer, writes in the Atlantic on the endemic failures that led to the "Plywood Army" and how America has always had one foot out the door in Afghanistan.
   
• Rina Amiri, Fletcher alumna, former state Dept. and UN official, and currently senior fellow at NYU, quoted in the New York Times detailing stories of women who worked with the U.S. or international groups at risk in Afghanistan.
   
• Rina Amiri, Fletcher alumna, former state Dept. and UN official, and currently senior fellow at NYU writes an Open Letter to the Biden Administration in the NYU Center on International Cooperation, advocating for immediate measures to safeguard women and human rights activists and prevent the Taliban from committing mass atrocities.
   
• Current Afghan Ambassador to the United States Adela Raz, Fletcher Alumna in NewsNationNow says the withdrawal of U.S. troops has been "quick" and has "created consequences," but she believes with the help of U.S. air power, there is still hope for her country.
   
• Current Afghan Ambassador to the United States Adela Raz, Fletcher Alumna, on PBS talks about Afghanistan's critical status and the US withdrawal. 
   
• Omar Samad, Fletcher GMAP Class of 2006, former Afghan ambassador to France and Canada and former adviser to Afghanistan's chief executive interviews on MSNBC about the Taliban and their recent promises. 
   
• Omar Samad, Fletcher GMAP Class of 2006, former Afghan ambassador to France and Canada and former adviser to Afghanistan's chief executive, quoted in the Denver Gazzette about the political downfall of Afghanistan's former-President Ghani. 
   
• Omar Samad, Fletcher GMAP Class of 2006, former Afghan ambassador to France and Canada and former adviser to Afghanistan's chief executive, said in the EurasiaReview that "there are security units all over but no commander in chief at the helm after the top echelon fled the country."