Afghanistan – No Ungoverned Spaces Here
Afghanistan – No Ungoverned Spaces Here
Speaker: Liebl, V.
Date: 27 June 2018
Speaker Session Preview
SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Mr. Vern Liebl (Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning (CAOCL)) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM (Afghanistan) Speaker Series. Mr. Liebl explained that, in Afghanistan, three resources dictate power in Afghanistan: zar (gold), zan (women), and zameen (land). Family and tribal elements, he argues, are the two primary factors that affect informal governance. He also identified the key players in the “village power game” and stated that only two sets of policies can serve the interests of rural people (Islamic-based governance policies and village-based economic policies). Thus, political parties are divided into two major categories (Islamic vs. non-Islamic parties, and pro-rural economy vs. pro-urban economy parties). Mr. Liebl also reviewed the formal governance structure in Afghanistan, discussed the competing elements of Afghanistan’s formal and informal governance structures, and stressed that US policymakers keep in mind where the real governance lies in Afghanistan when making decisions.
VERNIE LIEBL, M.A., M.S.
Middle East Desk Officer
Marine Corps Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning
HYPERLINK "mailto:vliebl@prosol1.com" vliebl@prosol1.com
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Profile:
Vernie Liebl is an analyst currently sitting as the Middle East Desk Officer in the Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning (CAOCL). Mr. Liebl retired from the Marine Corps and has a background in intelligence, specifically focused on the Middle East and South Asia.
Prior to joining CAOCL, Mr. Liebl worked with the Joint Improvised Explosives Device Defeat Organization as a Cultural SME, and before that with Booz Allen Hamilton as a Strategic Islamic Narrative Analyst. He has also published extensively on topics ranging from the Caliphate to Vichy French campaigns in WW2.
Mr. Liebl has a Bachelors degree in political science from University of Oregon, a Masters degree in Islamic History from the University of Utah, and a second Masters degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College (where he graduated with “Highest Distinction” and focused on Islamic Economics).
Mr. Liebl is married to a Pushtun and have been to Afghanistan and Pakistan several times.
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