A Peace Deal For Afghanistan: Views of the Key Parties
A Peace Deal For Afghanistan: Views of the Key Parties
Speaker: Walsh, J. (United States Institute for Peace [USIP])
Date: 12 July 2018
Speaker Session Preview
SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Mr. Johnny Walsh (United States Institute of Peace [USIP]) as a part of its SMA CENTCOM (Afghanistan) Speaker Series. Mr. Walsh discussed what key issues would be covered if the involved parties in Afghanistan were to work towards drafting an agreement. He stated that five fronts would need to be addressed: 1) constitutional review, 2) the distribution of political power, 3) the fate of Taliban fighters and detainees, 4) local security and how it can be sustained in areas in which the Taliban is strong, and 5) the role of international forces in Afghanistan. He then presented his preliminary findings after conducting interviews with Afghan leaders, or “bond respondents,” on each of these topics, along with USIP’s research findings, which outline Taliban fighters’ and commanders’ views on the same topics.
To access an audio file of the speaker session, please contact Ms. Nicole Omundson (nomundson@nsiteam.com).
Johnny Walsh
Johnny Walsh is a Senior Expert on Afghanistan, focusing on the Afghan peace process, at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Mr. Walsh previously spent 10 years at the State Department, most recently as lead advisor on the Afghan peace process in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. From 2014-16, he was the senior policy advisor for South Asia, the Middle East, and counterterrorism at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. From 2010-14, he worked on Afghanistan and Pakistan in various capacities at State, including an assignment in Kandahar at the height of the U.S. troop surge. Mr. Walsh has extensive additional experience working on Iraq (including a year at U.S. Embassy Baghdad), Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula, and North Africa. He holds a Masters in Middle Eastern Studies and a Bachelors in International History, both from Harvard University. He is also an accomplished musician who composed an opera entitled Tear a Root From the Earth, which uses Afghan and American folk music to chronicle the two countries’ history together.
https://www.usip.org/people/johnny-walsh
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