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Welcome to #AFGPanel! Since our last panel, we’ve seen the #Taliban engage in & then withdraw from direct talks on prisoner exchanges w/ #Afghanistan’s govt; the govt then began unilateral releases of prisoners in the past couple of days. 1/n
In the meantime, Afghan leaders @ashrafghani & @DrabdullahCE still haven’t been able to form an inclusive govt, the #Taliban continues to conduct attacks & the threat of a massive US aid reduction still hangs over the country. #AFGPanel 2/n
And on top of all that, the #COVID19 virus is continuing to spread globally and in #Afghanistan specifically there is concern about large numbers of Afghans returning from the heavily-hit #Iran (especially in Herat). #AFGPanel 3/n
For the next hour, I have the distinct honor of hosting a discussion on these issues with some amazing panelists. We’ll discuss #Afghanistan peace talks, #Taliban cohesion, & the impact of #COVID19, along w/answering your Qs. #AFGPanel 4/n
Our panelists, in order of tweeting appearance, are: @BRRubin of the Center on International Cooperation @nyuniversity, who published a great paper on #COVID19 & #Afghanistan recently in @ForeignPolicy. #AFGPanel 5/n https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/26/afghanistan-aid-taliban-ailing-america-must-not-abandon/
. @ethrelkeld, Senior Fellow & Deputy Director, South Asia Program @stimsoncenter, who recently published a very helpful comparison of the US/ #Taliban & US/ #Afghanistan agreements in @lawfareblog. #AFGPanel 6/n https://www.lawfareblog.com/reading-between-lines-afghan-agreements
& Andrew Watkins ( @and_huh_what), Senior Analyst on #Afghanistan for @CrisisGroup, who just published a really insightful report on #Taliban cohesion & implications for peace talks via @USIP. #AFGPanel 7/n https://www.usip.org/publications/2020/03/taliban-fragmentation-fact-fiction-and-future
Before I turn it over to the panelists, here’s how we’ll be doing the discussion: each panelist will begin with an opening tweet thread—I’ll link to those in this thread. After their opening remarks, I’ll moderate a Q&A. #AFGPanel 8/n
PLEASE DM ME YOUR QUESTIONS so I can pose them to the panel in an ordered way. If you reply directly in this or the panelists’ threads, we may not respond. Also, please be civil & respectful in your Qs/comments. #AFGPanel 9/n
