The future of Afghanistan and the role of the United States

As the people of Afghanistan grapple with their new reality under Taliban rule, what can they expect as they attempt to piece together their lives? Nearly six weeks after the shocking and devastating fall of Kabul to the Taliban regime, what are America’s options for dealing with the Taliban going forward?

On September 29, the Center for Middle East Policy and the Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors at Brookings co-hosted a panel discussion that took a multifaceted look at the questions facing the U.S. and the world in dealing with Afghanistan. The event included discussion of the Taliban’s actions since taking power, and what to expect regarding the future of human and women’s rights, economic and counterterrorism policies, as well as the role of the media in Afghanistan. The panel also explored the options for U.S. policy in Afghanistan and the implications for the Biden administration’s grand strategy. The panel featured Vanda Felbab-Brown, Brookings senior fellow and director of the Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors; Madiha Afzal, fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings; Saad Mohseni, director of the MOBY Group; and Fawzia Koofi, Afghan politician and women’s rights activist.

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