October 2nd, 2009 by Daniel

The House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia held a hearing Thursday on the implications for U.S. policy of the recent elections in Afghanistan. The five witnesses were Glenn Cowan, Co-Founder and Principal of Democracy International, Inc., Alexander Thier, Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the United States Institute of Peace, Peter Manikas, Senior Associate & Regional Director for the Asia Programs of the National Democratic Institute, Dr. Christine Fair, Assistant Professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and The Honorable Lorne Craner, President of the International Republican Institute.

The discussion centered on whether increased troop commitments could improve the credibility of elections, and whether the U.S. mission should include counter-insurgency and nation-building. POMED’s notes from the hearing can be found here. 

Posted in Afghanistan, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Elections, Legislation, US foreign policy, US politics |