09:00 – 10:00 CET, 12:30 – 13:30 AFT
PRIO, Philosophers Hall
Preventing Afghanistan from becoming the ground for new terror attacks against the US and its allies was the major justification for the intervention in 2001. During almost 20 years of international presence, the US, and its closest allies suffered no terror attacks planned or executed from Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s commitment to prevent new terror attacks from Afghan soil was key in the February 2020 Agreement between them and the US. Yet, as President Joe Biden made clear in his speech the day after the Taliban’s entry into Kabul last August, terror networks have ‘metastasized’ and now constitute an element in an ever-larger share of the worlds’ armed conflicts. Against this background, how are we do judge the intervention in Afghanistan, which signalled the onset of the War on Terror?
Chair: Kristian Berg Harpviken
Panellists: Anne Likuski, Nagieb Khaja and Andrew Watkins
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10:30 – 11:30 CET, 14:00 – 15:00 AFT
PRIO, Philosophers Hall
This new book, by Afghan academic Timor Shahran maps out how political networks and centres of power, engaged in patronage, corruption, and illegality. Such networks effectively constituted the Afghan state and became an integral part of the of the U.S.-led military intervention and the internationally directed state building project.
Sharan argues that politics and statehood in Afghanistan, in particular over the last two decades, including the ultimate collapse of the government in August 2021, are best understood in terms of the dynamics of internal political networks, through which warlords and patronage networks came to capture and control key sectors within the state and the economy, including mining, banking, and illicit drugs as well as elections and other political processes.
Overall, the book offers a way to explain what it was that the international community as well as the Afghan elites in power, got so wrong, and how Afghanistan came full circle with the Taliban returning to power almost two decades after it was toppled in the US-led 2001 intervention.
Chair: Torunn Wimpelmann
Panel: Timor Shahran and Andrew Watkins
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16:30 – 17:30 CET, 19:30 – 20:30 AFT
PRIO, Philosophers Hall
The Norwegian Godal Committee from 2017 stated that ”the support the Intelligence Service provided to the Special Forces through the National Intelligence Support Team (NIST) was the most comprehensive and resource-intensive part of the service’s involvement in Afghanistan.” The data feed into the targeted killings that were an integral part of the Western military operations.
Frank Bakke Jensen stated that Norway is not responsible for whether data collected by us is used for the killing of civilians. But several critics have contested this, arguing that some of intelligence proved weak, and that Norway has a legal responsibility under the Geneva Convention for how its intelligence was used for.
What lessons can we draw from this experience and apply to future intelligence operations? To what extent can we be sure that Norwegian armed forces and Western forces in general operate based on correct information in other conflict situations today?
Frode Kristoffersen will discuss his newly published book about intelligence, where they talk about specific missions they have been on, and about the dilemmas that intelligence officers face in the field. They explain what kind of people they are looking for, how they prioritize and what the Intelligence Service does to protect Norway from threats.
Chair: Laila Bokhari
Panellists: Cecilie Hellestveit, Frode Kristoffersen and Kristian Berg Harpviken
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18:00 – 20:00 CET, 21:30 – 23:30 AFT
What are the prospects for a gradual normalization of the Taliban with the rest of the world? What is the current status, and what has been learnt from the experience of the year since the Taliban took power in Kabul? What are the opportunities for engaging with Afghanistan’s citizens – on anything from rule of law to economic development – while bypassing the Taliban regime?
Relationships between the Taliban and other countries have become complicated, but while many Western countries maintain strict sanctions and limit their engagement, many countries in the region are gradually rebuilding relations to the Afghanistan’s de-facto rulers. An increasingly conflictual geopolitical situation globally has its mirror image in the how various countries and regions relate to Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s rule violates most existent international norms. The violation of human rights, not the least women’s rights, the failure to deliver basic welfare, the dismantlement of education is extremely problematic. It also constitutes a paradox, in that it both implies increasing international resistance to work with the Taliban, and a mounting need for external assistance.
At the same time, what the Taliban took over was a highly aid-dependent country, and the human consequences of the military withdrawal – and the ensuing reductions in assistance – have been grave. Various countries are developing a variety of means for providing an impetus to Afghanistan’s civil society, its welfare sector and to its economy.
In this focal event for the 2022 Afghanistan Week, we will hear the reflections on the current state of affairs by the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anniken Huitfeldt, followed by a panel.
Chair: Kristian Berg Harpviken
Introduction: Liv Kjølseth
Opening remarks: Anniken Huitfeldt
Panellists: Masood Karokhail, Shah Gul Rezaye, Roxanne Sharpour and Terje Watterdal
Closing remarks: H.E. Mr. Youssof Ghafoorzai
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