Ending Chaos in Afghanistan and Pakistan: A New Direction in U.S. Foreign Policy

Journalist and New York Times bestselling author Ahmed Rashid will speak at Stanford University on Monday, March 9th 2009. The lecture entitled “Ending Chaos in Afghanistan and Pakistan: A New Direction in U.S. Foreign Policy” begins at 7:30 pm in Cubberley Auditorium. Sponsored by the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies in the School of Humanities and Sciences, the event is free and open to the public. Rashid is the author of Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia and considered the foremost contemporary expert on the current travails of U.S. policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan. His unique knowledge of this vast and complex region allows him a panoramic vision and understanding of the current issues that exist today. In his recent book Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia, Rashid emphasizes the degree to which “the U.S.-led war on terrorism has left in its wake a far more unstable world than existed on September 11th, 2001.” Newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama is reaching out to the region to contain the chaos with a revised focus aimed at long-term stability and peace. Ahmed Rashid will address the challenges that the Obama administration faces and the choices that must be made to save this region from engulfing the United States and Europe in another long-term conflict. The Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies at Stanford University serves as a forum for interdisciplinary research and teaching on the Muslim world and affairs relating to the Muslim world. Its mission is to provide students and the public with not only a wide geopolitical lens, but also a multidisciplinary lens that includes literature, history, politics, economics, religion, law, sociology and anthropology. Contact: Burcak Keskin-Kozat, Associate Director The Abbasi Program of Islamic Studies Stanford University Encina Hall West, Room 211 Stanford, California 94305-6045 Phone: (650) 736 8169 Email: abbasiprogram [at] lists.stanford.edu (abbasiprogram[at]lists[dot]stanford[dot]edu) Website: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/islamic_studies/