The 23rd Annual Camden Conference will take place February 19 – 21, 2010 live at the historic Camden Opera House

Afghanistan, Pakistan, India — Crossroads of Conflict

The 2010 conference will focus on Afghanistan, Pakistan and India – an area termed the most challenging in the world by many 2009 conference speakers. No assessment or understanding of the situation in Afghanistan can be separated from attention to critical factors and developments in neighboring Pakistan which in turn leads to a focus upon the complex and volatile relations between Pakistan and India. The February 2010 conference will offer both specific and overview presentations devoted to the broad array of issues raised within this turbulent region as well as the role of U.S. policies and programs in this “crossroads of conflict.”

The Conference convenes on Friday evening, February 19th, with the keynote address at 8PM, and continues on Saturday, February 20th from 8:30AM – 5PM and again on Sunday, February 21st from 8:30AM-12:30PM.

The following is the Program for the  2010  Camden Conference.  Each presentation will be followed by a Q & A Session.

FRIDAY,  FEBRUARY 19

• 8 P.M. KEYNOTE  ADDRESS — AHMED RASHID “Pakistan, Afghanistan and U.S. Policy in the Region” Pakistani journalist and author of Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia and Descent into Chaos: The U.S. and the Disaster in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20

• 8:30 AM     Opening Remarks
• 8:45 AM      WHITNEY AZOY   “Is There an Afghanistan?” Cultural Anthropologist with 40 years experience working with and in Afghanistan; immediate past Director of the American Institute of Afghanistan Studies in Kabul. Author of Buzkashi: Game and Power in Afghanistan.
• 9:30 AM      SAMINA QURAESHI   “What Future for Pakistan?” Award-winning Pakistani educator, designer, artist, and author. Earned an M.F.A. from Yale University.  Specialist in the cultures of South Asia and the internal challenges faced by Pakistan.
• 10:15 AM     BREAK
• 10:45 AM     TERESITA SCHAFFER   “Afghanistan and Pakistan in Turmoil—The View from India” Thirty year career in the U.S. State Department including Ambassador to Sri Lanka; postings to Islamabad, New Delhi, and Dhaka as well as Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia.  Now at C.S.I.S. in Washington, D.C.
• 11:30 AM     Q & A – PANEL OF AZOY, QURAESHI and SCHAFFER
• NOON          LUNCH BREAK
• 1:45 PM       LARRY GOODSON   “U.S. Military Strategy in Afghanistan” Professor of Middle East Studies, Department of National Security and Strategy, U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA.  Author of Afghanistan’s Endless War; State Failure, Regional Politics, and the Rise of the Taliban (2001).
• 2:30 PM       PAUL PILLAR   “Assessing U.S. Policies and Prospects in South Asia” Twenty-eight year career in U.S. Intelligence at the highest levels with major attention to South Asia.  Now Director of Graduate Studies, Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
• 3:15 PM      BREAK
• 3:45 PM      RONALD NEUMANN   “U.S. Policies and Prospects in South Asia” President, American Academy of Diplomacy; retired after long career with State Department including posts as U.S. Ambassador to Algeria, Bahrain, and (from 2005-2007) Afghanistan.
• 4:30 PM      Q & A – PANEL OF GOODSON, PILLAR, NEUMANN and RASHID
• 5:00 PM      ADJOURN FOR THE DAY

SUNDAY,  FEBRUARY 21

• 8:45 AM ATHANASIOS  MOULAKIS   “The  View  From  Kabul” Chief Academic Officer and Professor of Government at The American University of Afghanistan. Prominent positions as scholar and educator in Europe and the U.S.
• 9:35 AM NICHOLAS BURNS “Lessons for American Policy” Retired from distinguished twenty-seven year career in the U.S. State Department including service as U.S. Ambassador to Greece and NATO and culminating as Under Secretary of State.  Now at the Kennedy School, Harvard University.
• 10:25 AM BREAK
• 11:00 AM Q & A – FINAL PANEL OF ALL SPEAKERS
  
• 12:30 PM CONFERENCE ADJOURNS

Please visit our Speakers Page for more information.

Register for this exciting weekend event here.