High ranking soldiers, scholars, diplomats and journalists are to gather at the University of Glasgow for a major international event to discuss the war in Afghanistan.

The event, hosted by the Scottish Centre for War Studies on 15 and 16 March 2010, will examine how the conflict has developed to this point and how it is likely to develop in the future following the announcement that President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Gordon Brown have opted for a surge of almost 40,000 troops to try and force a decisive result in Afghanistan.

Dr Alex Marshall, Scottish Centre for War Studies at the University of Glasgow: “This war is the most crucial issue left over from the attacks of 11th September 2001. In the past 9 years the vision of the international American-led intervention in Afghanistan has moved from that of a successful new paradigm in warfare to a potential quagmire on the scale of Vietnam. The decision to escalate the conflict will have a profound effect on the development of the Middle East and South Asia, to say nothing of the consequences for the Afghan people themselves.”

Speakers attending the event entitled: ‘Afghanistan’s Next Crossroads: Ten Years of International Intervention, 2001-2011’ include:

Major General Andrew Mackay (retired), who commanded British forces in Helmand province in 2007; Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles the United Kingdom Ambassador in Kabul from 2007-9; Professors Marc Genest and Andrea Dew, Directors of the Centre for Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups at the Naval War College in Newport Rhode Island; Dr Antonio Giustozzi (author of Koran, Kalashnikov and Laptop); Professor Sultan Barakat, founder of the Post-War Reconstruction and Development Unit at the University of York; Harsh Pant a lecturer at Kings College London; Mr Abbie Aryan a member of the Department for International Development; and Michael Thomas, head of the Foreign Office’s Afghan Study Unit.
 
The Scottish Centre for War Studies is particularly delighted to announce that Professor Hew Strachan, the Chichele Professor of War Studies as Oxford University, will present the conference’s closing address.

Founder and first director of the Scottish Centre for War Studies in 1995, Professor Strachan is the UK’s leading scholar of modern military history. Because of his vision and support the centre has become one of the leading centres in the UK for strategic studies, with a thriving research centre and a healthy graduate master’s programme. 

The conference marks the 15th anniversary of the foundation of the Scottish Centre for War Studies at the University of Glasgow.

Further information:
Martin Shannon, Senior Media Relations Officer
University of Glasgow Tel: 0141 330 8593

Dr Alex Marshall, Scottish Centre for War Studies.
University of Glasgow Tel: 0141 330 8581
Email: a.marshall@history.arts.gla.ac.uk

First published: 15 January 2010

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