Policy Forum 

# Turning the Page in Afghanistan 

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Date and Time 

June 29, 2011 4 - 5:30 PM EDT 

Location 

1st floor/Wintergarden 

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##### Featuring 

Featuring **Joshua Rovner**, U.S. Naval War College; **Joshua Foust**, American Security Project; **Malou Innocent**, Cato Institute; and **Michael O’Hanlon**, Brookings Institution; moderated by **Justin Logan**, Cato Institute. 

After nearly 10 years of war in Afghanistan and with Osama bin Laden at the bottom of the ocean, can the United States fundamentally scale back its objectives in that country? Joshua Rovner, coauthor of a new Cato study, says yes. He argues for significantly changing America’s mission in ways that would allow for drawdowns of between 80,000 and 90,000 U.S. troops. Malou Innocent will discuss approaches to regional diplomacy that could facilitate a large-scale drawdown. Joshua Foust will discuss the prospects for negotiations with elements of the Taliban as a way to implement strategic change. Drawing on his recent travels to the region, Michael O’Hanlon will describe his more favorable and supportive view of the current strategy in Afghanistan as compared to the alternatives.

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