Event Registration

Join the World Affairs Council of Charlotte as we host General (ret.) David Petraeus, Director of the KKR Institute and former Commander of CENTCOM, ISAF, and Director of the CIA on Thursday, June 17, 2021.

America’s Longest War: What the U.S. Withdrawal Could Mean for Afghanistan and Global Security

Last month, President Biden announced that the US would be withdrawing all troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. Biden’s decision comes after an administration review of US ­options in Afghanistan, where peace talks have failed to advance and the Taliban remains a potent force despite two decades of efforts to defeat the militants and establish stable, democratic governance. The war has cost trillions of dollars in addition to the lives of more than 2,000 US service members. At least 100,000 Afghan civilians have been injured or killed. However, Washington is strongly divided on whether the withdrawal was the right decision.

General David Petraeus, former commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and former CIA director, reacted to the decision saying, "I do fear that two to three years from now we are going to look back and regret the decision to withdraw the remaining 3,500 US troops. This is not going to end the endless war in Afghanistan; it is going to end the US and the coalition involvement in that war militarily. And I fear that this war is going to get worse." Join WACC to hear directly from General Petraeus and learn how the decision could impact counterterrorism efforts, regional and global security, the life of Afghan civilians, and the growth of the Taliban.

Moderated by: Jillian Burns, professor at George Washington University and retired US Foreign Service Officer. Jillian worked for the US State Department from 1993 to 2014 and served as the Consul and Senior Civilian Representative in Herat, Afghanistan; National Intelligence Officer for Iran; Director of the Near East Affairs Office in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; and as a political officer in Dubai, Jordan, and Poland.