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Elizabeth Shackelford on Afghanistan

Twenty years after the war began, the United States' forces will officially leave Afghanistan on September 11, 2021. What's the argument to leave and why has it taken so long?
Elizabeth Shackelford Play Video

Ahead of the May 1 deadline for the United States to remove troops from Afghanistan, the Council’s Elizabeth Shackelford takes a minute to explain both sides of the argument for US presence in the country and why the “endless war” has lasted 20 years.

About the Expert
Senior Fellow, US Foreign Policy
Council staff Elizabeth Shackelford
Elizabeth Shackelford, a former career US diplomat who served at the US Mission to Somalia and the US Embassy in South Sudan, joined the Council in 2021. Her work focuses on building awareness and understanding of a "restraint" approach to foreign policy, which seeks to limit the use of military force to the defense of core US national security interests and favors robust diplomatic engagement.
Council staff Elizabeth Shackelford

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