Having previously been involved in direct talks with senior Taliban, Professor Theo Farrell is well placed to host a live pop-up lecture on the collapse of the international effort in Afghanistan and the rise of the Taliban.
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The University of Wollongong Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) will offer his unique perspective on the war in Afghanistan, during tomorrow's free webinar.
Professor Farrell is a leading academic expert on the war in Afghanistan who served as an advisor to International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Command in Kabul.
He is also the author of Unwinnable: Britain's War in Afghanistan 2001-2014 (Penguin Random House 2017).
The book draws on his first-hand experience on the ground in Afghanistan, along with extensive access to classified documents, hundreds of interviews with senior coalition and Taliban leaders, Afghan elders, and coalition political leaders, backed by a comprehensive historical analysis dating back to Britain's first Afghan war in 1864.
Prof Farrell spoke to the Mercury last month after the Taliban took Kabul on August 15.
Since then a mass evacuation effort has taken place to get Western citizens, and those Afghans most at risk from the Taliban, out of the country.
While the Afghanistan war is finally coming to an end after 20 years, many questions remain.
Prof Farrell also wonders aloud whether the Taliban will make good on its promises.
The Taliban has said it will respect women's rights and allow them to work and allow girls to go to school. It has also said it will never again allow al Qaeda or any other jihadi groups to attack the West from Afghan soil.
Time will tell if the Taliban is true to its word but the path ahead remains unclear for Afghanistan, but it was clear to Prof Farrell that the international community cannot turn away from Afghanistan.
"Afghanistan remains a very poor and underdeveloped country. It's very dependent on Western aid," Professor Farrell said.
"The World Food Program has warned that millions of Afghans face the prospect of starvation because of the effects of the conflict over many years, the COVID crisis right now in Afghanistan, and also a drought which is impacting on crops."
The Future of Afghanistan free online webinar starts at 5.30pm on Tuesday, September 7. Go here to register.
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
