[act-ma] Tues Oct. 18 @ 7:00 PM Jonathan Steele: Ten Years, Cost of War at the JP Forum

[Liz Wambui]

Special Guest: Jonathan Steele: Ten Years, Cost of War

When: Tuesday October 18, 2011 at 7:00 PM
Where: First Church in Jamaica Plain Unitarian Universalist, 6 Eliot Street, Jamaica Plain
Presenter: Jonathan Steele
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Jonathan Steele has covered Afghanistan for the Guardian (London) for more than thirty years, and was part of the Guardian team which published the Wikileaks Afghanistan cables.  His latest book, Ghosts of Afghanistan: The Haunted Battleground, will be published by Counterpoint in October.

October 2011 marks ten years of U.S. war and occupation in Afghanistan.   Steele was one of the few Western analysts who predicted that a US invasion of Afghanistan would be a disaster.  Although President Obama has announced withdrawal of some troops, the Administration’s plan really envisions a long-term military occupation. So Afghanistan should remain high on everyone’s agenda as the 2012 election campaign approaches.

Steele will explain the strategic partnership agreement that the Obama administration wants to sign with Karzai’s government and argue that it is a disaster for Afghanistan and the US.  Instead he calls for peace talks and an agreement that will end the country’s thirty-five years of civil war.

The New Yorker‘s Seymour Hersh strongly endorses Ghosts of Afghanistan as an “original look at the West’s obsession with Afghanistan,” in which “Steele…puts to rest the notion that America had no choice but to go to war after Osama bin Laden’s orchestration of the 9/11 attacks.”

About Jonathan Steele:

Jonathan Steele is a Guardian columnist, roving foreign correspondent and author. He was the Guardian's bureau chief in Washington (1975 to 1979) and Moscow (1988 to 1994). In the 80s he reported from southern Africa, central America, Afghanistan, and Eastern Europe. In the 90s he covered Kosovo and the Balkans. Since 9/11 he has reported from Afghanistan and Iraq as well as on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. He has written several books on international affairs, including books on South Africa, Germany, eastern Europe, and Russia.

Thanks to our co-sponsors!

Massachusetts Peace Action 

United for Justice with Peace’s Afghanistan/Pakistan Task Force 


For more information, please visit www.jamaicaplainforum.org

Elizabeth Wambui
Institute for Policy Studies-Northeast Office
Office Manager and Jamaica Plain Forum Coordinator
E-Mail: LizW at Ips-dc.org
Program on Inequality and Common Good
www.extremeinequality.org
www.jamaicaplainforum.org