From 11-13 February 2019, the Institute for the Study of War and Strategy hosted its Afghanistan Conference. This conference brought together specialists from participating states to look back on the war in Afghanistan and gather insights from each individual country in order to create a better understanding of the lessons learned.
The discussions of papers were organised around regional panels, each representing a group of states that were located in close geographical proximity. The speakers presented their respective state’s armed forces’ experience on the ground and offered commentary on lessons learned. This exercise aimed to increase our understanding of internationally organised counterinsurgency warfare and provide a more diverse and in-depth knowledge of the war in Afghanistan.
The Institute for the Study of War and Strategy was honoured to welcome General David Petraeus on the first day of the conference. The members of the panels were Conrad C. Crane (US Army War College), Ben Barry (IISS), Seth Johnston (NATO SHAPE), Christophe Lafaye (University of Aix-Marseille), Philipp Münch (ZMSBW), Martijn Kitzen (Netherlands Defence Academy), Rhys Crawley (Australian War Memorial) and Howard Coombs (Royal Military College of Canada).