Director of CAPS visits Netherlands

Oct 26, 2007


On the invitation of the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS), the Director of CAPS Mr. Hekmat Karzai visited the Hague, Netherlands on the 15^th and 16^th of October and participated in a critical debate about the developments in Afghanistan and the role of the international community.

In addition to various meetings with politicians and academics, the trip included two major events: firstly, there was a closed door roundtable with exclusive attendance by politicians and high-level military and civilian person responsible for policy on Afghanistan. In addition to Mr. Karzai, a small number of experts were also invited to participate in the debate which included Professor Julian Lindley-French, Professor Military Operational Science at the Netherlands Defence Academy and Major General Frank Van Kappen, former military advisor to Kofi Annan.

Second, Mr. Karzai was the keynote speaker in a public debate which had participation from various organizations working in Afghanistan and local and international media.  During this event Mr. focused his remarks on four topics: a) the reality of Afghanistan prior to 911 b) the post 911 challenges of Afghanistan c) overview of Urozgan province where the Dutch have a PRT d) recommendations on to improve the efficacy of our efforts not only in Urozgan province but also in Afghanistan.

Mr. Karzai was also interviewed by several media outlets during the course of his visit. He held an extended discussion with Nova television and also with the conservative Trouw newspaper.