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Misguided Aid in Afghanistan - Washington Post Panel

2008-06-16T09:32:11Z

Complete video at: fora.tv

Washington Post reporter Pamela Constable discusses problems with American aid distribution in post-war Afghanistan. This excerpt is taken from a panel discussion entitled, "Washington Post Panel: America and the World in 2008," recorded in collaboration with the World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C.

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The Council's Annual Washington Post Panel continues with the Foreign News Editors and Correspondents from the Washington Post discussing major world issues facing the country and the new president - World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C.

Pamela Constable has covered South Asia for The Washington Post since April 1999, with extensive coverage of Afghanistan as well as both India and Pakistan.

Before arriving in New Delhi in 1999, Constable worked for The Post from 1994 to 1998 covering immigration and Hispanic affairs in the Washington area, and reported from Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti and Cuba.

Prior to joining The Post, Constable worked for The Boston Globe as deputy Washington bureau chief and foreign policy reporter from June to September 1994. Previously, from 1983 until 1992, she was The Globe's roving foreign correspondent, Latin America correspondent and diplomatic correspondent. During this time she reported from Haiti, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Cuba, Colombia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, South Korea, the Philippines, the Soviet Union and Brazil, as well as in Washington.

From 1978 to 1982, she was a staff writer at The Baltimore Sun. Prior to that, she worked as a reporter for the Evening Capital in Annapolis.

She is the co-author with Arturo Valenzuela of A Nation of Enemies: Chile Under Pinochet, and has written articles for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Current History and other publications. She was awarded an Alicia Patterson Fellowship in 1990 and the Maria Moors Cabot Prize for coverage of Latin America in 1993.

Constable is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She received a B.A. from Brown University.

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The Taliban's Resurgence in Afghanistan

2008-06-08T09:33:52Z

Complete video at: fora.tv

Afghanistan experts Ahmed Rashid and Barnett Rubin discuss the increasing resurgence of Taliban activity in that country and Pakistan.

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The Asia Society's Nermeen Shaikh interviews Barnett Rubin and Ahmed Rashid on Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Barnett R. Rubin is Director of Studies and Senior Fellow at the Center on International Cooperation of New York University, where he directs the program on the Reconstruction of Afghanistan. He has worked at CIC since July 2000. During 1994-2000 he was Director of the Center for Preventive Action, and Director, Peace and Conflict Studies, at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Dr. Rubin is a Director of Gulestan Ariana Ltd., a private company manufacturing essential oils and related consumer products in Afghanistan. In November-December 2001 he served as special advisor to the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, during the negotiations that produced the Bonn Agreement. He advised the United Nations on the drafting of the constitution of Afghanistan, the Afghanistan Compact, and the Afghanistan National Development Strategy.

Ahmed Rashid, a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore is author of three books including the best sellers Taliban and most recently Jihad. He has covered Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia for the past 25 years and writes for the Far Eastern Economic Review, the Daily Telegraph, and The Wall Street Journal.

Nermeen Shaikh is the Managing Editor of Asia Society Online. Her book _The Present as History: Critical Perspectives on Global Power_ has just been published by Columbia University Press. She studied politics at Cambridge University in England and at Queen’s University in Canada.

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Historical and Political Context for "The Kite Runner"

2008-06-07T03:29:35Z

Complete video at: fora.tv

Peter Bergen and Massoud Aziz discuss the historical and political context for the book and movie of "The Kite Runner."

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A panel discussion before an advanced screening of The Kite Runner. Presented by the New Republic in collaboration with the 6th and I Historic Synagogue. Panelists include Dr. Peter Bergen and Masood Aziz; New Republic Senior Editor Frank Foer moderates.

Peter Bergen is a print and television journalist, and the author of Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden (Free Press, 2001), which has been translated into 18 languages. His new book is The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of Al Qaeda's Leader (Free Press, 2006). Both books were named among the best non-fiction books of the year by The Washington Post, and documentaries based on the books were nominated for Emmys in 2002 and 2007.

Mr. Bergen is CNN's terrorism analyst; an adjunct professor at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, and a fellow at New York University’s Center on Law and Security. He is a member of the editorial board of Studies in Conflict and Terrorism and has testified on Capitol Hill. Mr. Bergen holds a M.A in modern history from New College, Oxford University.

Masood Aziz is a Counselor at the Afghanistan Embassy in Washington. He is the founder and acting Executive Director of the Afghanistan Policy Council, a think tank providing a distinct voice to challenging policy issues pertaining to Afghanistan.

Mr. Aziz has over 19 years of experience in executive management, international management consulting, banking and institutional investment management. He holds the French Baccalaureat, a Bachelor of Science degree and an MBA from the United States and is a frequent speaker and writer on economic and political matters related to Afghanistan and the greater Central Asia.

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Deborah Rodriguez - "The Kabul Beauty School"

2008-09-04T00:03:13Z

Complete video at: fora.tv

Deborah Rodriguez, founder of the Kabul Beauty School, explains why she decided to leave her home in Michigan to join a humanitarian aid group in Afghanistan.

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Deborah Rodriguez talks about "The Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil."

Rodriguez and co-author Kristin Ohlson tell the story of the beauty school that manages to survive in the middle of Kabul. It lifts the veil of secrecy about the vibrant women who were her students there. -- Book Passage

Deborah Rodriguez has been working as a hairdresser since 1979. In 2002, Rodriguez helped found the Kabul Beauty School, the first modern beauty school and training salon in Afghanistan. Rodriguez is now director of the school and owner of the Oasis Salon and the Kabul Coffee House, all located in Kabul where she lives with her Afghan husband.

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