FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2, 2010

Contact: Felisa Neuringer Klubes 202.663.5626
E-mail: fklubes@jhu.edu

JHU SAIS to Host Forum on Key to Success in Afghanistan

The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI) of the Johns Hopkins Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) will host a forum, “Key to Success in Afghanistan” on Wednesday, June 9 at 5:30 p.m. (a reception will precede the forum at 5 p.m.)

Participants of this forum will present a proposal developed by a team convened by CACI and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), with principal authors S. Frederick Starr and Andrew C. Kuchins. This “Silk Road Strategy” seeks to establish Afghanistan as a hub of roads, railroads, pipelines and power lines. Already under consideration both in Washington, D.C., and in Kabul, the proposal calls on the United States to provide the essential keystone to a legion of existing efforts. Any successful strategy for Afghanistan must bring tangible benefits to ordinary Afghans, produce an income stream for the government, reinforce the military effort and show positive results within the time frame set by the Obama administration.

The forum will feature the following panelists:

• S. Frederick Starr, CACI chairman
• Andrew C. Kuchins, director and senior fellow at CSIS’s Russia and Eurasia Program and a SAIS graduate
• Martin Hanratty, USAID’s senior development adviser to the U.S. Central Command
• Lewis K. Elbinger, U.S. foreign service officer and deputy political adviser to the U.S. Central Command
• Michael J. Delaney, assistant U.S. trade representative for South Asia at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

The event, free and open to the public, will be held in Kenney Auditorium located on the first floor of the school’s Nitze Building, 1740 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. Members of the public should RSVP to CACI at saiscaciforums@jhu.edu or 202.663.7723.

Members of the media who plan to cover the event should respond to Felisa Neuringer Klubes at the SAIS Communications Office at 202.663.5626 or fklubes@jhu.edu.