Sediq Sediqqi was the Former Deputy Minister for Strategy and Policy Ministry of Interior Affairs and the Spokesperson to the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2019 to 2021. He served the security institutions of Afghanistan for several years to provide policy advice on security policies, public engagement, rule of law, counter-insurgency, and counter-terrorism. He has also worked with NATO-ISAF-Resolute Support Commanders/Staff in AFG furthering institutional reforms and streamlining their support for the capacity building and professionalization of Afghan Security and Defense Forces through short- and long-term strategic plans. He is a graduate of the U.S. National Defense University.

Jason Criss Howk is the Director and co-founder of Global Friends of Afghanistan. He has worked on Afghanistan portfolios since 2002 and was in the rare position to closely witness each of the four US presidential administration’s discussions of US policy in Afghanistan. An award-winning writer, his latest book is U.S. War Options in Afghanistan. He holds an MA in South Asia and Middle East Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, is a Malone Fellow in Arab and Islamic Studies, and was a Term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He studied Arabic and Dari at DLI, is a retired U.S. Army Foreign Area Officer, and is currently a professor at the USAF Special Operations School.

Image: Reuters.