On December 1, President Barack Obama announced his administration's plan for the way forward in Afghanistan. The president called for an increase of 30,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan and provided the contours of a plan for withdrawal and handover of primary responsibility to Afghan security forces beginning in June 2011. The challenges that the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies will face in implementing the strategy are significant. The implications of a potential failure to achieve success in the Afghan mission—from regional destabilization to a pre-9/11 sanctuary for militant Islamists—are serious threats to America's security and global interests. Please join us for a discussion on the administration's vision for Afghanistan, the pivotal year ahead, and the myriad interests at stake for the American people and our allies.

U.S. under secretary of defense for policy Michèle Flournoy will deliver an address. Paul Jones, deputy special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Brigadier General John Nicholson, the Joint Staff's director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Coordination Cell, will offer commentary. AEI's Frederick W. Kagan will moderate.