Dr. William S. Cole - William S. Cole is the director of The Asia Foundation's Governance, Law, and Civil Society program where he is responsible for coordinating democratic governance, the rule of law, and conflict management. He concurrently serves as the director of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) program. Dr. Cole plays a central role in strategic planning at the country level and has been instrumental in introducing new program areas and directions for the Foundation. These include small and medium business policy reform, counter corruption programming, information technology, and conflict management. He has contributed significantly to the re-establishment of the Foundation's office and programs in Afghanistan, where he spent most of 2002. Prior to his current position, he served as director of the Economic Policy Reform program in Indonesia. Dr. Cole has written widely and is a frequent speaker on topics related to Asian development, Afghanistan, democracy and governance, and the political economy of social and economic reform.
Said Tayeb Jawad - Said Tayeb Jawad is Afghanistan's Ambassador to the United States. He was appointed by President Hamid Karzai on December 4, 2003. He also serves as Afghanistan's non-resident Ambassador to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina.
Jawad was born in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was educated at the Afghan French Lycee Istiklal, and at the School of Law and Political Sciences in Kabul University. He then traveled to Germany for more advanced studies at Westfaelische Wilhelms University in Muenster. In 1986 he settled in the United States, where he earned his MBA from the Golden Gate University in San Francisco and worked for a number of prominent law firms.
His Excellency Said Tayeb Jawad, Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States, will provide an update on Afghanistan's declining security situation and detail what has led to the recent increase in fighting.
He will discuss what is needed to ensure that the United States succeeds at helping Afghanistan rebuild. And with the US elections on the horizon, he will also discuss how Afghanistan factors into the US presidential foreign policy debates.
Who has the best prescription for success in the War on Terror? What would the Afghan government like to see?- World Affairs Council of Northern California