Amplify Not Occupy: The Path Forward For Afghanistan

December 30, 2021 Updated September 18, 2022 Articles

By: MPAC Policy Bureau

Photo: Mohammad Javadzadeh/Iranian Red Crescent/AFP

On Sunday, August 15th, the Taliban retook Kabul, the same city that our military liberated from their heinous rule just two decades prior. The following two decades proved one thing: our military and diplomatic strategy did not work. In part, it was because we ignored or did not give due importance to the voices who knew the land, the terrain and the people the best. Those people are the Afghan American leaders who we have partnered with to create and host our speaker series.

In response to the crisis created by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, MPAC, on a mission to amplify authentic community narratives, recognized the news cycle and congressional action are at risk of moving past this crisis. In an attempt to guide American government officials towards enacting policies and laws that can help end the current crisis in Afghanistan, MPAC hosted five panel discussions with American Afghan experts, amplifying their voices so that key stakeholders may be educated with the correct narrative, and identifying the key next steps that must be taken to alleviate the pain, suffering and trauma felt by the Afghans fleeing their homeland, those who remain their and their loved ones in the United States.

The five sessions are as follows:

  1. Repercussions of Taliban Takeover of Afghanistan: What The U.S. Should Do
  2. A Moment to Act: the Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan
  3. Resettlement Challenges & Opportunities: Afghan-American Perspectives
  4. Foreign Policy and Domestic Pragmatism: The Road Ahead
  5. The Challenges and Opportunities around Building Afghan and Afghan-American Narratives

With the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, we cannot afford to ignore or sideline Afghan voices yet again.

That was the impetus behind MPAC’s work on this issue: we wanted Afghan voices front and center in seeking viable solutions to the crisis. Only through this inclusivity can we hope for our leaders and civil society to band together and usher in a brighter future for Afghanistan.

As we look to the new year, MPAC will continue its commitment to amplify the voices that are often overlooked by our nation’s lawmakers, so that our policymakers may be guided towards enacting policies that bring forth meaningful change.


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