Below are some thoughts about the Crossed Swords Book Event which was held 9/3/08 at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Shuja Nawaz, author of the recent book on Pakistan’s army Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within, presented it today at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The book was hailed by the moderator, Ashley Tellis, a Senior Associate at Carnegie, as being an “even handled and balanced” account from a “detached insider” prospectiv more...

The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help: Prevent and resolve violent international conflicts: Promote post-conflict stability and development: Increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide. The Institute does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by directly engaging in peace building efforts around the globe.

September 21 – 24, 2008, Monterey, CA

This workshop will emphasize cross-community understanding, communication and negotiation skills that focus on ways in which civilian governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, inter-governmental organizations and the armed forces can work more effectively alongside each other in insecure environments. Additionally, participants will be exposed to current and emerging issues from each community, such as UNOCHA’s cluster system and the US more...

This report is the product of the United States Institute of Peace’s Afghanistan Experience Project. It is based on extensive interviews conducted with American and foreign officials, soldiers, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations that worked directly with Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan. It also reflects interviews conducted with a broad range of contacts during the author’s visit to Afghanistan in June 2005. The report discusses lessons identified by those wh more...

Provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) have been an effective tool for stabilization in Afghanistan, strengthening provincial and district-level institutions and empowering local leaders who support the central government. In many locations, PRTs have helped create conditions that make increased political, social, and economic development possible. Three years into implementation, and with transitions to International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) control accelerating, the assessment, dissemi more...

An article by Robert Borders (US Army) from the Journal of development and Social Transformation argues that the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) concept currently employed in Afghanistan is a proven, flexible model for post-conflict reconstruction that the United States and its allies have endorsed and remain committed to. These specialized civil-military (CM) units provide a unique blend of development and security that is the result of an evolutionary process and refinement that continues more...