RAND Experts Available To Discuss President Karzai's Washington Visit

Policy experts from the RAND Corporation are available for interviews to discuss Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai's scheduled meeting with President Obama in Washington this week. Among the topics the RAND experts can address:

• What is the state of U.S.-Afghanistan relations?
• What should President Obama say about President Karzai's desire to talk with the Taliban? What concerns does the Obama administration have with possible reconciliation between Karzai and Taliban leaders?
• Will this meeting cement the partnership between the United States and Afghanistan?
• Do the Afghan people have confidence in Karzai's leadership, and their country's government overall?
• How could the meeting influence the planned U.S.-led offensive in Kandahar?

Amb. James Dobbins is director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center and served as President George W. Bush's first special envoy to Afghanistan in 2001. He is the author of "After the Taliban: Nation-Building in Afghanistan."

Seth Jones is a RAND political scientist who recently returned from Afghanistan, where he served as an advisor to the U.S. military. He is the author of "In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan" and "Afghanistan's Growing Security Challenge."

Arturo Munoz is a RAND senior political scientist focusing on counterterrorism, counterinsurgency and counterpropaganda, as well as tribal environments worldwide, with a current focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is an advisor to the Marine Expeditionary Brigade in Afghanistan.

Terrence Kelly is a RAND senior researcher focusing on post-conflict stability and reconstruction, and counterinsurgency. He is the author of "Reconstruction Under Fire: Unifying Civil and Military Counterinsurgency."