The “Future of Afghanistan and the Region” conference featured approximately 120 high-level policy makers, analysts, donors, Afghans, and Pakistanis debating fundamental conceptual and empirical questions.

The conference started with analysis of the Obama 'Af-Pak' 60-day policy review then shifted focus to a macro-historical overview of the region including questions about whether democratic countries would be willing to sustain support for medium to long term engagement in the region.

Panelists and participants then analyzed relations between Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India and highlighted historical, ethnic, nationalist, and religious tensions between the three countries.

The next section on development and counter-narcotics underscored the importance of developing alternative crops but also questioned the nature of the private sector, international consultants, and ways donor countries could make their funding more effective.

The group then shifted focus to counterinsurgency, counter-terrorism and the Taliban arguing that much of Western, Afghan and Pakistani policy towards these disparate groups is incoherent and confused. Numerous warring factions are often merged under the title of Taliban when they may hold many separate worldviews. Likewise, groups and individuals who employ terror tactics to achieve a goal may not be linked with al Qaeda. The group also explored the possibility of reconciling with the Taliban to end conflict and the insurgency in Afghanistan but disagreed about what a political solution would look like. Many participants argued that a political settlement could not compromise fundamental human rights and particularly women's rights in exchange for increased “Talibanization” of a region.

The final discussion focused on larger questions of governance and politics. Participants outlined detailed ways local politics affects individuals in villages and cities and promoted a more micro-level, nuanced approach to understanding Afghan politics. A few speakers questioned if there was a cohesive strategy and goal for developing the Afghan state or if Western governments were more interested in only counter-terrorism, not long-term state-building.

Overall, the conference highlighted the need for a more coherent Western strategy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan in four major areas:

1. what political and normative model of the State and Nation are Western countries promoting and cultivating?
2. what are the proper ways to promote development and deal with narcotics?
3. how does one deal with the insurgency in Afghanistan and opposition movements in Pakistan, and
4. how do we define success in Afghanistan?