The Lawfare Podcast: Allies: How America Failed its Partners in Afghanistan

Jen Patja, Bryce Klehm, Shala Gafary, Steven Miska, Matt Zeller
Wednesday, June 15, 2022, 12:00 PM
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Published by The Lawfare Institute
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On Monday, the Brookings Institution hosted a panel discussion titled, “Allies: How America failed its partners in Afghanistan.” The event featured comments from Lawfare editor-in-chief Benjamin Wittes, a preview clip of Episode 6 of the podcast Allies, and a moderated discussion with an all-star panel.

Lawfare associate editor Bryce Klehm sat down with Shala Gafary, the managing attorney for Project: Afghan Legal Assistance at Human Rights First; Col. Steven Miska, who serves on the steering committee of the Evacuate Our Allies Coalition; and Matt Zeller, a U.S. Army veteran, co-founder of No One Left Behind, and an advisory board chair of the Association of Wartime Allies. They discussed some of the past failures that led to a situation where tens of thousands of the U.S.’s allies were left behind in Afghanistan. They also discussed current resettlement issues and relocation for those still in Afghanistan or other third countries.

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Jen Patja

Jen Patja

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Jen Patja is the editor and producer of the Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security. She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics, a nonprofit organization that empowers the next generation of leaders in Virginia by promoting constitutional literacy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. She is the former Deputy Director of the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier and has been a freelance editor for over 20 years.
Bryce Klehm

Bryce Klehm

@BryceKlehm
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Bryce Klehm is a first year law student at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is a former associate editor at Lawfare.
Shala Gafary

Shala Gafary

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Shala leads Human Right’s First’s nationwide coordination of legal stakeholders responding to the evacuation of at-risk Afghan nationals by the U.S. government. She also oversees a pro bono program that provides legal screenings and representation to Afghans eligible for asylum, Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), and other forms of humanitarian protection.
Steven Miska

Steven Miska

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Col. Steven Miska is the Executive Director of First Amendment Voice, a nonpartisan effort to reinvigorate civic awareness around free expression, religious liberty, press freedom and other first amendment issues. He also serves on the steering committee of Evacuate Our Allies Coalition, a humanitarian and veteran effort to evacuate Afghan partners from conflict.
Matt Zeller

Matt Zeller

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Matt Zeller is a Senior Advisor with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the Co-Founder of No One Left Behind, a Truman National Security Fellow, and an adjunct fellow at the American Security Project.

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