This House believes this Afghan government is not worth fighting for
Tuesday January 12 2010
MOTION PASSED
by 51% to 49%
Speakers
Peter Galbraith
Speaking for the motion
Peter Galbraith was appointed to his last post at the UN in June 2009. He was removed in September 2009 after accusing the head of the mission of concealing election fraud that favoured the campaign of Hamid Karzai. Mr. Galbraith said the UN played down the level of fraud in the elections.
Previously he was US Ambassador to Croatia and senior adviser to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Shukria Barakzai
Speaking against the motion
Shukria Barakzai is a member of the Afghan parliament and prominent women's rights campaigner. During the Taliban regime Ms. Barakzai ran underground schools for girls and has fought against the practices of polygamy and forced marriages.
She founded the first women's weekly magazine following the fall of the Taliban and was named World Press' International Editor of the Year 2004.
Mirwais Yasini
Speaking for the motion
Mirwais Yasini began his political career at Afghanistan's Ministry of Finance. In 2005 he was elected to the Lower House of the Afghan Parliament, and became the leader of its largest parliamentary party.
In March 2009 Mirwais Yasini announced his candidacy for Afghanistan's Presidential Elections in opposition to incumbent President Hamid Karzai. Mr. Yasini came fifth with 0.9 percent of the votes.
Lawrence Korb
Speaking against the motion
Lawrence J. Korb is a Senior Fellow at The Center for American Progress, a Washington based think tank, and a senior adviser to the Center for Defense Information.
Previously Dr. Korb served as Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan administration for which he was awarded the Department of Defense's medal for Distinguished Public Service. Dr. Korb is a prolific author on the subject of national security.
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