Book Talk – Illusions of Control: Dilemmas in Managing U.S. Proxy Forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria
Since the start of the U.S. war on terror, the United States has backed various militias and rebels in the Middle East and Central Asia. Using proxies has allowed the U.S. to reduce its own troop deployments and benefit from the local knowledge of indigenous armed groups. However, these partnerships carry significant diplomatic, human rights, reputational, and tactical risks. Gaston’s book explores case studies of these relationships in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, examining how U.S. policymakers manage these risks. Has support for proxies been a success, failure, or something in between? Can proxies truly be managed? And are the risks worth the potential benefits?
The Quincy Institute held a discussion with Erica Gaston, Head of the Conflict Prevention and Sustaining Peace Programme at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research, that delves into the murky world of U.S. proxy forces in the War on Terror. Adam Weinstein, Deputy Middle East Director at the Quincy Institute, spoke with the author.
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Panelists
Erica Gaston
Dr. Erica Gaston heads the Conflict Prevention and Sustaining Peace Programme at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research. She has worked on conflict-related human rights, civilian protection, peacebuilding, rule of law, and security sector reform in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Pakistan. Gaston has collaborated with organizations such as the Open Society Foundations, the Center for Civilians in Conflict, and the Global Public Policy Institute. She is also a Non-Resident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and GPPi. Her work has been featured in Lawfare, War on the Rocks, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, CNN, Al Jazeera, and BBC.
Adam Weinstein
Adam Weinstein is Deputy Director of the Middle East Program at the Quincy Institute. He previously worked for KPMG’s international trade practice. Adam’s current research focuses on security, trade, and rule of law in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Middle East. He has conducted extensive research travel in Pakistan, Iraq, and the greater Middle East. He is also a non-resident fellow at Tabadlab, an Islamabad based think tank and advisory firm. Adam served as a U.S. Marine and deployed to Uruzgan Province Afghanistan in 2012.