Ben Jupp Memorial Lecture - Sir Laurie Bristow
6 October 2024, 17:15
Tickets
No tickets are required for this event. Entry is free. There will be a retiring collection for the work of Amnesty.
Ben Jupp Memorial Lecture - Ely Amnesty Group
Sir Laurie Bristow will speak on Why did we fail in Afghanistan, and why does it matter?
On 15 August 2021, the world watched in horror as Kabul fell to the Taliban, 20 years after western-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. How did 20 years of trying to build a modern democratic society in Afghanistan come to nothing?
Laurie Bristow – author of Kabul: Final Call: The Inside Story of the Withdrawal from Afghanistan, August 2021 – will talk about what happened in August 2021 and why it matters. He will talk about the looming collapse of Afghanistan as western military forces pulled out, the political intrigues among the Afghan elite, the indifference of western
politicians, and the evacuation from Kabul.
Laurie Bristow was the last UK ambassador to Afghanistan during the fall of the Republic to the Taliban in 2021. He was the UK’s ambassador to Russia from 2016 to 2020, and to Azerbaijan from 2004 to 2007. Senior roles in London included Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Director for National Security.
Entry is Free. The lecture will take place in the north transept of the Cathedral. It will also be live streamed via YouTube.
