Oral Histories of U.S. Diplomacy in Afghanistan, 2001–2024
Supported by the Una Chapman Cox Foundation
The Collection
Oral Histories of U.S. Diplomacy in Afghanistan, 2001–2021
Sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York
The Collection
News
ADST Hosts Fireside Chat with USAID Mission Directors to Launch the Oral Histories of U.S. Diplomacy in Afghanistan Special Collection
August 16, 2023 Two years after the evacuation of Kabul began, ADST hosted a fireside chat with eight USAID mission directors at DACOR in Washington, DC. The event launched the online collection of interviews with more than 30 diplomatic leaders from ADST’s Oral Histories of U.S. Diplomacy in Afghanistan 2001–2021 special project. Highlighting critical aspects of their oral histories, the panelists shared powerful insights and reflections on key themes from their times in Afghanistan, including comparing experiences and lessons learned related to development across time periods and USAID mission leadership. Panelists included Bambi Arellano, Jim Bever, Craig Buck, Tina Dooley-Jones, Earl Gast, Herbie Smith, and Ken Yamashita, with Bill Hammink as moderator. The event was co-sponsored by the USAID Alumni Association.
ADST’s Afghanistan Project Presented at the Oral History Association’s Annual Conference in Los Angeles
October 22, 2022 At the 2022 Oral History Association conference in Los Angeles, California, Afghanistan Project Manager Eva Meharry (left) presented the opening of ADST’s special project to collect oral histories about U.S diplomacy and engagement in Afghanistan in the last 20 years, culminating in the August 21, 2021, Kabul evacuation. Eva teamed up with Gaisu Yari (right), Director of the Afghan Stories Project, who talked about her work collecting oral histories of Afghans involved in and impacted by the evacuation. The presentation was well received and underscored the importance of collecting and documenting history when it happens.
ADST Launches “Oral Histories of U.S. Diplomacy in Afghanistan” Special Project
August 23, 2022 We are pleased to announce the launch of an Afghanistan oral history project. ADST has received philanthropic grants from The Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York for a special project, “Oral Histories of U.S. Diplomacy in Afghanistan, 2001–2021.” The project aims to collect oral histories of diplomats and other officials who served in Afghanistan or were otherwise involved with U.S.-Afghanistan policies, including the 2021 Kabul evacuation.
The two decades of U.S. intervention in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021 constitute an important period in our history, and the voices of those who participated in it can provide invaluable historical material. The project will allow us to ensure that this critical moment in U.S. diplomatic history is recorded and preserved as part of our Frontline Diplomacy: Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection, which is accessible via our website and that of the Library of Congress. The collection will be a useful resource to ADST’s wide readership of practitioners, researchers, historians, educators, and prospective diplomats.
If you are interested in learning more, you can follow the project updates on our website here or please contact our Oral History Program Director Heather Ashe at [email protected].
Additional Resources
Afghanistan Country Reader
Find collected excerpts on Afghanistan from other oral histories in the ADST Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection in ADST’s Afghanistan Country Reader.