Senior Study Group on Counterterrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan : Final Report

Arcanum’s Vice President and Head of Analytic Intelligence, Larry Henderson, was a contributing author to this publication.

Washington, DC, May 14, 2024 – President Joe Biden has identified counterterrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan as an enduring and critical US national security interest. In 2022, the United States Institute of Peace convened theSenior Study Group on Counterterrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan to examine the counterterrorism challenge from the region in light of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and growing strategiccompetition. The study group is a bipartisan group of experts who bring a range of policy, scholarly, operational, and analytical experience related to terrorism, counterterrorism, and South Asia policy issues. In meetings from 2022 to 2023, the study group assessed the terrorism threat from Afghanistan and Pakistan and its bearing on US interests and also reflected on lessons from efforts to mitigate terrorism risks over the past 20 years. Members developed political, military, intelligence, and legal options for a well-defined and sustainable counterterrorism strategy for the region to effectively mitigate existing threats, especially those directed against the US homeland and its allies and partners.

Download the full report.

Read the announcement on the release of the final report at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) website.