Navigating Corruption and Degradations in Afghanistan

Mar 13, 2023

In this episode, Michael speaks with Kevin Ofchus - a former Supervisory Special Agent with the U.S. DEA and is now CEO of Host Nation Perspectives of Southwest Asia, as well as Associate Fellow at Narrative Strategies.  His projects have covered a wide range of areas focused on countering Afghan insurgency and violent extremism via intelligence and counterintelligence, threat finance, counterterrorism, rule of law initiatives, and post-conflict stabilization.

This is the first part of a two-part series with Kevin.

Kevin discusses how he got into this field and the importance of building strong tribal affiliations in order to create an environment that supports the rule of law.  We also discuss the international community's approach to separating drug trafficking as a law enforcement initiative and insurgency as another, as well as the potential implications of this decision.  We delve into the challenges of managing the situation in Afghanistan, including issues of corruption, lack of clean water, and the current relationship between Afghanistan and the Taliban.  Lastly, we examine the U.S. embassy's role in the Afghan stabilization program and explore the concept of ghost soldiers.

Key topics: 

  • Insurgencies and trafficking in Afghanistan
  • Geopolitical relationships of Afghanistan
  • American involvement + exodus in Afghanistan

 



 

Views expressed in this material are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rigaku Analytical Devices.

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Michael W. Brown is the global director of counter-narcotics technology at Rigaku Analytical Devices. He has a distinguished career spanning more than 32 years as a Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Most recently he was the DEA Headquarters staff coordinator for the Office of Foreign Operations for the Middle East-Europe-Afghanistan-India. Prior to that he served as the country attaché in India and Myanmar providing foreign advisory support for counter narcotic enforcement. He also spent 10 years in Pakistan as a special advisor to the US Embassy on various law enforcement issues. Michael is a graduate of the United States Ranger Training Battalion and has a master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Technology and Management from the University of Eastern Michigan.

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