Laurel Miller Program Director, Asia Washington, D.C. Please submit all media inquiries to lmiller@crisisgroup.org and media@crisisgroup.org or call +32 (0) 2 536 00 71. Crisis Group Role As Director of Crisis Group’s Asia Program, Laurel leads the organisation’s research, analysis, and policy advocacy about and in the region. She joined Crisis Group in January 2019. Professional Background Prior to joining Crisis Group, Laurel was a senior foreign policy expert at the RAND Corporation, 2017-2018 and 2009-2013. Her research and analysis at RAND covered a wide range of subjects including conflict resolution, democratisation, institution-building, and anti-corruption in countries throughout the world. From 2013 to mid-2017, Laurel was the deputy and then acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. Department of State. During previous U.S. government service, she was Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs, Senior Advisor to the U.S. special envoy for the Balkans, and Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues. She was directly involved in peace negotiations in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia. Laurel also served as Director for western hemisphere affairs at the National Security Council. Laurel was a senior expert at the U.S. Institute of Peace, where she focused on constitution-making, rule of law development, and transitional justice. She has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown. Earlier, Laurel practiced law at Covington & Burling in Washington, DC, and Brussels. She was an International Affairs Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. Laurel is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Chicago Law School. Laurel has been widely interviewed including by the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, PBS NewsHour, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. She has published commentaries in Foreign Policy, the Los Angeles Times, The National Interest, The New York Times, and elsewhere. Languages English Select Publications Laurel edited and co-authored an extensive study of constitution-making processes, “Framing the State in Times of Transition” (USIP Press, 2010). Her RAND publications include “Democratization in the Arab World” (2012), “Building a More Resilient Haitian State” (2010), “Overcoming Obstacles to Peace” (2013), and (forthcoming) “Envisioning a Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Afghanistan”. In The News 21 Oct 2019 The Taliban have always said, ‘We will never negotiate the future of Afghanistan while foreign troops have their boots on our soil.’ They compromised on that, and that’s huge. The New Yorker Laurel Miller Program Director, Asia 27 Aug 2019 A U.S.-Taliban deal cannot be a peace agreement because it settles nothing about the dispute within Afghanistan. It only settles the question of the American presence in Afghanistan. NPR Laurel Miller Program Director, Asia 5 Jul 2019 An agreement that is just between the US and the Taliban is not a peace agreement for Afghanistan. AFP Laurel Miller Program Director, Asia 4 Mar 2019 I don’t believe that Pakistan has the capability to straight out make peace happen in Afghanistan, but they definitely have the capability to make peace not [happen]. Reuters Laurel Miller Program Director, Asia 27 Jan 2019 There’s also the possibility, that a deal — that’s really just a deal between the U.S. and the Taliban — emerges in a way that provides a cover for an exit [from Afghanistan] but not much more. NBC News Laurel Miller Program Director, Asia Latest Updates Speech / Asia 19 September 2019 The Trump Administration’s Afghanistan Policy In this written statement to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs on 19 September, Crisis Group's Program Director for Asia Laurel Miller assesses the Trump Administration's efforts to secure a peace deal with the Taliban and the potentional risks and rewards of such a deal. Originally published in U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Also available in پښتو Q&A / Asia 10 September 2019 Behind Trump’s Taliban Debacle On 7 September, U.S. President Donald Trump made the startling announcement that he had invited Taliban leaders to Camp David for talks – and then cancelled the gathering. Crisis Group Asia Program Director Laurel Miller and consultant Graeme Smith explain what happened and what it means for prospects of ending Afghanistan’s war. Op-Ed / Asia 16 August 2019 The U.S. Shouldn’t Stumble Out of Afghanistan Letting the country unravel isn't an exit strategy. Originally published in Foreign Policy Q&A / Asia 1 March 2019 Calming India and Pakistan’s Tit-for-Tat Escalation Reciprocal airstrikes by India and Pakistan have been accompanied by shelling, troop reinforcements and small arms fire. In this Q&A calling for restraint between the nuclear-armed neighbours, Crisis Group’s Asia Program Director Laurel Miller notes that the airspace violations alone were the worst for 50 years. Q&A / Asia 22 February 2019 Deadly Kashmir Suicide Bombing Ratchets up India-Pakistan Tensions A 14 February suicide attack by Pakistan-based militants was their bloodiest strike in Indian-administered Kashmir in over three decades. In this Q&A, our Asia Program Director Laurel Miller warns that even a limited Indian retaliatory strike could spark a sharp escalation in conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Load more