According to preeminent Pakistani journalist, Ahmed Rashid, U.S.-Pakistan relations are in a state of a virtual meltdown as American strategy has reflected contradictory policies and intense political infighting. What are the possibilities—and hazards—facing the United States as it withdraws from Afghanistan and as it reviews its long engagement in Pakistan? With bin Laden’s death in the rearview mirror, what remains of al-Qaeda’s strength and its ability to adapt and reorganize—and where is the Taliban? Join The Chicago Council and Ahmed Rashid as he discusses what the immediate future holds for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and what America’s choices are going forward with this critical relationship. Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore. He presently writes for the Financial Times, the International Herald Tribune, the New York Review of Books, BBC Online, The National Interest, and several other academic and foreign affairs journals. Previously, Rashid was the Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review for twenty-two years. He is also the author of four books, including the recently updated second edition of the best-selling Taliban. He appears regularly on NPR, CNN, and the BBC World Service. Rashid was educated at Malvern College in England, Government College in Lahore, and at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University. His latest book, Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, will be available for purchase and signing after the program.   PUBLIC PROGRAM The Ritz-Carlton Chicago 160 East Pearson Street Chicago, IL 60611 5:30 p.m.   Registration and cash bar reception 6:00 p.m.   Presentation and discussion 7:15 p.m.   Adjournment and book signing Members $10 Nonmembers $20