20-21 March 2010
THE LONDON SECURITY EXERCISE
Dear Delegates,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the first session of the
London Security Exercise at the London School of Economics &
Political Science.
This conference will be in crisis format, simulating an intense geopolitical crisis from all angles at once, creating opportunity for extremely fast moving and exciting debate.
The focus will be on the conflict in Afghanistan, and will be set contemporarily in March 2010. Following the elections in Afghanistan the government in Kabul has continued to find it difficult to build up the Afghan Security Forces, and the corruption enquiry seems to be stalling as the Taleban gain confidence with regular successful attacks. The UN is still struggling to define its role in the country as NATO looks forwards to its strategic review which promises to be controversial given the state of the war.
President Zardari's position is looking ever more tenuous in Pakistan with the border becoming ever more volatile, and pressure on the Obama administration to offer a more clear US strategy is building, especially with midterm elections coming up.
It is a fragile political environment, one that could be torn apart far too easily should a crisis emerge...
Teddy Nicholson
Director, London Security Exercise
