Michael O'Hanlon is senior fellow and director of research in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he holds the Sydney Stein Jr. Chair. He is author of The Science of War and is senior author of the Brookings Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan indexes.Hassina Sherjan is the president of Aid Afghanistan for Education, a nonprofit group that has educated more than 3,000 Afghan girls. She also heads Boumi, a Kabul-based home decor company using Afghan-based cotton. Born in Afghanistan and raised there and in California, Sherjan began returning to her native land during Taliban rule and has lived there since 2001.

Michael O'Hanlon is senior fellow and director of research in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he holds the Sydney Stein Jr. Chair. He is author of The Science of War and is senior author of the Brookings Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan indexes.Hassina Sherjan is the president of Aid Afghanistan for Education, a nonprofit group that has educated more than 3,000 Afghan girls. She also heads Boumi, a Kabul-based home decor company using Afghan-based cotton. Born in Afghanistan and raised there and in California, Sherjan began returning to her native land during Taliban rule and has lived there since 2001.

Michael O'Hanlon is senior fellow and director of research in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, where he holds the Sydney Stein Jr. Chair. He is author of The Science of War and is senior author of the Brookings Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan indexes.Hassina Sherjan is the president of Aid Afghanistan for Education, a nonprofit group that has educated more than 3,000 Afghan girls. She also heads Boumi, a Kabul-based home decor company using Afghan-based cotton. Born in Afghanistan and raised there and in California, Sherjan began returning to her native land during Taliban rule and has lived there since 2001.