Author Khalil Nouri is one of the most renowned US-based experts on Afghanistan. He was born into an Afghan political family. It was his great-grandfather Nour Mohammad Khan, uncle to King Nader-Shah and governor of Kandahar in 1830, who signed the British exit treaty leaving the last Afghan territory unoccupied in the second Anglo-Afghan war.He takes pride in his family lineage specifically with the last name "Nouri" surnamed after his great-grandfather "Nour Mohammad Khan" uncle to King Nader-Shah.His father, uncles, and cousins were all career diplomats in the Afghan government. His father was amongst the very first in 1944 to open the Afghan Embassy in Washington D.C., and subsequently, his diplomatic career was in Moscow, Pakistan, London, and Jakarta.Since the 1960s, Khalil grew up exposed to Afghan politics and foreign policy and over the past 35 years, he has been closely following the unfolding situation in Afghanistan. His years of observations of the complex Afghan political strife and his recognized tribal roots gave him a unique understanding of the reasons for the situation in Afghanistan.In that regard, he sees himself being part of the solution for a stable and prosperous Afghanistan, like the one he once knew. One of his major duties at the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2002 was an advisory role to Lieutenant General Hagenbeck. He has worked closely with the Afghan tribes and his tribal experience is well suited for unobstructed cross-cultural communication within all Afghan ethnicities.
