At a panel Tuesday, five Northwestern history professors said U.S. foreign policy and previous international conflicts have shaped the political problems facing Afghanistan today. The panel was part of the new “History Behind the Headlines” discussion series hosted by NU’s History Department.

Prof. Brodie Fischer, director of undergraduate studies for the department, said she organized the event to allow students to know “what we do as historians that are relevant to our issues.”

The panel, moderated by Prof. Michael Sherry, a military historian, discussed Afghanistan’s history in front of an audience of about 20 students and professors at 1800 Sherman Ave. and was followed by a question-and-answer session. The five panelists pieced together Afghanistan’s history behind the headlines and examined other nations’ war histories and military backgrounds.

Prof. Rajeev Kinra began the discussion and said one of the most pressing issues facing Afghanistan is the stereotype that the country is “closed, remote, backward and primitive.”

“We need to learn to be a little more complex in the way we think about things,” he said.

Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern, a professor of Jewish history, said the United States should look carefully at the Soviet Union’s history of conflict when approaching the war in Afghanistan.

“My thought is that the military in this country is very well trained but very poorly advised,” he said. “The military should listen to the historians. It’s as simple as that.”

But military historian and Prof. John Lynn said he has a “very unhopeful attitude toward what (the United States does).”

“Everybody is concerned, everyone’s got ideas, but no one knows what to do,” he said.However, Prof. Michael Allen said many Americans have sustained this war largely because they don’t have to make any “real sacrifices.”

“They’re not supporting the war in a real active way,” he said.

Allen also questioned the term “victory” when referring to the war’s outcome.

“I don’t think anyone knows how to define victory or to get out at this point,” he said.Weinberg senior Sara Wynhoff said the confusion about the war’s outcome among scholars is a troubling one.

“Some of the information was really disheartening, and it’s almost kind of scary that these PhD’s with a knowledge of history can’t say if there is (a resolution to the war),” she said.

Wynhoff added she would return to the series for more discussions because of its informal setting and opportunity to take advantage of NU’s “knowledgeable people.”

And one of those “knowledgeable people,” Lynn, stressed the series’ value in realizing history is more than stories about the past and its lessons can have an impact in the present.

“The point is, it’s not just knowledge for our own sake,” he added. “In any major problem, there’s a history, which, if known, helps us understand it better.”

Weinberg freshman Erika Roos said she lacked knowledge about the subject and said she came to the event because she thought the situation in Afghanistan was an ongoing problem.

“It’s something we’re so involved with,” she said, “and I should be more aware of that.”[email protected]