Jason Criss Howk

Jason is an award-winning book author and freelance writer of articles, commentary, monographs, and studies with bylines in dozens of outlets. His latest book details 20 years of options faced by US Presidents as they decided the US policy for the War in Afghanistan.

Jason entered U.S. Army in 1991 and served 23 years conducting defense, diplomacy, education and intelligence missions. He focused on Islam and the broader Middle East for over 20 years in uniform. Jason spent the majority of his career working on or in Afghanistan and he still focuses on finding solutions to Afghan concerns. He continues to write, teach, and disucss topics to decrease misunderstandings about Islam and Muslim cultures.

In Afghanistan he was involved in the creation of the Afghan National Army and establishing the Security Sector Reform (SSR) program as Aide De Camp to Major General Eikenberry. During his second tour he served as Aide De Camp to General McChrystal during the US and NATO strategic assessment of the Afghan War campaign. At General McChrystal’s request he assisted LtGen (retired, UK Army) Sir Graeme Lamb in constructing the ISAF Reintegration unit that helped the Afghan government create the Afghan Peace, Reintegration and Reconciliation policy and garner international support for it.

He has worked extensively with Afghan officials, the State Department, numerous intelligence agencies, academia, and various nations’ diplomats on Afghan issues. He has studied Dari (Afghan Farsi) and Arabic at the Defense Language Institute. He is a Malone Fellow in Arab and Islamic Studies, and was a term-member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned his master’s degree in South Asian and Middle Eastern Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School. He conducted Interfaith and Conflict Resolution courses through the US Institute for Peace.

From his Qur'an book

"Jason, the Qur'an doesn't just belong to Muslims. It's a gift to humankind from God, and it invites all people to read it, think about it, interpret it, and share it. You are answering God's call. If people don't accept that, then they don't understand Islam and should read the Qur'an again." -Dr. Abbas Kadhim, PhD in Islamic Studies and president of the Institute of Shia Studies