is marvin weinbaum, director of afghanistan and pakistan studies at middle east institute in washington and in london is klisman murati, founder and ceo of pangaea wire group, a geopolitical consultancy. a warm welcome to you all, and thanks for joining us today on "inside story." haroun, let me start with you. you tweeted that stopping the flow of funds into afghanistan will punish millions, 99% of the population that can't or won't leave. we need to care for them, too. so i would like to get your thoughts on the kind of impact that all this will have on afghan citizens. >> absolutely. i mean, afghanistan has a huge trade deficit. we finance that trade deficit mostly through foreign aid. now the foreign aid is in jeopardy. the afghanistan government right now does not have access to its foreign reserves because the situation of governance, who is actually in charge, is right now being negotiated. as a result of that, afghanistan's currency is depreciating fast. and if we don't have enough usd injected into the market soon, the prices may continue to rise. right now, there are rumors th

and in arlington, virginia, in the united states, khaled elgindy, senior fellow at middle east institutehor of "blind spot: americans and the palestinians, from balfour to trump." good to have you all with us. natasha lindstaedt, if i could start with you, this is the first time in 12 years that an american president is meeting with an israeli prime minister who is not benjamin netanyahu. i suspect the optics of this will be more important than anything else at this point. what is the biden administration looking to get out of this? >> yeah, i do think it really is more about the optics, particularly because, for biden, he is dealing with the crisis in afghanistan, things look a bit chaotic, and he wants things to look as business as usual. i think that he does want to try to assure israel that iran is a threat, but i think you will be -- he will be communicating that his approach to dealing with iran will be different than bennett's, than israel's approach, because bennett is going to be trying to convince biden that we really need to isolate iran further, get away from trying to get ba

intelligence analyst at the us state department and director for afghan and pakistan studies at middle east institute i asked him how he thinks the taliban will govern now that they've gained control. we might look back at what happened in the 1990s when they controlled most of the country from 1996 until 2001. that was a rather minimal definition of what an administration should be. they were spending most of their time fighting and praying and had the services that were available or being provided by international aid agencies, charity groups and ngos, non—government organisations. we should be able to look back, but we don't get too much of a sense here, because at that time much of the country, especially in the cities so than when it came to governance, it was a much as a challenge. governance, it was a much as a challenge-— challenge. just to “ump in, who do ou challenge. just to “ump in, who do you h challenge. just to “ump in, who do you as _ challenge. just to “ump in, who do you see as the — challenge. just to jump in, who do you see as the key - challenge. just to jump in, who do you see a

intelligence analyst at the us state department director for afghan and pakistan studies at middle east instituteon, dc. great to have you on the programme today, marvin. as we've seen in the report there, the taliban increasing its hold in afghanistan. what your sense of how they might plan to govern? we sense of how they might plan to covern? ~ ., ., ~' sense of how they might plan to covern? ~ . ~ ., sense of how they might plan to covern? ~ ., ., ~ . ~ ., ., govern? we might look back at what ha--ened govern? we might look back at what happened in — govern? we might look back at what happened in the _ govern? we might look back at what happened in the 1990s, _ govern? we might look back at what happened in the 1990s, when - govern? we might look back at what happened in the 1990s, when they l happened in the 1990s, when they controlled the country, most of the country until 2001. now it's a rather minimal definition of what the administration should be. they were spending most of their time fighting and praying, and had services that were available, being provided by international aid agencie

he is the director of afghanistan and pakistan studies at the middle east institute in del mar. we have scott ritter. he is a former intelligence officer and the united nations weapons inspector. and in kabul, we have who stock or our him. he is a conflict. peace and security expert art tillman cross talk rules and effect. that means he can jump in anytime you want. and i always appreciate when you go to scott, 1st, many of us watching this conflict for 2 decades expected this outcome was only the date that mattered most here. made my introduction, i said, i call it in a complete and utter failure. the american people are poor and no one is held account and if no one is how.

intelligence analyst at the us state department and director for afghan and pakistan studies at middle east institutem how he thinks the taliban will govern now that they've won the war. we might look back at what happened in the 19905, when they controlled the country, most of the country until 2001. that was a rather minimal definition of what an administration should be. they were spending most of their time fighting and praying, and had services that were available, being provided by international aid agencies, islamic charity groups and ngos. so, we can't really... we should be able to put back, but we don't get a sense here that at that time, most of the country had emptied out, especially the cities. when it came to governance, that wasn't as much of a challenge. just to jump in there, who do you see as the key players in the formation of a new government if one is or can be formed in a legitimate fashion? well, i think it's pretty clear now that there's going to be a chief executive. he has been a major figure here in negotiating both with the united states and with other afghan elements. so,

and in arlington, virginia in the united states salad again the senior fellow at the middle east institute and author of blind spot american and america, and the palestinians from bow 4 to trump. good to have you with us. natasha lynch, that if i could start with you. this is the 1st time in 12 years that american president is meeting with an israeli prime minister who is not benjamin netanyahu. i suspect the optics of this will be more important than anything else at this point, but what is the brightest button administration looking to get out of this? yeah, do you think it really is more about the optics particularly because for biden, he's dealing with the crisis in afghanistan. i think look a bit chaotic and he wants me to look at business as usual. i think that he does want to try to assure israel that iran is a threat, but i think he will be communicating that his approach to dealing with the wrong will be different than bennett of israel's approach. because prime minister been and is going to be trying to convince bite in that we really need to isolate iran further get away from tr

he is the director of afghanistan and pakistan studies at the middle east institute in del mar. we have scott ritter. he is a former intelligence officer and the united nations weapons inspector. and in kabul, we have will start with him. he is a conflict. peace and security expert, or a gentleman, cross talk, rules and effects. that means he can jump in anytime you want. and i always appreciate, let me go to scott 1st. many of us watching this conflict for 2 decades expected this outcome was only the date that mattered most here. made my introduction, i said, i call it a complete and utter failure. the american people are poor and no one is held account. and if no one is held account, scott, then it's going to happen again. go ahead your thoughts. of course it's going to happen again. it's in the, it's, it's in the d, n a or the united states. so when we intervene, we intervene using a american centered template that is designed to placate domestic political factions. here in the united states, not to solve problems overseas, we've seen this almost everywhere. united states int

intelligence analyst at the us state department and directorfor afghan and pakistan studies at middle east institutehat do you make of this latest news that the us have been engaged and air strikes? this that the us have been engaged and air strikes? , u, , that the us have been engaged and air strikes? , , ., air strikes? this indicates how ureatl air strikes? this indicates how greatly we _ air strikes? this indicates how greatly we see _ air strikes? this indicates how greatly we see this _ air strikes? this indicates how greatly we see this as - air strikes? this indicates how - greatly we see this as deteriorating quickly. it seems we are bringing in the heaviest piece of equipment we could bring to the conflict and are prepared here to accept high civilian casualties. there is no question the kind of precision bombing that has taken place with drones and helicopter gunships is not possible given the extent that will carry on possibly as well but given the extent of the offensive there is a need here to bring in everything they can possibly introduce. with the understanding this will bring casu

afghanistan in washington dc is marvin wine bomb director of afghanistan and pakistan. studies at middle east institute, washington d. c. and in london is clear, minority founder and ceo of penetrate wire group, a geopolitical consultancy, a warm welcome to you all, and thanks for joining us today on inside story. from let me start with you. you tweeted that stopping the flow of funds into afghanistan will punish millions, 99 percent of the population that can't or won't leave. we need to care for them too. so i'd like to get your thoughts on the kind of impact that all this will have on afghan citizens. absolutely, i mean, honest on has huge trade deficits. we find out that trade deficit mostly true for an aide. now the for an aide is in jeopardy and honor on government upon a great now does not have access to it's for and reserved because the situation of governance who's actually in charge is right now being negotiated. as a result of that, the punishment currency is depreciating fast, and if we don't have enough for us the injected in the market soon, the prices may continue to rise right now there

he is the director of afghanistan and pakistan studies at the middle east institute in del mar. we have scott ritter. he is a former intelligence officer and the united nations weapons inspector. and in kabul we have we stocked.

intelligence analyst at the us state department and director for afghan and pakistan studies at middle east instituteiorating very quickly. it seems now where we are bringing in the heaviest piece of equipment we could bring into the conflict, and we are prepared here to accept high civilian casualties. there's no question that the kind of precision bombing that has taken place with drones and helicopters, drone ships, it is not possible given the extent that that will carry on possibly as well, but given the extent here of the offensive then there is a need here to bring in everything that could possibly be introduced. but with the understanding that this is going to bring casualties of enormous proportions. we have got double significance, haven't we? so you have got the us air strikes, you have also got the fact that the second provincial capital has been so claimed by the taliban. are we likely to see a reversal of the us decision or the foreign troops decision to pull out of afghanistan? would something like that ever happened? i don't see any possibility here of a reversal. this has gone too fa

joining us now is charles lister, senior fellow and director of the counterterrorism program and middle east institutehelp us understand what happens when nonstate actors like the taliban take over territory, take over a region, take over a country. >> thank you so much for having me this morning. i think it goes without saying that for a group like the taliban to take over an entire country is like an earthquake at home, at abroad. at home, it has created already a significant humanitarian crisis not just the scenes that we've been seeing from kabul at the airport, but nationwide there is now widespread fear and uncertainty amidst the population about what it now means to be living under taliban rule. and of course this is a medieval jihadist organization and we now all about how they got it because they were governing -- excuse me, they were governing afghanistan before 9/11. and regionally and internationally it creates a diplomatic crisis. how to governments respond. and we've seen the vacuum it has created has seen other adversaries like china and russians and turkey step into the void. they have

military central command, currently a distinguished senior fellow at the middle east institute.e ground in afghanistan back in 2001. you were commander from 2016 to 2019. what goes through your mind seeing afghan partners now afraid for their life? >> thanks, wolf. it is great to be with you. and, you know, to answer your question directly, i think all veterans, everyone that served in afghanistan is processing this differently. for me, i'm feeling this with sadness and disappointing hoping to deliver more for the afghan people and conclude this another way. but for those people that have served us over these 20 years, i believe we have a moral obligation to follow through with our commitments and bring them to the youts and make sure they stay safe. they put everything on the line for us, and we should not allow obstacles given away right now to prevent us from doing right by them. >> these are wonderful people that deserve that. i totally agree. how hard is it to see the taliban now in near complete control, if not complete control of afghanistan after, what, two decades of u.

still with us, and joining us is ben douglas, chairman of southeast asia and fellow at the middle east institute, and doug, you are responsible for the afghanistan assessments prepared for president trump and in private service, you were preparing for candidate biden's working group. what did you tell the biden's team about this isis affiliate? >> well, the state of the khorasan province as they are known. over the past five year, six of the leaders, and six of the leaders have been killed or captured or recapture and what i have seen in the press, the taliban when they released the prisoners from bagram air force base, they have killed the last that was caught. so despite the losses of the mid-level operatives, they have managed to be resilient particularly when it comes to these terrorist operation, and measuring isis-k is not a matter of fighting, but to operate. because of the pressure, they are able to decentralize and become independent cells. they are good at low tech operation. when we say complex, it is not like a great deal of sophistication, but it is a cell to attack and bring in the

he is currently chairman of the middle east institute. richard, thanks for being with us. if -- if intelligence suggests that another terrorist attack is, quote, likely what does one do? i mean, what tools do you have in a situation like this to keep afghans from dying? to keep u.s. service members from -- from dying? >> well, not enough. i -- i think it's pretty clear that the u.s. and its allies have some sort of intelligence stream coming from isis. they are somehow tapping into isis. they know what they're planning. they know what they're talking about. but that doesn't mean you can prevent it. you don't know what is going to happen, you don't know when, you don't know how which is very frustrating. if you know who, you can try to track them down. now, the u.s. can't track them down very readily. but the taliban might be able to. and the bizarre thing, anderson, about the way the u.s. has chosen to leave afghanistan is that we have become dependent on the taliban. dependent on them to allow people into the airport. dependent on them, now, to help with our own security.

an expert at the middle east institute, charles lister, tweeted...m, but i imagine in washington there are plenty of people who are glad the president is taking the troops home. i people who are glad the president is taking the troops home.— taking the troops home. i think there are people _ taking the troops home. i think there are people here - taking the troops home. i think there are people here in i taking the troops home. i think i there are people here in washington you are glad the president has pulled the troops out of afghanistan, but there is a lot of concern about the manner in which it was done, looking like a humiliating exit for a superpower basically having spent 20 years there, now having spent 20 years there, now having the taliban take over the entire country again, the city, armed with rocket propelled grenades and ak—47s, and the americans scrambling for the exit — that's what it looks like. they are not happy with that image at all. a lot of the criticism is about the way this war has ended. we have just had a national security

be speaking down to a me to call now she's director of the center for afghan, some middle east and africa at the institute of strategic studies. thank you for coming on a minute. i was talking about this, this hurried withdraw. the deadline is pending because of so little time for people to go out of afghanistan is created the sheet crowds around the airport. we've seen them and it was obvious that this was a disaster waiting to happen. mid reports of a possible terrorist attack. due to the americans have to take some responsibility for what's happening today because they created the conditions for this because of this very, very hurried, disorganized withdraw. certainly it's unfortunately one tragedy after the other. and i don't think we're going to see the end of the bloodshed or the violence. i think other attacks are anticipated . primarily because the situation, as we all know at the cobble airport, is extreme makella. take. the situation is complex and it's fluid and i think it's very difficult to vet those that are rush me coming into the airport. and again, you do have international forces within

the afghanistan developments on the region that is the focus of the washington institute, mainly on the broader middle east. i am delighted to be able to first urge everyone to go to the institute's website to check on the written analysis by many of my colleagues. that is www .washingtoninstitute.org. i pleased to welcome three of my colleagues. then we will be here to take your questions. before i introduce them, let me tell you that there are two ways it that you can post questions to engage in our discussion on the implications of u.s. withdrawal from afghanistan. if you are on zoom, you may use the chat function. if you are not on zoom, please send an email directly to me rsa tloff@washingtoninstitute.org. with that, i am now happy to introduce the panelists for today's event. first is katie will burger. she focuses on u.s. security and defense policy in the middle east. she has extensive experience on both ends of pennsylvania avenue, the executive and legislative branches, in dealing with the politics and policy of these sorts of issues. i am delighted to give katie the microphone in just a moment.

. >>> i want to bring in a senior fellow at the center for middle east policy at the brookings institution he recently wrote a wonderful piece in "the atlantic" this week to put all this into context. thank you for joining us because i feel like the cable news airways have been overflowing with opinions and i think it's important that we stop and take a moment and explain to people the dynamics of afghanistan and your piece in "the atlantic" did a great job of doing that. the first thing i want to ask you, i'm going to quote back to you, and you say american planners thought they knew what this country needed, which was not quite the same as what people wanted. i'm sorry, we're going to go to that briefing and we will circle back with you on the other side of the briefing. let's go to the briefing now. >> yesterday u.s. military forces conducted an over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation against an isis-k planner and facilitator. the air strike occurred in the nangarhar province of afghanistan. two high profile isis targets were killed and one was wounded, and we know of zero civilian

middle east. he's also the co founder and president that the quincy institute for responsible stay crap. and joining me here in the studio is hush him. why not? you are a writer, an analyst on international affairs and former spokesman for the united nations in afghanistan. let's start with a clip from pentagon spokesman john kirby. it's their country to defend. now, this is their struggle. the commander in chief has given us a new mission and that mission is to draw down by the end of this month. and that's where we're moving to what it looks like. beyond that, i'm simply not going to speculate, but this is their country. these are their, these are their military forces. these are their provincial capital, their people to defend and, and it's really going to come down to the leadership that they're willing to exude here, this particular moment professor base of which let me start with you. i remember reading your work and writing and concerns about not only the iraq war and the fantasy war, but as well. yes, yes, and we're for a very long period of time. now we seem to beat a punctuatio

middle east. previously, a fellow at the washington institute and a senior professional staff member in the senate. i do not know which order you want to do this in, but the floor is yours, to be followed by questions. >> good morning. it is an honor to appear before you. to discuss u.s. security assistance to the middle east. i ask that my full statement be placed in the record. let me start by saying, as the secretary has repeatedly said, that the state department is fully committed to partnering with congress on these issues. and we welcome the opportunity to engage. at a time when strategic competition with china is our foremost foreign-policy challenge, and in an era when so many of our challenges and problems we face our global in scope, increasingly global challenges demand strong partnerships. we cannot act alone. because we face global problems with consequences that ship security at a regional level. and because america's leadership matters. our assistance are a function of our foreign policy. which is why congress has placed these authorities with the department of the state. we seek to

middle east. she was a fellow at the washington institute. i do not know which order you want to do this in. the floor is open. >> is an honor to appear before you -- it is an honor to appear before you. i ask that my full statement be placed in the record. the state department is fully committed to partnering with congress on these issues. we welcome the opportunity to engage. at a time were a strategic competition with china is our foremost policy challenge. so many of the problems we face are global in scope. global challenges demand strong partnerships. we cannot act alone. we face global problems at a regional level. america's leadership matters. our assistance are a function of our foreign policy. which is why congress has placed these authorities with the state. the complex armed conflicts that threaten regional stability including deterring iranian aggression and s we seek to disrupt al qaeda and related terrorist networks, address humanitarian crises and redouble our efforts to resolve the complex armed conflicts that threaten regional stability including deterring iranian aggressio

middle east regional summit. we just lost the trophy. i believe it's back. listen to those things, rocky institutes and institutions and having the iraqi weapon on the 130 is very important to iraq. ladies and gentlemen, that we are in the theater of kept believe that iraq is ready to play an important role in bring give be the ability to our region. and we are quite keen to help iraq duty store it's play is to play a role in the region and a international level. also, iraq has to enjoy stability as all countries in the region to claudia. but we are with the iraqi people and we will have the iraq is to restore security and stability to have its development. iraq is a rich country with the natural resources, but because of the rules and terrorism, so many problems have been there. and so many problems have prevented iraq to use properly. so says that's why now we are sure that iraq will read is cover. it's point of this thing for the sake of the country. and for the sake of the people, what we urge the international community to gave them necessary support to the iraqi people and all the to build th

we are going to be covering the washington institute east policy, the discussion that follows. afghanistan and what it means in the middle east. at 230 p.m. eastern, a conversation former marine officer. it discussion on the relocations of afghan refugees. all of that as well on the free c-span radio app. for the next five minutes or so, your questions with madiha afzal . taking your calls, brian is next out of michigan. an independent, good morning. caller: i haven't spent a lot of time in the middle east, but that doesn't matter -- i've spent a lot of time in the middle east years ago, but that doesn't matter. there's plenty of blame to go around. that's why i'm an independent because i see it on both sides. bush and his crew invaded the land, afghanistan, which is the first time in american history we've done anything like that. then you're going to play a game of nationbuilding in afghanistan , a landlocked country. our power comes from the sea. that's why all of these costs were ridiculous from the start. at the end of 20 years, we don't even know, america doesn't even know that you would at least need 10,000 if not

middle east now. >> scott is the author of this book enough already time to end the war on terrorism. he's also the director of the libertarian institute editorial director of antiwar.com which is what mr. horton? >> antiwar.com is the most important project on the internet. been around for 25 years, right about everything the whole time. libertarian noninterventionist. we are very catholic in our organization we feature all of the best writers from the left, right, around the world the most important project just to extrapolate a little bit will talk about the war on terror. you think american forces should be brought back from korea since they would have international basis? >> no. in fact our constitution describes a limited republic rather than a world empire. there is no threat and korea, japan, or europe for that matter. they want to be able to hold the north korean threat split us keep our troops there. if we just let the south koreans drive they would reunify. they would make a deal in reunify with the north look what's going on with the controversy were biden is in trouble now for ccing, obstructing russia for obstructing the

institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> today the former u.s. ambassador to afghanistan hosts a discussion at the middle east policy council. it is live and you non-c-span, online on c-span.org, or you can listen on the free c-span radio app. c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television committees and more, including buckeye broadband. ♪ >> buckeye broadband supports c-span as a public service,

the deputy director of the german institute for japanese studies and editor of "japan through the lens of the tokyo olympics." and in doha, ross griffin, a middle eastof the international journal of the history of sports. good to have you all with us. so barbara, let me start with you then, since you are where it's all happening right now. i think it's fair to say this is not the olympics that japan had envisioned, when they were awarded the games in tokyo back in 2011 in the middle of a pandemic. no spectators, lots of domestic opposition to this, with protests, and so on. but given all of those limitations, can it still be seen as a success? and how is that success measured? >> well, that is a difficult question, and that really depends on which stakeholder is being given that question, right? so for the ioc, they will most definitely say this is going to be a success, because their main income comes from tv rights, and it's a tv only event now. well, if you talk to the japanese population, the thing looks very, very different, as they are being shut out from the games, but they're being held there. they were very cautious about the possibility of