the afghanistan papers in a nutshell is about what went wrong in afghanistan the last 20 years and also how u.s. officials misled, deceived and lied to the public for much of that time and i don't use those words lightly, in the book i'm careful to characterize when governmentnt officials are misleading or hiding information or in some cases, flat-out lying. the goal of the book, to explain in clear terms what went wrong in afghanistan and how the government withheld the truth about what was going on. there are some aspects about the book that are a little different. even though we were in war in afghanistan for 20 years and there have been all sorts of books written about the war, many excellent books and until recently, there weren't any that addressed what went wrong in afghanistan from beginning to the end or almost end, there was such a big subject to get your arms around, we been there 20 years, we didn't even start to write a book to try to explain what happened or what went wrong, most books have been written about individual battles or episodes in time or certain presidential a

this book the afghanistan papers in a nutshell is about what went wrong in afghanistan over the past 20 years also about how u.s. officials misled, deceived, lied to the public for much of that time. i do not use those words lightly in the book i am careful to characterize when government officials are spinning, misleading, hiding information or in some cases flat outng lying. that's the goal of the book to explain in simple terms what went wrong in afghanistan and how the government withheld the truth about what was going on. there are some aspects about the book that are little different. even that we were at war in afghanistan for 20 years there've been all sorts of books written about the war, many, many excellent books until recently there were not any that addressed what went wrong in afghanistan from beginning to the end or the almost end. it was such a big subject to get your arms around we been there for 20 years word you even start to write a book that will explain what happened or what went wrong? most books have been written about individual battles or episodes in time fo

it is a wait and see situation in afghanistan. a lot of it is up to the taliban and to see how they behave going forward, whether they will fulfill the many commitments they have made to the u.s. and the international community related to counterterrorism. as you mentioned, some of the concerns about abuses, and the recent meeting with the taliban, the dialogue that our special representative had, the subsequent press release, it was highlighted our deep concerns about some of these reports. we are monitoring it and tracking it closely. >> as of today, the taliban has not been removed from that list? chris: the taliban is designated as a specially designated terrorist, not fto. for immigration purposes, they are considered an fto. those are strong tools. again, the taliban really have it in their hands to fulfill their commitments. it is not just counterterrorism. we have been clear about freedom of movement, inclusive government, protecting human rights, fundamental freedoms. there are a number of expectations we have. that will

hundreds of thousands abandoned afghanistan.efugee camps mushroomed along the borders inside pakistan and iran. the camps became a recruiting ground for the mujahideen — the holy warriors. in february 1980, president carter's security adviser zbigniew brzezinski visited the refugee camps along the afghan—pakistan border. that land over there is yours. you'll go back to it one day, because your fight will prevail, and you'll have your homes, your mosques back again, because your cause is right and god is on your side. as more and more afghans poured over the border into pakistan, a lot of them did not want to stay in pakistan as refugees, they wanted to go back and fight, but they wanted weapons to go and do it with, and other kinds of assistance. that was an opportunity that president carter took advantage of. the americans knew the local arms industry could never supply the demand for weapons, and with the saudis matching the american contribution dollar for dollar, the mujahideen started to get better equipment. we begin to pr

afghanistan, the war in afghanistan was seen as a war of self-defense.after the 9/11 hijackings, everybody understood why we were going to war in afghanistan. it was an attack to go after al qaeda. a lot of protests in the street. people supported our troops going over there. our troops really, you know, many of their volunteered. they enlisted. they thought that it was their duty to serve and protect their country. these people that served their, they read their leaders, their commanders admitting they did not have a plan, they did not know what they were doing. all of these failures and mistakes, i think a lot of them felt betrayed. they know a lot of their buddies were killed. they are saying, for what? they are angry. a lot of them are glad that the real story is coming out. they had, from their viewpoint, from their corner of where they were serving, many of them saw that things were not going well. doing their best to follow a strategy that may be did not make a whole lot of sense. hearing the stories of people coming back and having that difficult

all sit together with the afghanistans? mr. landberg: we had one meeting that i'm aware of with russia and china, there's a press statement on that. we've had interaction with both countries where we highlight and also there's been actually interaction in the united nations as well. so there's a number of fora where we interact with both and highlight our major concerns about afghanistan, what we expect of the taliban and also what we expect of the countries in the region to do. mr. grothman: deunl terror networks will begin to reform in afghanistan? do you think terror networks will reform in afghanistan? mr. landberg: so, we're very concerned about terrorist threats in afghanistan. and i think there have been a number of public comments on isis-k threats in particular put also potentially over time al qaeda threats emanating from afghanistan. we are monitoring it closely and we are putting in place not just the unilateral over the horizon capability to degrade that threat but also to bolster capabilities in the rescron. mr. g

♪ >>> tonight, after the fall of afghanistan.e're with the most vulnerable. >> afghanistan is a time bomb. and it is ticking. you have an interconnected humanitarian disaster. >> with u.s. forces gone, what happens to those left behind? >> are you the last female journalist left in afghanistan? >> no, there is a lot, but they are not showing themselves. >> desperate to be free of taliban rule. and inside the forbidden school for girls. >> this is illegal. why are you running a school and risking everything? >> this special edition of "nightline," "after the fall," will be right back. mozzarella k when heartburn hits, fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast heartburn relief in every bite. crunchy outside, chewy inside. ♪ tums, tums, tums, tums ♪ tums chewy bites liz, you nerd, cough if you're in here! shh! i took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. what about rob's dry cough? works on that too, and lasts 12 hours. 12 hours?! who studies that long? mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs. say hello to 2022 with xfinity and you'll g

using it for domestic flights all over afghanistan. back there. yeah. — yeah, those were the days. we had a good life, we really did. we had a really good life. hello. scotland and northern ireland have the lion's share of friday's sunshine, even these areas are likely to turn cloudier as we go on through the weekend. a weekend which will for most places, bring plenty of cloud. despite that, it will be dry, it will gradually turn cooler as that weekend goes on, as well. there is an area of high pressure right across the united kingdom, giving plenty of settled weather as we go through the weekend. but trapped underneath that, there is a lot of cloud. now, where there have been clear spells overnight and into the morning, in scotland and northern england in particular, this is where we will wake up to the lowest temperatures and there will be frost in places too. but there will also be some sunny spells and fog across the eastern side of england in particular, dense in places, some patches lingering all day in a few spots and thick enou

withdrew from afghanistan. there are still american citizens trying to get home to get to safety, still behind enemy lines. with no u.s. presence on the ground, what mechanism are you using to ensure the safe evacuation of americans that the biden administration left behind in afghanistan? >> senator barrasso, we are working every day to try to bring out the americans who wish to depart. we are working with countries willing to go into the kabul airport. there is not normal commercial aircraft service right now at the kabul airport. we have some flights that we expect to go this week to bring out several dozen americans. >> several dozen? when do you believe all americans who want to leave afghanistan will be evacuated? >> so the number, as i said, of those ready to depart is 200. at the current pace, depending on if we continue to have success with these charter flights, i think all of these people, they say they are ready to depart. they'll have the opportunity to depart in the next couple of weeks. >> so we

using it for domestic flights all over afghanistan.would go back there. yeah. yeah, those were the days. we had a good life, we really did. we had a really good life. hello again. well, we're going to see some changes in our weather pattern through wednesday as this area of cloud that's just out in the atlantic starts to encroach. that will eventually bring some rain, particularly into western areas, with milder southerly winds spreading in as well. before we get there, though, it's a chilly start to the day with some patches of frost for central and eastern areas of the country. in some of the deeper valleys in scotland, we're seeing temperatures of, what, —9, —10 degrees, so a very cold start here. now, through wednesday, as i say, this area of rain is on the way, and it's going to be arriving pretty quickly in northern ireland accompanied by those strengthening southerly winds. so, it will be turning progressively milder here pretty quickly through the day. elsewhere, a few brighter spells across central and eastern england, perhaps

using it for domestic flights all over afghanistan.would go back there. yeah. yeah, those were the days. we had a good life, we really did. we had a really good life. hello there. it's been a cloudy and chilly start to the week. things will change. from midweek, we'll start to see atlantic air coming our way. that means temperatures will be rising, but we're also going to find some rain. but what about christmas? well, i'll try and answer that question later on. we start, though, cold in many places on tuesday morning, particularly in the clearer skies in scotland, with a frost in the north. we could see some pockets of frost across some western parts of england and wales, but the prospects of some sunshine during tuesday, which will be good news on what is the shortest day of the year. it's the winter solstice. these are the sunrise and sunset times, but, of course, after tuesday, the days do get longer. we do have some sunshine across northern parts of scotland, some sunshine at times coming through across wales and western england,

this is the case throughout afghanistan. inin these provinces where it runs, there is a problem of it being an extremely diverse area. many of the security forces, and the smaller tributary, the valley, either valleys and other languages. it was almost impossible for u.s. forces to penetrate. they became incredibly reliant. concerned therefore years and years at a time. one community after another. they wound up being very valuable sources for me. they also, in many ways, they cap these soldiers alive. the success that they did have. >> attorney general in 2010, asking the question, why are we here? aren't we building a nation? are we chasing terrorists? counterterrorism. coined by day. often, you have special forces where we are undermining the work of conventional forces. you discover the divine question why we are here. >> i think what i discovered is very quickly lost and swallowed up in new logic. there was that in 2010. the moment where it really was not clear anymore. the thread and evolving for so long. they both con

withdrew from afghanistan. there are still american citizens trying to get home to safety, still behind enemy lines. with no u.s. presence on the ground, what mechanism are you using to ensure the safety of americans that the biden administration but behind in afghanistan? brian mckeon: we're working every day to try to bring out the americans who wish to depart. we are working with a couple of airline companies that are willing to go into kabul airport, to bring people out on chartered aircraft. those -- there is no commercial air service right now to kabul airport. we expect to go this week to bring out several dozen americans. >> several dozen. why do you believe all americans who want to leave afghanistan will be able? brian mckeon: the number of people ready to depart is over 200, at the current pace, if we continue to have success with chartered flights, all the people who say they are ready to depart will be offered an opportunity in the next couple of weeks. >> we have american still trapped in afghanis

pulls out and cuts off money to afghanistan when it is not at war with afghanistan. comment? >> what made them at work in the first place? the people are still ruling most of how can they forgive them? how did they decipher the past 20 years [indiscernible] now somehow that is not important? [indiscernible] use that to get into afghanistan. right women and children are not starving, how are they justifying it right now? now that the same people ruling the country? amy: pashtana durrani, they can for being with us activist and , executive director of the educational non-profit learn afghanistan. visiting fellow at the women's center at wellesley college. that does it for our show. happy birthday to renÉe feltz. ■í÷í÷í÷í÷■p >>> hello, and welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm takao minori in new york. street gangs in haiti have kidnappings. one gang abducted 17 members of a christian missionary group two months ago, but they have released the last of their hostages. 16 americans and one canadian were returning in october from an orphanage outside the capital port-au-prin

pulls out and cuts off money to afghanistan when it is not at war with afghanistan. comment? >> what made them at work in the first place? the people are still ruling most of how can they forgive them? how did they decipher the past 20 years [indiscernible] now somehow that is not important? [indiscernible] use that to get into afghanistan. right women and children are not starving, how are they justifying it right now? now that the same people ruling the country? amy: pashtana durrani, they can for being with us activist and , executive director of the educational non-profit learn afghanistan. visiting fellow at the women's center at wellesley college. that does it for our show. happy birthday to renÉe feltz. (insects chirping) (critters chittering) (birds chirping) (soft music)

we went to afghanistan in, er... my daughter was about a year old.ecause we didn't have any house for the family for the first six months, and we were working on the new kandahar international airport. mm—hm. and then they came over about six months later. we lived in this little bungalow... it was a duplex. was it a duplex? yes, and it had one bathroom, a living room and a long kitchen with a table at the end with two chairs. yeah, quite small, yeah. that was the dining room! well, it had been built in a huge compound that the government of afghanistan had made available to mk quite a few years earlier when mk went in in 19116 and �*7 to start the helmand valley project. the way these guys are so self—sufficient and so... if you're working here and you have to move a 20—tonne generator from here to there, you can't call upjoe blow at the crane outfit and tell him to send over the 200—tonne crane! but they knew how to do it. the american technicians didn't come to afghanistan as single men forjust a few weeks as they do now. no, they brought their fa

using it for domestic flights all over afghanistan.i would go back there. yeah. yeah, those were the days. we had a good life, we really did. we had a really good life. were hanging onto the gloomy area thanks to the stagnant area thanks to the stagnant area of high pressure. spells a good sunshine across the north and the west of the country. at the aria high—pressure sitting to the north of the uk and a few isobars on the chart mean that air remained stagnant. the extent of the locale allowed in eastern england in particular with mr and drizzle in the best of the sunshine scotland, south—west england, wales, perhaps northern ireland as well but wherever you are, cloudy or sunny and it is going to be a chilly day. through sunday night with hang onto the cloud in eastern areas and a bit of drizzle in areas with mist and merc. mist and fog patches developing here. into the new week, we start of chilli and mainly dry. increasing amounts of sunshine and then as we reach the christmas period it looks like things may turn a bit more unsettl

you can ask our panel anything to do with afghanistan. i know they will do that best to answer you, but your comments right here in the comment sake should be part of today's should. ah and meet our panel ali shelly silla mind so good to happy on the stream alley. welcome back. please remind out audio who you are, what you do. i'm ali latifah. i am the online correspondent for al jazeera english covering of on the sun. get to have you had i shelly, welcome back to the stream. we might at least he you are. and what you day who would have been spokesperson for afghanistan based in cobbled it to hattie selim. i welcome to the stream. introduce yourself. try international audience. yours, solomon. hello, i'm solomon. ben shaw. i was the humanist with industry in commerce until august, 15 this year of honest, i'm, i'm going to start guess with deborah lyons. she's the un secretary general, special representative for afghanistan. i want to ask you what you feel is the most pressing problem. challenge to afghanistan is facing right now. this is

the mistrust over afghanistan still remains. so...ublican senators want to see pakistan actively punished for its relationship with the taliban. we saw donald trump cutting military aid, we now see the prospect that pakistan may see other forms of assistant and aid cut from the united states. when your economy is in a state. you can't really afford this current toxic relationship with washington, can you? no was up a good relations with the us was of its hard to say, we got millions of pakistanis there, we are in this relationship and that's a conversation we have in the usf. yes, there was mistrust and the 22 republicans or whatever you're talking about is a part of domestic policies that lead back at this time. the administration with the us is engaged with us is engaged with us. i wanted ministration relationship to move faster, we are engaged, we are talking, both sides understand they can't do without the other. the biggest problems of the relationship with the us,... as a strategic thinker with real influence and power down paki

>> so, afghanistan is a place where i think the u.s. military and intelligence community have often found themselves lost. this is one the early parts of the book, trying to find their ground and who to trust and many of them having a very, very time and this is the case throughout afghanistan, but in many of the american provinces, there's additional problem of it being a linguistically difficult area. and there are valleys into the pech, the valleys that have their own languages and in some cases, they have their own languages, it's optimal for the u.s. forces to penetrate and they became reliant on the interpreters, often served there for years and years at a time working for one commander after another so they wound up being valuable sources for me as well. in some cases, the afghan ip interpreters and kept them alive bear responsibility for success, as short-lived as it may have been. >> now, you-- in 2010 asking the question, why are we here? are we building a nation? are we chasing terrorist sns is it counter insurgency or counte

we left afghanistan. the taliban celebrated their victory and we saw the images and how sickening it is. we had an unconditional surrender to the tally band. this president announced complete withdrawal with no conditions. that was a surrender. now they are celebrating their victory over the united states of america. i never thought i would see this in my life. it is embarrassing, shameful, and is wrong to our veterans who served so well. we have emboldened our adversaries. we have weakened our alliances. it is been said that the military isn't saying that she is saying no man left behind, and the one left behind. it's so hard to watch. spent this last weekend on the phone as many of my colleagues did with state department trying to get these people out. trying to get our partners out, american citizens out. school buses, for school buses of young girls that were adopted and acquire at the university of afghanistan, only to be turned away. into the hands of the taliban. host: michael mccaul, the top repub

if you are using other territories to fly planes to afghanistan, or do military operations in afghanistanans themselves to protect the country. and we will do it. as i have been opposed to it during my time in office, so nothing has changed in me in that. we want to be friends with the united states, aligned with united states, but there is a difference between friendship and flying warplanes over our country. no. do you think the international community countries within the region should recognise and listen and legitamise the taliban? this is a process. of course, we want the international community to stay engaged with afghanistan, to recognise the afghan government, but also, we afghans must make sure that by, by making sure internally the representation of the government, the expression of the will of the afghan people and the legitimisation of the government by bringing in the afghan people's expressed will, then approaching the international community for recognition would certainly work. so it is a parallel activity. 0ne activity is the international community to come and recognis

the sanctions on afghanistan. yes, and i think miss lions actually put it perfectly, you know, all of the points that she had a prove. it shows exactly what has happened and only 4 or 5 months time. and the other thing that we have to point out is that she made the statement that the united nations and many of the bodies and nations involved in the decision that led to the sanction were in attendance at the united nations, are members of the united nations are affiliated with the united nations, and yet it seems like all of these calls are falling on deaf ears. you know, as she said, this has amounted to attack on the poorest people. it's not the taliban leadership that's suffering. you know, the toll about leadership lived for years and don't with no problems. they lived into by their families, lived into by. they had shelter need on, they had shelter and focused on they had no problems financially and they have no problems financially now. but the people have problems financially and waterfront currently are the

using it for domestic flights all over afghanistan.. i would go back there. yeah. yeah, those were the days. we had a good life, we really did. we had a really good life. hello there. earlier this morning, we had enormous temperature contrasts in scotland. in braemar, we had temperatures of minus nine celsius but it was 16 degrees warmer than that over the tops of the scottish mountains in cairnwell. the only difference was elevation. cairnwell is nearly a kilometre higher in the atmosphere and air sinks through the atmosphere and as it happens it warms up. this layer of warm air, the sunny conditions, pretty widespread across upland areas of the country whereas lower down, we are stuck under a lot of cloud and mist and that's what many of us have experienced today. 0vernight tonight, we'll keep those conditions. clearer skies across parts of scotland where it will turn cold. some deeper valleys may get down to —8. with the cloud elsewhere in most parts, frost free, but it may be misty and foggy for some as we start monday morning. mon

were to leave afghanistan, what was the impact on women in the country be? >> who is that question for? >> a group of questions for you both. why don't you start as off? >> the bigger question of what will become of human rights and women's rights in afghanistan is not one that i tackle in the book. the book ends in 2020. it ends with u.s. forces still in the country but in a vastly scaled-back capacity. what i can talk about is what the state of play was in the district surrounding the pech at that point. what i heard from speaking with afghans would come down and visit me from these districts often on a pass from the taliban, a paula carrion or something like that come was at -- they were living in taliban government districts often under harsh in stringent conditions but under conditions that varied by debate from place to place in the country, in terms of whether the taliban allowed schools or clinics to state open. whether it allowed government employee to continue staffing the schools and clinics and so on. this just seemed seems lg that would really w

f obligate occupation of afghanistan. yeah, he did. and you know, they have not provided any figures on the rate. when i made this allegation in public on television radio, in writing, they denied they asked me for my pro, where's your prove? i. so the proof is reports coming out on this from women's organization. some of which one in particular is not again on the occupation. and they've told me that actually rape went down during that time period. and it is now up again because the northern alliance with whom the west was in cahoots or no better marginally, even worse on this question than salazar. so their allies carried on. the other question i raised is, could you give us statistics on the number of brothels that are being set up in a promised on to accommodate the nato armies and help operation enduring freedom mean harmony, sex workers have to endure working in brussels in the planet storm because the reports from, during the you, gustavo and other places is quite horrendous. never did. we get a single reply. and this is a story

this is a group thatis afghanistan.roup that is killing thousands of pakistanis, we know that. no pakistanis, we know that. no pakistani has been unaffected ljy pakistani has been unaffected by terrorism indirectly or directly. this is a group that was supported by our archrival india and the afghan intelligence unfortunately to perpetrate terrorism in pakistan. so if there's anybody that should be worried about visits pakistan was up if i venture, many pakistanis are very worried. venture, many pakistanis are very worried-— venture, many pakistanis are very worried. indeed we heard the worries — very worried. indeed we heard the worries voice _ very worried. indeed we heard the worries voice within - very worried. indeed we heard the worries voice within the i the worries voice within the supreme court when they were actually grilling your prime minister about what was going on in terms of these negotiations. i think one of the justices alluded to the 2014 terrible atrocity where the ptt launched an attack on an army s

yes. ..put troops back into afghanistan? we'll have to.o...will be so large. i lived in afghanistan until 2004. - i was there - during the civil war. lwas there — during the civil war. during the taliban regime and i was a young girl. i remember the afternoon - when they came to afghanistan and the next morning - when i heard from the radio that i cannot go to school. and keep in mind, for a young girl, . for a young afghan girl- coming from a pashtun family, which the only hope| to the outside world is your education, because this is the key to your success. - this is the key to your future. this is your key to greatness. i and suddenly, one morning you wake up, it's taken from you. . and that's hard. and i remember, as a young girl, i i would wake up at - midnight and do prayers because ijust wanted i to wake up to a miracle that that reality- has changed for me. many of us hoped that 2021 would be the year that we put coronavirus behind us. here in london, life did get back to something closer to normal, but we also learned that covid i

afghanistan was at war.inute with lost an afghan across the country -- >> brennan: right now, as we talked about, there is no money flowing into afghanistan because the taliban are now running the government. do you think if you had stayed, that it would have made a difference? >> no. if the condition was that a taliban government be in place, there would have been a taliban government in place just two weeks later. >> brennan: so you don't feel a sense of responsibility when you hear about what the u.n. is saying, that this is going to be a bleak winter of starvation? >> absolutely, of course i feel responsible. i feel responsible now, and i felt responsible then. i think what the outcome is unfair to the afghan people. a decision was made to include and be able to see the taliban in government, right -- br >> brennan: the biden administration agreed to what the trump administration agreed to, which is the taliban coming back into power -- >> when that decision was made, i think it is important to make assu

embassy, in afghanistan. those of you have followed s igard's work is the reason for the unexpected collapse of the afghan government is something we have reported on for years, corruption, gulf soldiers, the dependent of the afghan military on u.s. mail -- airpower and other enablers as well as the overall incompetency of the afghan government stuff in the press and on the hill, it's suggested thatsigar may be the only agency that who stock is risen in the wake of the with drawl due to our penchant for telling inconvenient truths. i would suggest that you and the press corps must also be credited with telling unwanted but ground truths on what was going on in afghanistan through the evacuation in kabul and to date and without the amplification of our reports by the press, sigar would not have been as successful as it has been. we all know that u.s. agencies have not made honest reporting easy for us or for you about america's longest war. we have a recent example we talked about in this quarterly report that

attack on afghanistan. they have conducted a number of attacks. their affiliates have grown most famously isis. did he end up being in a safe house in pakistan not far from pakistan's west point. >> yes. >> to what extent where he is hold up there in this safe house to what extent do they run the show for al qaeda during those years? what strings did he actually have to pull? >> to be an outside observer g inside the compound, helped me reconstruct the night he was killed and the way he was living. there are two ways of answering your question, brian. one is if you are running a business without the e-mail and you are relying on messages it's a hard way to run a business. messages get lost. people ignore your message, it gets lost, i was trying to micromanage the organization but using a method that is hard to micromanage without face-to-face meetings, phone calls or e-mails. he did the bestie could. he blocked the elevation to become the leader of al qaeda in yemen. he told them not to identify himself or al qaeda would be back. one of things he

in pakistan on afghanistan, we ask legendary, also an active historically. if despite nature nation media is syria, nature defeat in the so called graveyard of empires could actually foretell a brighter future. and 45 years to the day, legendary native american actress leonard peltier, woke up in the us after being extracted from canada. we speak to his lawyer is for, for justice with kim kardashian about the legacy of co until pro and if anything can sway president biden, to release the man known as the u. s. a's longest serving political prisoner all the same, all coming up in today's going underground. but 1st, the british press is focused on an afghanistan whistleblower who is reveal details of the case arguably disastrous withdrawal from the country. but would establishment journalists have been caught less off. god in the 1st place, if they'd spend more time focusing on the revelations, publicized by the world's most famous journalist julian sans, currently facing a trial in london with the future of free speech itself hanging in the balance. one man w

>> when the international community went out of afghanistan the first goal in afghanistan, they set ourrayed us, the world betrayed us. we did everything possible to participate actively in society but have no more protection. the show is over. everyone is going home and we left the streets. todd: the work of getting these girls and their families out. an odd coalition of teammates became together, you had rabbis, kim kardashian but at the end of the day was you. how do you pull this off? >> it was so difficult. to take the risk and the leadership, to cross the border, to take one step after another but to coordinate and support the team but i am so happy, we were very lucky, great minded people came together. thinking like a family, they supported and together as good as possible. todd: was there a time you thought you couldn't pull this off? >> yes. i remember when the team was on the way to the airport they were supposed to go to qatar and the explosion happened at the airport. they had to get off the bus, we had to find another solution. i remember i tried and didn't know how to giv

the good thing is afghanistan is one of the youngest country in the world.i think 70% of the population is under the age of 25. i don't think most of those many women there's no great nostalgia for the taliban. they know what happened and but we will see. i think what will happen for sure is very nasty civil war. the weakness of the afghan national army is one thing. the afghan special forces do have some capacity but i would also look at the chic militias, who's back militias. these guys fought the brutal civil war and they fought the taliban. they are ready to do it again. instead of taliban taking over the entire country what we have condemned afghanistan to is a nasty civil war that makes the present conflict look like a croquet match. we may have to intervene again. we did it in iraq because event in afghanistan have a way of not staying there, and for a country that is relatively insignificant, it's blatant outside role in american kind of foreign policy whether the defeat of the soviet union for the 9/11 attacks. >> when you're going through the docum

mission in afghanistan in two words. on behalf of the military reporters and editors association, it's an honor for me to introduced john briefly with you today. as we reported in today's quarterly report, audit inspect financial reports that were on our website because the department was afraid that information included therein would be afghan allies at risk. let me be clear, i strongly believe that afghans who are a genuine risk of reprisal of their work for the united states government, ngos, news outlet and other groups should and must be protected. the protection of afghans at legitimate risk of harm is not an issue to quibble over and something our agency has respect ed over the ten years i've been there. despite repeat requests, the state department was never able to describe any specific threats to individuals that were supposedly contained in our reports. nor did state ever explain how removing our reports now from public dissemination would possibly protect anyone since many of those reports were years old and

they are in afghanistan.ve all kinds of reasons why you would not want to sign up to gore to war in afghanistan. and yet when you look at the 13 people that have lost their lives p in a bombing at kabul airport, how many of them were 22-23. they volunteered. i think people, you know, a lot of people in this generation. i don't know what they are. pretty healthy. telling us what they are. plenty of people that still very much the commitment to go and defend the united states. >> you said that we would focus on the book in this hour with you. there is one relevance here which is fighting terrorism a political issue, is it a partisan issue or do you have a sense in your work that people can talk about fighting terrorism without engaging the political instincts. >> the most interesting comment about terror that i heard wait until he a particular role in general. the 60 minutes and all of the other episodes. what are the main differences between the world your father operated in and the information and media world

afghanistan was one of those hard choices. it seems over the course of august, afghanistan were harrowing. the human cross heartbreaking for afghans, the people who serve their. president biden also had to think about the human cost of the alternative path as well, remaining in the middle of a civil conflict in afghanistan. when you conclude 20 years of military action in a civil war with the impact of 20 years of decisions piled up, you have to make hard calls, none of them with clean outcomes. what you can do is plan for contingencies to slow thousands of troops to an airport to rescue tens of thousands and get them out of harm's way. standing here in december, that strategic decision remains the right decision. for the first time in 20 years, there are no u.s. troops in harm's way in afghanistan this holiday season. we safely and effectively drew down our diplomatic presence. we lifted tens of thousands of afghans to safety, an american example of capacity, commitment, and sheer logistics. there are diplomacy and deterrence

and afghanistan is a perfect democracy and then those discussions with the taliban. and the between the mpn government and thailand. and then peace negotiations from the united states. so that has been a messaging problem in the sense december 1t 2009.e and that is the effect on the taliban and pakistan with that aspect of empire and have some interest in afghanistan but that is preventing the other al qaeda and that they have received that then just in time that the population of kabul was 500,000 but now nobody knows the number 7 million. there was no internet service no economy. and that taliban did become again. but then afghanistan is onene of the youngest countries the rotating 70 percent is under the age of 25. and there is no great nostalgia. i so they are not the civil war. but also look at those militias. and from the taliban. instead of them taking over the entire country it makes it look like a croquet match. and then to not stay there. and then for a country that igseems insignificant it carries of american foreign policy. >> when you are going to the do

mission in afghanistan in two words. on behalf of the military reporters and editors association, it's an honor for me to introduce john sopko. >> thank you very much. thank you. [ applause ] >> let me just try to get settled before i break something. can i take this off? otherwise, it's going to be hard to hear me. thank you very much for that kind introduction, jeff. also, thank you for the association inviting me today. this is kind of a unique experience. kind of novel. because last time i spoke in person live to a live audience was back on march 10, 2020, up at syracuse university. gave a speech. next day, governor cuomo closed down the university and the state. it must have been a pretty damn good speech. here i am. i'm back. 10,000 zoom meetings later. it's great to be back live and not have to hit that video button. but it is kind of weird to speak to people and be wearing pants. don't wear a skirt, but i imagine a lot of the women have that same consideration. as many of you know, there was a 53rd issue -- i hav