Afghanistan, 2021: Three perspectives on the brutal close of a 20-year war

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

GZERO Media

International Relations, Government, Foreign Policy, Gzero World, News Commentary, Trump, News, Global Economy, Geopolitics, Politics, Ian Bremmer

4.6 • 684 Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2021

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Two decades of war in Afghanistan came to a tragic close on August 31 as President Joe Biden announced from the White House that the last US troops had left the country. “I was not going to extend this forever war,” Biden said, “and I was not extending a forever exit.” On GZERO World, we hear from three people whose lives have been forever changed by the conflict. First, a women’s education activist hiding from the Taliban inside Afghanistan, moving every night for her own safety. Then, the former Afghan Central Bank governor, now in exile who barely made it out (and lost a shoe in the process). And finally, a former US Army Captain and CIA intelligence officer whose life was saved by his Afghan interpreter and who is now in a desperate race to help Afghans and their families get out of the country.

Transcript

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0:00.0	20 years, you do everything right by your country and then one day somebody else decides that,
0:06.1	okay, we want to pull out, we want to decide for their future.
0:10.0	That's wrong, right?
0:11.1	I didn't do anything to the United States, right?
0:13.7	It was the Taliban who bombed them, right?
0:15.7	So then why don't you ask them to pay for the consequences?
0:18.5	Why do I have to pay with my rights for those consequences?
0:24.2	Hello and welcome to the GZero World Podcast.
0:27.1	This is where you can find extended versions of my interviews on public television.
0:31.5	I'm Ian Bremmer.
0:32.4	And today, how America's withdrawal from Afghanistan turned into the biggest foreign policy crisis of Biden's
0:39.3	presidency.
0:40.3	I'll be breaking down how we got here and then speaking to two very different Afghans, one
0:45.3	in hiding in the country and another in exile about how they'll continue on now that the country
0:51.3	they've known for 20 years has disappeared.
0:58.6	Then, how one U.S. military veteran views Afghanistan's collapse.
1:03.9	Up first is Pashtana Durrani, the founder and executive director of Learn,
1:07.3	a charity focused on education in Afghanistan.
1:12.0	Out of concern for her safety, I'm not disclosing where she presently is in the country.
1:13.3	Let's get right to it.
1:24.3	The G0 World podcast is brought to you by our founding sponsor, First Republic.
1:29.8	First Republic, a private bank and wealth management company, places clients' needs first by providing responsive, relevant, and customized solutions. Visit firstrepublic.com to learn more.
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