Afghanistan: How the Taliban Won

Warfare

History Hit

History

4.5 • 943 Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2023

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In August 2021, Afghanistan's capital city Kabul, was captured by the Taliban. With scenes of panic, anarchy, and chaos splashed across every major news outlet - it marked the final moments of the War in Afghanistan. With more than 123,000 individuals evacuated by the US Coalition and their Allies, Afghanistan's central government collapsing, and foreign citizens stranded - it begs the question, what happened in Afghanistan? And how did the Taliban win?

In this episode, James welcomes Professor Theo Farrell to the podcast to help answer this difficult question. Author of the book 'Unwinnable: Britain's War in Afghanistan', Theo examines where the Coalition went wrong, and if the events of August 2021 could have been avoided. Examining the roles of key players - from Joe Biden to Tony Blair, and the geopolitical state of the world - is it possible to know what went wrong in Afghanistan, and is it possible to guess what happens next?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The war in Afghanistan could have been a very different story.
0:06.0	U.S. and Allied forces could have successfully withdrawn from the country in 2002
0:11.0	having done the job they were sent out to do, to defeat Al-Qaeda.
0:15.0	Instead, in the years that follow, the Allies paid a devastating price for their presence,
0:20.0	and in 2001 the US withdrew from the country in what are now infamous scenes of chaos and
0:25.9	hasty retreat.
0:27.9	I'm your host James Patton Rogers and on today's warfare podcast we're looking into
0:31.6	how the Taliban ultimately won in Afghanistan.
0:35.2	To find out, I travel to Sydney in Australia to sit down with one of the world's leading experts
0:39.7	and key policy advisors on the conflict, Professor Theo Farrell.
0:44.1	Theo is the author of Unwinable, Britain's War in Afghanistan,
0:47.9	published by Penguin.
0:49.5	And it's from his experience in country
0:51.8	and through his negotiations with the Taliban that he helps us. his Hi Fia, welcome to the Warfare Podcast. How you doing?
1:04.0	Well, thanks James, I just had my morning coffee, I'm doing very much.
1:08.0	Well, it's great to have you on the podcast.
1:10.0	As we start, I guess we're marking the post-Afghan War world, we're 18 months since that botched withdrawal from Afghanistan,
1:22.0	by the West, by the coalition forces.
1:24.8	I mean, well I say botched.
1:26.4	Would you agree with that kind of description of what happened in August 2021?
1:32.4	I mean, we had drone strike. in August 2021. 2021.
1:33.0	We had drone strikes that accidentally targeted civilians.
	...

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