We cannot afford as the United States to even to entertain the fantasy of accepting our decline and trying to go gracefully into the wings.

We have got to get ourselves together. We have got to understand the inherent advantages

that the United States has. And we have got to realize that we have an obligation to ourselves

and our children, our grandchildren, and to the world to lead.

Welcome to post-Corona, where we try to understand COVID-19's lasting impact on the economy, culture, and geopolitics. I'm Dan Senor.

While the world watches America's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan,

there's enormous potential for human catastrophe in the weeks, months, and

years ahead.

At best, the future of Afghanistan is uncertain.

But what about the future of America's role in the world?

How does it impact the geopolitical landscape.

What are the strategic implications for the West of what's playing out right now?

What does it mean for China and Taiwan and Japan?

For Russia, for Turkey? Is the new U.S. policy in Central Asia simply one more

step towards American disengagement globally, a process that has been ongoing through three administrations, Democrat and Republican.

On this podcast we focus on COVID-19's lasting impact on our economy and geopolitics. But what's playing out in Afghanistan

right now is too consequential. So we're going to dive into it today with Fred Kagan.

I've known Fred for a long time going back to

when I worked on US policy in Iraq. I always try to pick Fred's brain to make sense

of what we're doing right or wrong in any number of military theaters, especially

Afghanistan. Fred was based in Afghanistan for a year and a half where he was a top

strategic advisor to General Petraeus and then General McChrystal and General

...