Another Take: What will happen to Afghanistan’s CIA-backed militias?
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 748 Ratings
🗓️ 6 December 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Every Saturday, we revisit a story from the archives. This originally aired on xx, 20xx. None of the dates, titles, or other references from that time have been changed.
Since the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the US has trained thousands of Afghan security forces. Among them are militias that were backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency. For years, activists and journalists have documented civilian killings that took place by their hand. How will that legacy affect the current fight ahead for the country?
In this episode:
- Emran Feroz (@Emran_Feroz), Journalist
- Patricia Gossman (@pagossman), Human Rights Watch Associate Asia Director
Episode credits:
This episode was updated by Noor Wazwaz. The original production team Negin Owliaei with Dina Kesbeh, Priyanka Tilve, Ney Alvarez, Alexandra Locke,Tom Fenton , Stacey Samuel and Amy Walters and our host, Malika Bilal. Tom Fenton is our story editor. Alex Roldan is our sound designer. Aya El-Mileik is our engagement producer.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our engagement producers are Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio. Andrew Greiner is lead of audience engagement. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:08.0 | Hi, I'm Nour Waswas. I'm a senior producer with the take, coming to you with another take, where we bring back stories from the archives. |
| 0:21.3 | This week, the D.C. National Guard shooting has triggered new restrictions on Afghans, |
| 0:26.2 | after officials said that the suspect worked with the CIA partner force in Afghanistan. |
| 0:31.4 | The Trump administration has responded by pausing visas for Afghan passport holders |
| 0:35.8 | and halting asylum decisions. |
| 0:38.3 | Back in 2021, we reported on CIA-backed Afghan forces |
| 0:42.4 | at the center of long-running allegations of civilian killings |
| 0:46.1 | and the legacy they left behind. |
| 0:48.9 | That original episode aired August 6, 2021. |
| 0:52.5 | All dates and references are from that time. |
| 1:01.1 | After 20 years, U.S. troops are withdrawing from Afghanistan. |
| 1:06.0 | It's time to end America's longest war. |
| 1:08.9 | It's time for American troops to come home. |
| 1:12.2 | And as the international military presence winds down, |
| 1:15.4 | there has been headline after headline |
| 1:17.2 | about the country's deteriorating security situation. |
| 1:20.8 | We're going to start this news hour in Afghanistan, |
| 1:23.2 | where violence is getting more intense. |
| 1:25.5 | Hundreds have fled the region as Taliban attacks continue with its offensive. |
| 1:30.3 | Multiple explosions have hit the Afghan capital Kabul, |
| 1:33.3 | including within the city's heavily fortified green zone. |
... |
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