Revelations About the Forever War in Afghanistan
The Political Scene | The New Yorker
The New Yorker
4.3 • 3.9K Ratings
🗓️ 12 December 2019
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On Monday, the Washington Post published “The Afghanistan Papers,” a trove of more than two thousand pages of interviews with U.S. and foreign officials about the war in Afghanistan. The document reveals the extent to which politicians and military leaders lied to the public about the conflict. Dexter Filkins, who has covered the war since its inception, joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the report, his experiences as a reporter in Afghanistan, and the current status of America’s longest war.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choicesTranscript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Discover Earth's ultimate untamed places with wilderness. With access to 6 million acres of private land |
| 0:07.7 | in eight African countries, wilderness offers intimate wildlife encounters and experiences that will |
| 0:13.0 | leave you changed forever. The accommodations are luxurious and stay true to the vibrant soul |
| 0:19.8 | and spirit of each destination and the trips are |
| 0:23.0 | meticulously planned from arrival to departure, making them perfect for a group, family or |
| 0:28.5 | solo travellers. Wilderness is among the leaders of conservation hospitality, with more than 60 |
| 0:34.5 | of the most highly awarded lodges in camps in Africa. |
| 0:43.0 | Wilderness is especially excited this year to focus on wellness, providing experiences that immerse you in beautiful places to restore your sense of self through nature. |
| 0:48.1 | To learn more and book your own wilderness adventure, go to wilderness destinations.com |
| 0:52.9 | slash women who travel. |
| 0:55.7 | eBay, it's a place to fall in love with new pre-loved vintage and rare fashion over and over |
| 1:01.6 | again. Your favorite designers, expertly authenticated. Yeah, eBay. Things people love. |
| 1:11.2 | This is the political scene, a weekly conversation with New Yorker writers and guests about |
| 1:16.2 | politics. It's Thursday, December 12th. I'm Dorothy Wickenden, executive editor of the New Yorker. |
| 1:22.8 | On Monday, the Washington Post published a trove of documents containing interviews with more than 400 officials |
| 1:29.4 | who had been involved with the U.S. war in Afghanistan since it began 18 years ago. |
| 1:36.2 | After a three-year legal fight, the Post won the release of the documents, |
| 1:39.9 | which were compiled during a project called Lessons Learned, run by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. |
| 1:49.0 | The Afghanistan Papers reveal the extent to which the U.S. government has lied about the war and mismanaged the rebuilding of Afghan society. |
| 1:58.0 | As Douglas Lute, an Army General who served as the White House's Afghan war czar during |
| 2:03.3 | the Bush and Obama administrations, told interviewers, we were devoid of a fundamental |
| 2:08.8 | understanding of Afghanistan. We didn't know what we were doing. Nonetheless, the administration, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The New Yorker, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The New Yorker and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.