In today’s podcast Savage analyzes the events surrounding the fall of Afghanistan, and shares TWO GREAT INTERVIEWS. First, investigative journalist Craig Whitlock of The Washington Post joins to talk about his new book “The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War” which details how the U.S. military misled us for years regarding the readiness of the Afghan army. Savage says we too often fail to understand the culture of a foreign land; Whitlock agrees and describes problems with Afghanistan’s intense tribalism. Whitlock & Savage also discuss the opium trade, the "silk road" that may bring rare earth minerals to China, and the implications for Taiwan. A scintillating and wide ranging interview between two very intelligent and knowledgeable men! The SECOND interview is a historic conversation with General Alexander Haig about Iraq in 2007. He warned us that the neocons are "ideologues" who "want to impose democracy at the point of a bayonet." He also said that if you DO want to impose regime change on a foreign country, you'd better "rally all the assets needed to do it effectively." Savage also points out the political ramifications of the events. Images of people falling to their deaths from a great height is horribly reminiscent of 9/11. Gross failures of military intelligence, and feckless non-leadership of a not-very-bright U.S. President. And, like 9/11, this casts doubt on America as a world leader. After four years of strong leadership by President Donald Trump, this is a difficult pill to swallow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices