Everything You Need to Know About What’s Happening in Afghanistan
The rapid collapse of Afghanistan to Taliban rule has created a chaotic, complicated situation. But here’s the fundamental point: the US has nothing to show for two decades of bloodshed and occupation.
Taliban members are seen near Hamid Karzai International Airport as thousands of Afghans rush to flee the Afghan capital of Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 16, 2021. (Haroon Sabawoon / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
What’s going on in Afghanistan?
Mere weeks after the United States began pulling out troops, the Taliban took the capital of Kabul and proclaimed itself the new government. The US-backed president fled the country. Hand-wringing comparisons to the “fall of Saigon” in 1975 immediately circulated in elite circles.
To make sense of it all, Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison, cohosts of the new left-wing foreign policy podcast American Prestige, spoke over the weekend. The following is an edited and condensed version of their conversation; you can find the full episode here.
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