The Return of the Taliban
After 20 years and more than $2 trillion, the US is under growing pressure finally to withdraw from Afghanistan, leaving the country where it started: in the hands of the Taliban. What will this mean for Afghanistan’s people, their neighbors, and the world?
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Transcript
Elmira Bayrasli: Welcome to Opinion Has It. I’m Elmira Bayrasli. Could the longest war in US history finally be ending? As the May 1 deadline for a full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan nears, the answer is probably no, at least for now.
Archive Recording: President Biden is providing new details on some of the administration’s foreign policy plans. He also gave an indication of when he might be prepared to bring back troops from Afghanistan.
Archive Recording, President Joe Biden: The answer is that it’s going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline.
EB: The current Afghan war began in 2001, within a month of 9/11.
Archive Recording, President George W. Bush: One month ago today, innocent citizens from more than 80 nations were attacked and killed without warning or provocation.
EB: The terrorist attacks had shaken the United States to the core. President George W. Bush was determined to dismantle the group that had perpetrated it: al-Qaeda.
Archive Recording, President George W. Bush: The attack took place on American soil, but it was an attack on the heart and soul of the civilized world.