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WAR 8 - Who Pays the Price?

WAR 8 - Who Pays the Price?

Released Wednesday, 6th July 2022
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WAR 8 - Who Pays the Price?

WAR 8 - Who Pays the Price?

WAR 8 - Who Pays the Price?

WAR 8 - Who Pays the Price?

Wednesday, 6th July 2022
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when you never meet his father was assassinated

1:00

and twenty eleven she thought about leaving

1:02

afghanistan for good your

1:05

, her story from our episode but

1:07

the narco kings of kandahar kandahar

1:09

was born in kandahar their family escaped

1:11

the soviets when she was just a just she

1:14

returned as an adult to put her american

1:16

education to use and her father followed

1:18

close behind he became mayor of kandahar

1:20

city his assassination

1:23

devastated rodina specially

1:25

because she believes she was because she

1:27

of western backed warlords not

1:29

the taliban

1:30

i we had the courage to at least

1:33

own it right a lot

1:35

of speculation still have who might be behind

1:38

it but no investigation when

1:40

he took place

1:42

after that here to go

1:44

back to the us to escape

1:46

the war that had taken her father from

1:48

her

1:54

what it when i and my family experience that

1:56

one i wouldn't wish upon anybody

1:59

you couldn't shake the feeling that she had more

2:01

to do in afghanistan that

2:03

her father wouldn't want to quit

2:05

on their homeland

2:07

and company me told me that

2:09

know he would want me to combat

2:11

kinda her had changed in the years that

2:13

ringing had been away the canadians

2:16

left and twenty eleven the obama

2:18

administration had sent in a surge of american

2:21

troops in an attempt to pacify

2:23

the countryside this is

2:25

regina was coming back in late twenty fourteen

2:28

the americans are pulling their ground troops the

2:30

plants will the hand of responsibility

2:32

for security to the afghan national

2:35

army which would be supported by

2:37

american air power many

2:39

afghans special in kabul

2:42

decried the police not ringing

2:45

and i remember having some

2:48

not be very internationally acceptable

2:51

interviews at that time where i said i'm

2:53

not opposing

2:56

to the drawdown have to members

2:59

some of my

3:00

then there network in kabul reached

3:02

out to meet regularly women think hurry

3:05

so irresponsible for saying

3:07

that you supported

3:08

let me through said a

3:10

my response to them with chew that

3:12

if i knew that the presence of the international

3:15

troops were going to help my people

3:17

in my country in my situation of

3:19

course i would support it

3:21

what i saw what i

3:23

experienced

3:25

personally to the point where

3:27

my own father

3:29

i ended i'm just

3:31

war

3:36

the end

3:38

my twenty sixteen regina decided

3:40

it was time to leave kandahar

3:43

my daughter to seven

3:45

i was in , part

3:47

of my life where i said the only

3:49

girl that i have and it happens

3:51

to be a girl thank god how

3:53

can i

3:54

petrified or or play with her future

3:57

in particularly in education

3:59

they keep and her in kinda hard

4:02

the she decided to move com up

4:04

until then kabul city had remained

4:07

an island of stability in an increasingly

4:09

violent country it wasn't

4:11

long before a friend of hers came up with an idea

4:14

that would lead to regina making history i

4:17

not open to school together

4:19

my response

4:20

the him immediately with but i don't know anything

4:22

about education he said i need a manager or

4:24

not education experts

4:27

would be international school the tried to

4:29

bridge a western curriculums with islamic

4:31

principles and afghan values

4:33

and

4:35

the sake of that of my daughter i had

4:37

no choice but to accept because having

4:39

moved to cabo i wasn't

4:41

interested in working with these fancy big

4:44

organizations like the un or other international

4:46

organizations are present

4:48

the school success for daughter

4:50

was the first student within two years

4:53

almost a hundred and twenty children were

4:55

and roll most of them were

4:57

from cobbled elite families when

5:00

kobe hit reggina school

5:02

was one of the few that was able to start up online

5:04

education then

5:06

in april twenty twenty he received

5:09

a very unexpected invitation

5:12

i received a call from president's

5:15

out as saying

5:16

nobody wants to seek crew with you

5:18

and your them the principle of me done interest

5:20

of guy said yes i said what about a the go

5:22

about the schools does

5:24

the provided okay

5:26

i shrugged ghani afghanistan's president

5:29

want to talk to her then he wanted

5:31

more than just for advice

5:33

the accepted the invitation spoke to him

5:36

and at the end of the phone

5:39

interview initially he proposed

5:41

that initially joined his cabinet

5:43

the president of afghanistan's wanted

5:45

run gina to be his minister of education

5:48

to be the first woman to ever hold the

5:50

post the to do so should

5:52

be joining a governments full of the kinds

5:54

of drug traffickers and warlords the

5:57

she despised the she blamed

5:59

for

5:59

filling her own father

6:01

i was surprised when i told my mother

6:03

for advice she was in the state that

6:05

the time she said rangy now

6:08

i know that this is hard because we've given

6:10

one sacrifice as a family

6:13

but he said

6:15

but i also understand that

6:18

if your father had not joined in made

6:20

the changes that he dead you

6:23

don't join and hopefully bring

6:25

changes things that

6:27

don't work then we

6:29

have no didn't play

6:31

the regina said yeah in some

6:34

ways just by taking that job could

6:36

be argued that regina was embodying

6:38

the aspirations of the west claimed

6:41

to have for afghanistan

6:43

the woman pass with bringing education's

6:45

to all of afghanistan's children

6:48

especially girls something that would

6:50

have been unthinkable before the war the

6:53

month that were to com would ever gonna

6:55

ask a question that afghans and

6:57

the rest of the world have been wrestling

6:59

with ever since

7:01

all this for

7:04

so many thousands of people

7:06

had been killed during the war they

7:08

die in vain

7:10

could you be a lasting legacy

7:12

they come out of all this violence

7:26

afghanistan today is a forgotten

7:29

country disappeared

7:31

from the headlines just weeks after

7:33

the taliban takeover but

7:35

the countries who spilled so much blood

7:37

and treasure there for twenty years still

7:40

haven't asked themselves asked themselves questions

7:43

what did we achieve was

7:45

it all worth it who would

7:47

not uncertain the human

7:49

catastrophe unfolding afghanistan

7:52

today a country that has lost

7:54

so many lives to war is

7:56

now at risk of losing more

7:59

to starvation

8:09

i marshy man and from canada

8:11

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10:37

one of the strangest aspects about the war

10:39

in afghanistan the to stated

10:41

purpose of the war kept changing

10:43

motion a mean an afghan

10:46

writer and commentator who now lives in canada

10:48

so that afghans are still perplexed

10:50

by it you went to

10:53

our body sun still we don't

10:55

know why you went there what was

10:57

your purpose right if you wanted

10:59

to defeat i'll say the entirely while you did

11:01

that in two thousand and two so

11:03

from two thousand two onwards what was the purpose

11:06

of your occupation or have fewer invasion

11:08

in of on his son stephen say

11:11

admin is a political scientist who

11:13

has written two books about canada's war

11:15

in afghanistan he says that

11:17

there was surprisingly little self reflection

11:20

a better warrants even at the time

11:22

we're starting to ask tough questions and twenty twenty two

11:25

now because the mission ended process

11:27

and fourteen and it ended in failure to than

11:29

twenty one and so now the worst they will

11:31

load wrong with gas and while wish i'm asking

11:34

that question when we were there

11:36

oh publishing what we're trying to accomplish

11:39

it's clear that immediately after two thousand

11:41

one the goal was to deny al qaeda

11:43

base of operation

11:45

soon that shifted towards supporting

11:47

the newly constructed afghan government

11:50

when kinda took over responsibility for kandahar

11:53

the purpose was to pacify the region

11:55

counterinsurgency

11:57

publicly it was never frame that

11:59

way

12:00

they retire early to live in conversations one on government

12:02

where the military try to win a war and

12:04

the government for was ninja fun shares an initial

12:06

try to part of it is now global affairs canada and

12:09

aid agencies were all focus mostly

12:11

on me there benchmarks

12:14

the benchmarks are oddly disconnected

12:16

from anything we conventionally think of as war

12:19

building fifty schools fixing

12:21

the dollar dance in order to aid

12:23

irrigation vaccinating children

12:25

for polio those are all

12:27

admirable things to attempt the

12:30

we never did six the dams and even

12:32

many of the schools were on occupied

12:34

shortly after we left the

12:36

many places in the world could use

12:38

more schools better infrastructure more

12:41

vaccination

12:42

the unimaginable that we would invade

12:44

and occupy a country to try to provide

12:47

those things

12:48

what does not okay what those things how to do with winning

12:50

the war in afghanistan are building a self sustaining

12:52

government in afghanistan which have been asking

12:54

generals those tough questions about how

12:57

does your mission your mission

12:59

thing where the monograph what he accomplished

13:01

we working with in can't our

13:03

how corrupt are they in how are we mitigating the

13:06

sex of corruption i think we do then

13:08

a lot of the things that we know now but we weren't really

13:10

been ask those questions

13:12

if they don't know whether the

13:14

vaccine against polio your car somebody to

13:16

support off against each album

13:18

we're finding out to be functional to the whole idea

13:20

was to try to get that people have wanted on

13:22

the bigger challenges we shut up these

13:25

goals be six signature projects

13:28

yeah and it was mostly saw the

13:30

effort back home but blusher any these

13:32

efforts were really doing

13:34

perhaps the best example of canada's

13:36

particular failures in afghanistan

13:39

this or pose a prison

13:41

the prison was in kandahar it

13:43

was were many taliban were held after they

13:45

were captured

13:46

one of canada's big initiatives in

13:48

the province was to train prison

13:51

guards

13:52

numerous canadian corrections officers

13:54

went to afghanistan in that effort

14:01

and we were so focused rightly

14:03

on the human rights violations the were trying to train

14:06

the afternoon wardens prison

14:08

guards to treat to treat better

14:10

but in two thousand and eight the taliban

14:12

struck

14:13

the taliban were smart a blow up our sense

14:16

and then allow people are able escape

14:18

after the prison break canada vowed

14:20

to help rebuild the prison canadian

14:22

officials even went so far as described

14:25

the prison break as a blessing in

14:27

disguise because it would allow them to

14:29

build a better more impervious

14:31

gate we did

14:33

they didn't stop the taliban in

14:36

two thousand eleventh just of canadians were set

14:38

to leave there was another prison

14:40

break the second time they dug a

14:42

tunnel from outside into the prison

14:45

the and a that should be detected in

14:47

d what five hundred people

14:49

have more let's get out over the course the night which meant

14:51

that nobody was walking the beat the determine where

14:53

the folks are going and it seem like

14:55

the folks that we were trained were complicit with in

14:57

the funny thing about us is that the second prison

14:59

break happened shortly after the

15:01

last quarter of force talk about how successful

15:04

are training in the prison guards were going

15:06

which suggests or or contradictions

15:11

all of the money in the training that canada

15:13

put into suppose a prison

15:15

didn't amount to much after years

15:17

of efforts the prison couldn't perform

15:19

it's most basic function

15:21

keeping people inside

15:25

i'm like many the people we spoke to for this series

15:27

stephen seidman does believe that

15:29

canada was able to achieve some

15:31

important objectives

15:33

when we look back at a mission for our was

15:35

the target he was the homeland for taliban

15:38

during our time we created a bubble of

15:40

security for the people reading the bubble yes

15:43

they were the days in there

15:45

other kinds of attacks

15:47

right

15:48

the can improve life expectancy improved

15:50

all that stuff got better while we were there and

15:52

so we might have got confused about house

15:55

or temper presence created a better

15:57

reality for a self sustaining asking

16:00

because as we lasted as a real

16:02

left that bubble popped

16:04

that's pretty my way and those markets

16:06

when away and know that education one way

16:09

we were less say the for very long the

16:11

and that basic reality

16:13

shaped everything else

16:15

there isn't the primary ways we could look

16:17

at our time in kandahar we held

16:19

places like kandahar city and

16:21

gave people a chance to build lives for

16:23

themselves there's a narrative that

16:25

runs counter to the the by trying

16:28

to hold onto these urban areas and population

16:30

centers nato forces would

16:32

bomb and raid rural afghanistan

16:35

many many civilians were killed even

16:38

more lost their homes for their livelihoods

16:41

are there simply humiliate

16:43

that was what led to the growth of

16:45

the told i put that

16:47

alternative scenario to say

16:50

the creation of a bubble around

16:52

the major population areas the idea

16:54

population cedric warfare as you protect the people

16:56

while that has consequences for the places where people are

16:59

and an easy to your seen that those areas

17:02

to the taliban which means that that's not great

17:05

or you're using less precise

17:08

the rules against them because if you're near them you're

17:10

ever our time is identified who's who are

17:13

you making mistakes it's really hard to

17:15

i commission afghanistan because we

17:17

were doing harm and we're doing good at the same time

17:19

was time was of those two things we

17:22

better than having a tell them rather place i

17:24

would suggest the next five years can tell us a little

17:26

bit about whether we we were better occupiers

17:28

and helmet

17:30

motion a mean says that at it's

17:32

heart this was the basic

17:34

problem with the war

17:36

there was always this dichotomy

17:39

or can trust in feeding

17:41

different parts of hamza

17:43

for instance like urban areas they're

17:45

lysander improve

17:47

what for roller air yes

17:49

the was devastated

17:50

though this dichotomy or this

17:53

two different worlds starting to

17:55

emerge and the last twenty

17:57

years

17:59

they didn't

17:59

ways live in rural afghanistan

18:02

got even worse in the years after

18:04

canada last the americans

18:07

increase the number of air raids on

18:09

suspected taliban positions after

18:11

twenty fourteen resulting in

18:13

more and more civilian casualties

18:17

this last year reporters from

18:19

the new york times visited villages

18:21

and kinda hard to try to figure out how

18:23

many civilians had been killed in

18:25

specific drone strikes in

18:28

vandy to more they found that most

18:30

households had lost an average

18:33

of five family members because

18:36

the afghan government was so absent from

18:38

those areas there were no death certificates

18:40

that the reporters could view

18:42

instead they had to confirmed the

18:45

deaths visiting the many

18:47

many graveyards that covered

18:49

the countryside

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19:59

indiana who midi was put forward as the

20:02

new minister of education for afghanistan

20:04

and twenty twenty she didn't know that

20:06

her tenure would only last fourteen months

20:09

in my little time at

20:11

the ministry as a woman in

20:13

afghanistan in a time where

20:15

there was so much going

20:18

on every single minute

20:20

and have a single day i would

20:22

have to summarize it and saying

20:25

that

20:25

i gave it my best the best

20:27

that i had the best i could give

20:30

he says that she tried to creep policy with ordinary

20:32

afghan children in mind

20:34

that sounds like the bare minimum

20:36

the neighbor fellow ministers use their positions

20:38

so leads to enrich themselves and their

20:40

families

20:42

i tried to think of minister's

20:44

office connected to the classroom and

20:46

fourth grade and of little village

20:48

in the middle of nowhere if

20:50

it is going to benefit that child

20:53

that child approve it but if

20:55

it is to benefit and m p

20:58

the family members of an mp

21:01

their children have some tribal

21:04

elder leader of the lord

21:06

warlord sitting you know

21:08

enjoying privileges of international

21:11

contracts and berries military

21:14

if it is to help and support

21:16

anything but the children of up on a fan

21:19

i will stand up again

21:22

regina claims that this a gala terrorism

21:24

was one of the reasons she lost a vote of confidence

21:27

the afghan parliament

21:28

i prayed

21:30

the records of prayer of gratitude

21:33

the second that it was announced that i did

21:35

not get the vote of confidence because

21:38

quite honestly

21:39

that corrupt parliament

21:42

the majority crap

21:43

them under the handful of people maybe

21:45

about ten fifteen maximum men

21:47

and women who i do respect than who

21:49

i think we're quite honest and

21:51

there's and of a representation of

21:54

the people by the great

21:56

majority of the parliament the parliament

21:58

women

21:59

corrupt officials hear

22:02

nothing about of understand or a teacher

22:05

whose only purpose

22:08

in the feet was to run and manage their

22:10

own businesses and

22:12

they could be a man government officials

22:15

to find contract that would benefit them

22:18

personally

22:19

i refused to do that to the best

22:21

of my ability that i could it

22:24

costs me that vote but i am so

22:26

proud of myself but i was able to stand

22:28

up against that

22:29

despite the fact that she lost the parliamentary vote

22:32

president ashraf ghani decided to keep

22:34

her in the position as acting minister

22:36

that wouldn't last long regina

22:39

watched and waited and the last american

22:41

troops were withdrawing from afghanistan

22:43

last summer

22:45

even in august as the taliban rapidly

22:47

took control of much of the country she

22:49

continued to come into work that's

22:51

where she was on august fifteenth the

22:53

day the taliban entered kabul

23:00

i would in my office i went diligently

23:03

as i mean i as i did every day

23:05

he was working in a draft of a national

23:07

education policy which would have been the country's

23:10

first during the occupation years

23:13

the other things i completed that it was in

23:15

it's final edit still upon my desk

23:17

reading the final version to sign

23:20

to send to president ashraf

23:22

ghani for a final approval before

23:24

we could publicize to the country and

23:27

by twelve fifteen like chief of staff came

23:30

to my office and

23:31

with worries in his eyes looked at me and

23:34

said madam minister there's not a

23:36

single person left in this ministry

23:38

i think it is not safe for

23:41

you to

23:41

mean here in to me to leave

23:43

i looked outside through

23:45

the windows to see

23:47

that's okay off on the streets

23:49

with

23:50

the german people running left and

23:52

right

23:53

and i had nothing left to argue

23:56

with , because literally there

23:58

was nobody left in the ministry

23:59

the

24:01

why hack whatever i had

24:04

in the office

24:05

my purse my computer

24:07

my daughter pictures

24:10

and

24:11

keep up that was given as a gift

24:13

to me hand painted by one of my

24:15

understood exactly son

24:18

damn i walked out

24:20

knowing that i probably was never going to return

24:23

to that ministry and as we

24:25

drove out of the ministry

24:27

the date for wide open

24:30

the security personnel

24:33

that were given to

24:35

the ministry not a single

24:37

one of them was present and

24:39

now we left with the gates still

24:41

why

24:41

open because there was nobody to suffocate

24:43

actually

24:45

nina hamid afghanistan first

24:47

see more education minister a woman

24:49

who blame that same government for her father's

24:52

murder and will one of the last officials

24:54

to stay at their posts that

24:57

most of the cabinet members should have been in their

24:59

office still like i was

25:01

but i later learned that

25:03

many had fled already and

25:05

and i still didn't believe that it was

25:07

edit everything had fallen

25:09

illinois

25:11

the night when know

25:13

the new made it out that president

25:15

bush upon

25:18

in the plane initially

25:21

i was angry when i heard of the news

25:23

but i think soon after within minutes

25:26

i realize what

25:29

could he have done

25:32

regina vowed to stay in the country even

25:35

to work with the taliban if necessary

25:37

she's one of the very he government officials who met

25:39

with taliban leaders to see if you could keep

25:42

her job

25:43

that you could try to make sure girls could get

25:45

an education under the new regime

25:47

while they assured her that they would eventually

25:49

provide girls have an education once

25:51

they could ensure the system complied with their

25:53

harsh version of sharia they told

25:56

her to no longer be in charge of the ministry

25:59

they asked the to speak for the regime

26:01

to reassure the west but they weren't the bogeyman

26:04

that they'd been made out to be

26:06

that was the day indeed i decided

26:08

to flee the family eventually

26:11

made to arizona where she lives today

26:14

motion a mean for you heard from the top

26:16

of the show was watching the taliban take

26:18

over from canada

26:20

it happened so rapidly and so

26:22

quickly

26:23

our actually very concerned

26:25

for my family

26:26

my wife and kids and parents

26:28

and brothers and sisters

26:30

there were enough honey sad i

26:32

didn't know whether seat fighting

26:35

more urban warfare could start

26:38

the biggest fear was that cobble

26:40

would descend into urban warfare the

26:42

kind that had destroyed much of the city in the nineteen

26:45

nineties

26:46

luckily that didn't happen instead

26:49

of garrison began to face a very different kind

26:51

of crisis the economy collapsed

26:53

people are starving

26:56

because taliban are considered a terrorist

26:58

organization

27:00

afghanistan is now under crippling economic

27:02

sanctions and worse the

27:04

biden administration froze billions of

27:06

dollars i belong to the afghan central bank

27:09

completely cutting the country off from the global

27:11

financial system

27:13

current situation is the as

27:15

devastating it's the

27:18

economic warfare basically

27:21

waged by the international community

27:23

against us

27:25

this international aid agencies have left the country

27:28

this is especially devastating since

27:30

the afghan economies had been built by the

27:33

west to be almost entirely dependent

27:35

on foreign aid prices for

27:37

basic foodstuffs has skyrocketed during

27:39

the un estimates ninety five percent

27:42

of afghans don't have enough to eat

27:45

half are facing a cute food

27:47

shortages

27:48

the million children are facing malnutrition

27:52

and ordinary of lines are

27:54

being punished they don't

27:56

know why they're being punished

27:58

they have nothing to do

27:59

the taliban

28:01

i remember one friend he

28:03

reached out to me that if their

28:05

ways if they can send one

28:07

thousand two hundred you his daughters

28:09

to apply the sun

28:11

perjury ah i can

28:13

you're all the time

28:15

the guys today exhausted zero one

28:17

month or which are limit

28:20

they have to wait for another month

28:22

the child is basically

28:25

suffering

28:26

in the doctors told him that he has

28:28

to under go through

28:31

so imagine this is deliver

28:33

love devastation that of answer

28:35

undergoing

28:37

according to the wall street journal some

28:39

afghans have begun to sell their

28:41

own organs in order to get

28:43

money to see their children

28:46

the as hargett sergeant canada as minister

28:48

of international development if the canadian

28:50

government would be willing to drop sanctions

28:53

against afghanistan's in light

28:55

of the humanitarian catastrophe let's

28:58

not forget with the taliban they're still a

29:00

d r recognize terrorist organisation

29:02

writes ah i'm also the fact

29:04

that will detail than was in power is

29:06

dawning of women in the stadiums

29:09

are arbitrary chili's that

29:11

we're going on in , are

29:13

some the things that were not kind of forget

29:16

and we need to make sure that we have have

29:18

whole people to account but at the same time

29:21

our role as not to up when i heard you

29:23

with the taliban are we want to help the afghan people

29:25

and that's exactly what we die canada

29:28

has pledged some aid money to afghans

29:31

the problem is

29:32

it it's still illegal for any canadian

29:34

energy to deal with the taliban

29:37

considering that they are the government

29:39

of afghanistan that makes it nearly

29:41

impossible for independent aid agencies

29:44

to help afghans and anyway

29:46

while i have some sympathy for with such and

29:48

was saying the taliban has committed

29:50

numerous atrocities i

29:52

find it hard to see how the economic

29:55

isolation the west is forcing upon

29:57

afghanistan doesn't amount

29:59

to

29:59

form of collective punishment

30:02

the last week a devastating earthquake

30:05

hit eastern afghanistan

30:07

more than a thousand people were killed

30:10

the motion again

30:11

this was the most devastating

30:13

natural disaster in the country's

30:16

recent history you know destroyed

30:18

entire villages people from

30:20

outside from overseas they could

30:23

not send remittances money

30:25

to the country due to the sanctions and

30:28

i have tried many of my friends

30:30

side we couldn't send money

30:33

and they were rejected and

30:35

, sure a lot of people millions of people

30:37

wanted to help their fellow

30:39

countrymen but they could

30:41

not

30:42

the taliban to a failing

30:44

afghans despite promises

30:46

they made during peace negotiations with the

30:48

united states teenage girls

30:51

are still not allowed to go to school the

30:53

many parts of the country's women are only

30:55

allowed outdoors if accompanied by a male

30:58

guardian moderate factions

31:00

within the taliban's have been losing out

31:02

to the hardliners

31:04

in motion believe that the sanctions

31:06

are only helping the most extreme talibs

31:09

and a given that is

31:11

the international community miscalculated

31:14

the situation once again

31:16

they , that if they can pressurized

31:19

the taliban's didn't they were forced

31:21

him to provide some sort of concessions

31:24

in that bag fired that basically

31:26

the and for the argument up the hardliners

31:29

the hardliners told the modern ones

31:32

that no matter what you do

31:34

international community was

31:36

blacklist you with sense and you with

31:39

and issue so it has

31:41

to do our job

31:43

despite all of us motion is still hopeful

31:46

the moon after mistakes

31:48

as far far last fifteen years

31:50

and i will remain optimistic and

31:52

our our will maintain this optimism

31:54

about upon his son and given

31:56

that the war has ended

31:58

the third grade seen

32:00

and that in enough itself

32:03

that forced us to be optimistic

32:05

of valley side and international community

32:07

and superpowers they have tried

32:10

war aggression in violent for

32:12

the last forty three years

32:14

they did not achieve anything

32:16

basically we're back to square one

32:19

eyebrows need your support don't

32:22

, them in this uncertainty

32:25

uncertainty trying so

32:27

many violent things violent

32:30

, united states alone dropped

32:31

the five thousand bombs and

32:33

afghanistan indeed

32:35

the people torture people a

32:38

lotta good work also done

32:40

but it has been diverse now

32:42

and at least the amount of

32:44

money that you spend the taxpayer money

32:46

in a funny side on war whatever

32:49

is left in whatever you have committed

32:51

actually spend that on development at

32:54

least spend that on the welfare

32:56

and will be and a half months so

32:58

you leave a good legacy you

33:01

leave an impression to the people

33:03

have valley son that the west

33:05

not at war with afghanistan

33:08

the after twenty years

33:10

of occupation and forty years

33:12

of war what is afghanistan left

33:14

with the economy that's in

33:16

shambles have build infrastructure

33:19

another refugee crisis

33:21

the taliban once again in charge

33:24

there's one very hard

33:26

lesson that i think we need to learn

33:28

from this war every

33:30

time more a western soldiers

33:33

were sent into an area things

33:35

got worse the canadian

33:38

surge into kandahar resulted

33:40

in more of me so did

33:42

the american serves that follows even

33:45

when we thought we were helping

33:47

the word

33:48

violence only be get more violence

33:52

many groups share the blame for

33:54

the fate of afghanistan

33:56

the americans and nato al qaeda

33:58

and the taliban

33:59

pakistan's intelligence service the

34:02

old warlords and the new ones

34:04

hard to think of another country that

34:06

have been meddled with more by outside

34:09

forces in recent history that

34:11

afghanistan

34:12

now at the end of it

34:14

millions of afghans are dead millions

34:18

have fled and millions more would

34:20

flee if the rest of the world cared

34:22

enough about them to take the man

34:25

my billions upon billions

34:27

of dollars that were poured into it the

34:29

poorest country on the plane

34:31

the majority of the people are at

34:34

risk of starvation they're condom

34:36

use been destroyed despite

34:38

that the plight of afghans

34:40

barely even makes headlines anymore

34:43

they've been made invisible

34:45

dina her midi still mourning

34:47

for her country

34:48

the country she is now had to flee from

34:50

twice

34:54

wouldn't have provided of individuals

34:57

like father and i wish my and it was

34:59

the only one in

35:01

forty years and a fun fact the

35:03

been eating sacrifice of life

35:06

some lights unfortunately don't matter the

35:09

night of of aniston the

35:11

only reality to me now instead

35:14

never really made and for twenty

35:17

years

35:18

then i committed my adult working

35:20

life to with in

35:22

an understanding believing a thing

35:23

the can be different for the future of

35:26

the up on citizens amendment the women

35:28

and children

35:30

i was stupid enough to believe

35:33

that wouldn't work leaders make promises

35:35

that

35:35

the

35:36

in actuality

35:37

we know that they don't if

35:40

you truly believe in these principle

35:42

in value set your for yourself

35:44

been your society the your country

35:47

then why do you go

35:49

with the

35:51

very people who work

35:53

against such principle

35:56

the twenty years us

36:00

the community military

36:03

the mode it is supported murderers

36:07

killers people

36:09

who only played and the service to

36:11

democracy and bringing down

36:14

the whole nation a forty million

36:16

though only began to dream

36:18

to hope for a better future can

36:21

you sleep at night and and and

36:23

tell yourself that you truly

36:26

a global leader because

36:28

my opinion

36:30

ignorant a definite

36:31

probably because a global

36:34

leader is someone who if

36:36

he or she believes in the principles

36:38

for themselves they would wish

36:40

it upon others as well if

36:42

i would any of those leaders in those positions

36:45

would make those decisions

36:47

i would honestly be extremely ashamed

36:49

of my of

36:51

you know been watching the warned ukraine

36:53

unfold

36:54

and she find it hard to not think of the parallels

36:57

between what's happening now and the fate

36:59

that befell her country

37:01

horrible for president

37:03

then he in ukraine and the

37:05

people who are suffering at the hands

37:07

the ugly and unjust war

37:09

a war that we as afghans experience

37:12

in nineteen seventy eight seventy nine when

37:14

russia invaded afghanistan

37:16

however i do cringe of the inside

37:19

when i look at the reality in the hypocrisy

37:21

of the world bet about forty years

37:23

ago

37:24

a cornerstone as a nation enough

37:27

on the sun as the people were often does

37:29

the people were also applauded

37:31

reported be were the

37:33

warriors you know they were

37:36

this freedom fighters

37:38

the mujahideen freedom fighters

37:40

that were financially

37:43

and militarily supported

37:46

by a fee a

37:48

and i find pakistan

37:50

mm and other allies in the world

37:54

the same elements

37:55

we don't

37:56

in becoming

37:58

the very word lord somewhere

38:00

the engaged in the destruction of upon fun

38:02

in the past twenty years

38:04

hope that the ukrainian

38:07

people

38:08

the ukrainian nation

38:10

don't believe what

38:11

it

38:13

it's hard not to escape the ceiling the

38:15

history is repeating itself

38:17

not just because the taliban or governing again

38:20

just like in the years before nine eleven there's

38:23

an insurgency in the north against the taliban

38:26

this time led by och med massoud

38:28

the son of och med shah massoud the

38:30

legendary guerrilla fighter

38:32

some of american politicians are

38:34

already asking the us to do

38:36

what they did before

38:38

send money and guns into afghanistan

38:41

to fight the taliban

38:43

the international community

38:46

consider

38:48

according either financially

38:52

or through ammunition again

38:55

you continue

38:57

another

38:58

the of the civil war

39:01

in afghanistan a really want to

39:03

challenge really seriously decide

39:05

what you guys want to do with these people

39:07

you know when i get angry about

39:11

they're their love for killing

39:14

and destruction

39:16

i'm sorry but i have to say this

39:19

war is

39:22

the game of men

39:24

the men who loves to show their power

39:27

to

39:28

ammunition on their back ammunition

39:31

in their hands

39:33

and celebrating power

39:37

the more appealing

39:38

and of course we paid the price

39:41

anything children poor

39:43

people left and right you

39:45

never see

39:47

a war lords or a drug lords or

39:49

a war monsters own son

39:51

or own brother or own

39:54

selves

39:55

the killed in the front line

39:57

the always the children of other

39:59

the people who give

40:01

like but innocent children fighting

40:03

own money nine other

40:32

canada and the west will

40:34

obligation to help afghans in

40:36

any way that they can splintered

40:39

economic aid easing of sanctions

40:41

for fast tracking refugees afghans

40:43

can't afford to wait any longer

40:46

kinda , want to discuss the legacy

40:48

of our war in afghanistan but

40:51

afghans are living with that legacy

40:54

every day

40:56

my country my country

40:58

is people

40:59

starving not

41:01

, they are lazy not

41:04

because they don't wish to better

41:06

their lives but they are now

41:09

considered by the un as

41:11

the un on the brink of starvation

41:13

because international

41:15

actors made horrible

41:18

decisions and , on

41:20

people have to pay a price for it it

41:23

war in afghanistan might be over

41:25

with the war against afghans continues

41:28

to this day

42:17

that's your episode of comments if you

42:19

liked this episode please support us

42:22

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42:30

podcasts is our final episode in

42:32

our series in the war in war

42:35

thank you so much you list this

42:37

episode relied on work done by graeme smith

42:40

steve said men motion a mean

42:42

sharif shall wrath of khan

42:44

at the new york times sooner angle

42:46

rasmussen at the wall street journal and

42:49

many many others if

42:51

you want to get in touch with us you can tweet

42:53

us you commons pod we

42:55

can also email me or she had email

42:57

line dot com this episode

43:00

was produced by me in jordan cornish with

43:02

by production by nor azria our

43:05

executive producers cure and outs

43:07

horn and our music is by

43:09

nathan burley if you like what

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