“Basically the Taliban are primarily Pashtun. So, who are the Taliban? Altamar hosts Peter Schechter and Muni Jensen took a step back to understand the group. And right now, I think the West has not quite decided what it wants to do with Afghanistan,” continues Girardet. “However, this has to be made very, very clear. And the Taliban needs to understand that unless they also give up certain things, they’re not going to get this economic backing,” says Girardet. And I think that is still the intention of the West, but it’s not being made clear. I think a lot is going to depend on the message the West now gives saying, ‘Okay, we will be willing to continue to support Afghanistan economically, and that there will be benefits.’ But this has to be made clear. “I think, unfortunately, you will see civil war elements occurring in lot of places. The U.S.’s imminent military withdrawal and the power vacuum it leaves behind raises the question of a civil war. One of the key coming policy concerns will be whether the United States and other Western countries provide financial backing to a Taliban-backed government? It’s hard to visualize this in the future. However, the long-term question is that the overwhelming majority of Afghans really do not support either the Taliban or the government,” continues Girardet. And I know some will be and are being brought to the United States and same with the UK. “So the question there is what’s going to happen to them. Thousands of Afghans have worked and benefited from the US-led intervention in Afghanistan, have received salaries and so on, but are considered by the Taliban to be the enemy,”points out Girardet. And I think unfortunately that may also happen with Afghanistan. “ For example, during the Algerian war when the French brought back their collaborators there (their translators), many were killed before that happened. military, such as translators and interpreters, are receiving death threats and will have to live in constant fear of the Taliban’s revenge for ‘betraying their country’. Now the Taliban is taking over city after city. But the message which has gone out is that basically ‘You’re on your own, we don’t care, and we’re leaving,” says Edward Girardet. And whether they will continue with development aid and investment–that’s another question. “ I think he has in the sense that they’re basically leaving Afghanistan now. After all the resources and funding poured into the country, did Biden make a mistake in pulling the troops out now? leaves Afghanistan – with almost nothing to show for it – after having spent close to $800 billion and losing over 2,300 lives to date. Taliban forces took over the country and, finally, Kabul with lightning speed. He has written several books, including Afghanistan: The Soviet War and produced numerous television current affairs segments and documentaries. Since then, he has traveled often throughout much of the country, often by foot. He has worked as a foreign correspondent for US News and World Report, where he first began covering Afghanistan several months prior to the Soviet Invasion in 1979. Girardet has worked as a journalist, writer and producer reporting from humanitarian and war zones in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere. In this week’s episode, we dive deeper into the complexities of what that means for the U.S., Afghanistan, and the region.Įdward Girardet, President of the International Centre for Humanitarian Reporting, a Geneva-based media foundation, and editor of Crosslines Global Report, joins Altamar to sort out what lies in store for the future of Afghanistan. Once again, an empire retreats from Afghanistan. And within days of the pullout, the Taliban have taken over the country. announced a full withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan, closing two decades of American military presence in the country. Guest: Edward Girardet, President of the International Centre for Humanitarian Reporting
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