Chaos And Collapse In Afghanistan: How Did The U.S. Not See It Coming?
Chaos And Collapse In Afghanistan: How Did The U.S. Not See It Coming?
Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021. Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021.
Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty ImagesThe Taliban now control Afghanistan. How did the country's government fall so quickly — and why didn't the U.S. see it coming? NPR put those questions to former commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus. He spoke to Mary Louise Kelly.
Afghanistan's future remains unclear, especially for its women and girls. One of them is Freshta Karim, a Kabul resident and founder of a mobile library project called Charmaghz, who spoke to Audie Cornish. Karim is one of many Afghans who NPR reached in Kabul during the final hours before its collapse into Taliban control. Those interviews aired on Morning Edition, and on special coverage produced by the staffs of Weekend Edition and All Things Considered.
For more Afghanistan coverage listen to Up First via Apple, Spotify, or Google; or the NPR Politics Podcast via Apple, Spotify, or Google.
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Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
This episode was produced by Brent Baughman and Jason Fuller. It was edited by Nishant Dahiya, Andrew Sussman, Lee Hale, Brianna Scott, and Fatma Tanis. Our executive producer is Cara Tallo.