In Afghan war, why the US must understand Taliban

With the fighting this week in Marjah, Afghanistan, the military focus has narrowed towards pushing out the Taliban and implementing a functioning government in the region. But after more than eight years of war in Afghanistan, how well does the U.S. understand the Taliban?

Two researchers have been living in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and recently translated “My Life with the Taliban,” the memoir of the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan. (Read more details about the author, Abdul Salam Zaeef.) We talk with one of the researchers, Alex Strick van Linschoten, about why it’s important for the U.S. to better understand the Taliban’s mindset in order to be successful in the country.