Afghanistan–United States relations

Rep. Michael Waltz speaks as Rep. Mike Johnson displays a map during the House Armed Services Committee on the conclusion of military operations in Afghanistan and plans for future counterterrorism operations on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021,

Former adviser Sarah Chayes: The US failed to understand how Afghans wage war

Afghanistan

Sarah Chayes served as a special adviser to the US military in Afghanistan and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after a decade on the ground in Kandahar. She joined The World’s host Marco Werman to discuss the military testimonies on the US’ chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Families evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, walk through the terminal before boarding a bus after they arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Virginia, Aug. 27, 2021.

Afghan families are being rapidly resettled in the US. But adjusting to their new lives will take years.  

Afghanistan
Hundreds of people, some holding documents, gather near an evacuation control checkpoint on the perimeter of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 27, 2021.

Afghanistan airlift continues after deadly suicide attacks

Top of The World
In this Aug. 21, 2021, image provided by the U.S. Air Force, US Airmen and U.S. Marines guide evacuees aboard a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. 

Canada faces criticism for its slow evacuation of Afghans who helped the government

Afghanistan
Several US military personnel are show standing guard next to the runways of the Kabul airport with two large military vehicles in the distance.

How the Kabul airport went from calm to chaos

Afghanistan
Crowd at night gathered around a Luftwaffe transport plane

An Afghan American scholar describes his fear-filled journey from the chaos at Kabul airport to a plane bound for home in the US

Afghanistan

Hanif Sufizada got caught in Kabul as the Taliban took over. A scholar and resident of the US who works at the University of Nebraska in Omaha describes his experience trying to leave.

A soldier in uniform stands next to a man in a military vehicle with rugged mountains in the background.

Afghan interpreters languish in visa limbo as US coalitions return home

Migration

Mohammad, an Afghan interpreter, cleared big hurdles to get a Special Immigrant Visa, which is available to Afghans who have assisted US missions. He was killed by the Taliban before his visa was approved. 

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai

Biden’s new plan for peace in Afghanistan garners mixed reactions

Conflict & Justice

This week, the Biden administration put forward a power-sharing arrangement between the government in Kabul, Afghanistan, and the Taliban, the details of which were leaked by TOLONews.

A US Marine (center) talks with Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers during a training in Helmand province, Afghanistan, July 5, 2017.

Military experts say a US troop withdrawal complicates conditions on the ground

Military

Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller has announced a major troop withdrawal in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. The news is being met with plenty of skepticism.

The Afghan ambassador to the US, Roya Rahmani, sitting in front of an Afghan flag.

‘Peace is the highest desire,’ says Afghan ambassador to US

Global Politics

The US and the Taliban appear close to a pact to withdraw US troops, even as the UN reported that July was the deadliest month in Afghanistan in two years.