Afghanistan with Roh Yakobi

More than two decades after helping overthrow the Taliban and witnessing the birth of Afghanistan’s new government, Don Parnell looks back at what became of the country — and the people — he left behind.In the final part of this exclusive three-part interview, the former CIA Chief of Ground Branch reflects on the aftermath of the 2001 campaign, his relationship with Hamid Karzai, and the extraordinary experiences that followed the fall of Kandahar.Parnell shares some of the more human — and at times surprisingly amusing — stories from those days: the personalities he encountered, the friendships forged under extraordinary circumstances, and the strange, mundane and occasionally absurd problems that existed alongside the deadly serious business of war. His recollections offer a glimpse of Afghanistan rarely captured in official histories: not simply strategy, intelligence and politics, but the people, humour and everyday realities behind them.He also recalls returning to Afghanistan and being honoured by President Hamid Karzai with Afghanistan’s Wazir Akbar Khan Medal, alongside the late former King Mohammad Zahir Shah — an extraordinary moment in a relationship that had begun amid the chaos of war.Parnell reflects on the Afghans he worked alongside and the personal cost of watching a mission that once seemed so full of possibility end with the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Speaking candidly about the US withdrawal and the fate of people he knew and cared about, his verdict is strikingly simple: “It hurts.”Looking back across the twenty-year intervention, Parnell discusses the constant rotation of commanders, the drift from the original counterterrorism mission into nation-building, and what he believes was a fundamental misunderstanding of Afghanistan itself. In his view, attempts to construct a highly centralised Western-style state failed to account for the country’s local, tribal and regional realities.Yet this concluding episode is as much about people as politics. Parnell remembers the Afghans he fought and worked alongside, the risks they took, the bonds created in war, and the extraordinary contrast between the optimism of 2001 and the collapse two decades later.Funny, candid, poignant and at times painful, this is the concluding chapter of a remarkable first-hand account from a CIA officer who witnessed the Taliban’s first regime fall — and, twenty years later, watched the Taliban return.👍🏼 Support the show: Leave stars, comments, share with friends📺 Watch/Subscribe on YouTubeProducer | Host: Roh YakobiAssistant Producer/Researcher: Sa-aadat YakobiMusic ©: Dawood SarkhoshEmail: [email protected]: https://www.facebook.com/rohyakobiInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/theafgpodX: https://x.com/theafgpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born to a mid-level government official and an illiterate mother in Afghanistan’s northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Zalmay Khalilzad has a remarkable and, in many ways, inspiring story. As a teenager, he travelled to America through a cultural exchange programme in 1996 – an experience that had a profound, life-changing impact on him.After completing a PhD at the University of Chicago, he joined the US government and rose through the ranks, working for Reagan, the Bushes and Trump. The 9/11 attacks and the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan gave him the opportunity to become America’s all-powerful fixer in the country. He later served as US ambassador to Iraq, then to the United Nations, and returned to Afghanistan, where he negotiated America’s withdrawal deal with the Taliban – a deal that paved the way for the group’s recapture of power in August 2021.In this Part 2 of his tell-all interview, he recounts his story, covering his roles in Afghanistan from the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks through to the Doha talks, and what has happened since. He end with a message for the younger generation of Afghan diaspora in the West. Did he aspire to become President of Afghanistan? Was he sympathetic towards the Taliban? These questions, and more, are answered.👍🏼 Support the show: Leave stars, comments, share with friends📺 Watch/Subscribe on YouTubeProducer | Host: Roh YakobiAssistant Producer/Researcher: Sa-aadat YakobiMusic ©: Dawood SarkhoshEmail: [email protected]: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobiX: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alexander Matheou, Regional Director for Asia Pacific of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC). In this interview he unpacks the scale of Afghanistan’s humanitarian emergency. In the past year, over two million people have been forced back from Iran and Pakistan - returning to drought, collapsing livelihoods, and shrinking international aid. Matheou shares first-hand accounts from the borders, the daily struggles of returnees, and why long-term investment, not just short-term relief, is vital for the country’s survival and dignity.👍🏼 Support the show: Leave stars, comments, share with friends📺 Watch/Subscribe on YouTubeProducer | Host: Roh YakobiAssistant Producer/Researcher: Sa-aadat YakobiMusic ©: Dawood SarkhoshEmail: [email protected]: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobiX: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Heidi Meyer is a former NATO, Pentagon, and US State Department official with over a decade of experience in Afghanistan, including time spent working inside the Arg Palace. In this interview, she shares candid reflections on her time in the country — from witnessing widespread corruption and travelling across Afghanistan, to whether the Taliban should be recognised, along with some weird and wonderful stories.👍🏼 Support the show: Leave stars, comments, share with friends📺 Watch/Subscribe on YouTubeProducer | Host: Roh YakobiAssistant Producer/Researcher: Sa-aadat YakobiMusic ©: Dawood SarkhoshEmail: [email protected]: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobiX: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this exclusive and gripping interview, acclaimed historian Professor Mary Beard explores how the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan reflects enduring patterns of patriarchal control throughout history. Drawing on examples and stories of ancient Greek and Roman history, Professor Beard examines how societies have historically silenced women, excluded them from public life, and regulated their behaviour through coercion, custom, and control.Support the show: Leave stars, comments, share with friends📺 Watch/Subscribe on YouTubeProducer | Host: Roh YakobiAssistant Producer/Researcher: Sa-aadat YakobiMusic ©: Dawood SarkhoshEmail: [email protected]: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobiX: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Tyson is a retired CIA officer who served for 25 years, much of it in Central and South Asia. He cultivated relationships with anti-Taliban leaders and commanders in northern Afghanistan prior to the 9/11 attacks, making multiple trips into the country and meeting figures such as Ahmad Shah Massoud. A member of Team Alpha - whose story was told in a previous episode with Toby Harnden - David played a key role in organising forces behind Taliban lines. After taking Mazar-i-Sharif in November 2001, he faced a violent uprising of over 400 al-Qaeda fighters in Qala-i-Jangi, where he had to fight for his life. For his actions, he was awarded the CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence Cross, the Agency’s highest award for valour, as well as the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal.In this interview, he shares his story in detail. In this final instalment - Part 3 - we continue from where we left off in Part 2. David recounts the inside story of the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, the circumstances surrounding it, and the capture and interrogation of hundreds of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters. He explains how the Qala-i-Jangi uprising began, and how he managed to survive it. He then reflects on his experiences, shares his views on the current situation and the Taliban, and recounts stories involving General Dostum.Support the show: Leave stars, comments, share with friends📺 Watch/Subscribe on YouTubeProducer | Host: Roh YakobiAssistant Producer/Researcher: Sa-aadat YakobiMusic ©: Dawood SarkhoshEmail: [email protected]: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobiX: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.