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The volunteer US military & America's shame post-Afghanistan
The Volunteer US Military & America's Shame Post-Afghanistan | GZERO World

The volunteer US military & America's shame post-Afghanistan

For Elliot Ackerman, leaving no man behind was part of his code of honor when he was first a US marine and later a CIA officer. But the US military principle was not followed when American troops departed Afghanistan a year ago.

"There was no process to get our allies out," he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.

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Gabriella Turrisi

Geopolitical fallout over US exit from Afghanistan less than feared

When the US completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan on Aug. 30, 2021, it put an end to a 20-year conflict that had claimed tens of thousands of lives.

But the messy scenes of departure — including a suicide bombing that killed 13 American troops and 170 others — heightened fears that it would allow Afghanistan to become a haven once again for international terrorists and undermine US security partnerships with other countries.

On the first anniversary of the pullout, we asked Eurasia Group senior analyst Ali Wyne what the consequences have been for Afghanistan and the rest of the world.

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The fallout from US Afghanistan withdrawal: a Marine's perspective
America's Lessons Learned From Afghanistan | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

The fallout from US Afghanistan withdrawal: a Marine's perspective

Almost one year ago, US forces departed Afghanistan after two decades of war. Their enemy was the Taliban, who didn't wait for all American soldiers to leave before taking over the country.

One year later, Afghanistan is in shambles. The country's economy has tanked, food shortages abound and women and girls face new restrictions on their freedoms. Still, most Americans believe President Joe Biden made the right call by ending this "forever war."

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GZERO Media

The Graphic Truth: Displaced inside Afghanistan

Afghanistan has been mired in war since the Soviet Union invaded the country in the late 1970s. In the post-Soviet era, the vying for influence between different clans and terror groups caused mass migration throughout the landlocked country. This trend continued under the Taliban’s oppressive rule, and the subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, which saw millions of Afghans caught in the crossfire of war. But it’s not just conflict that has led to the internal displacement of Afghans. In recent decades, natural disasters – many linked to climate change – have pummeled the country, causing hundreds of thousands to flee. We look at the numbers of internally displaced Afghans since 2008.

The Graphic Truth: What Afghan women lost

For years, Afghanistan has ranked as one of the world’s worst places to be a woman. But over the past two decades — with the Taliban out of power and a US-backed government calling the shots — things had started to improve. Literacy rates for girls went up, and women were allowed to pursue higher education and more career opportunities — including serving in parliament. In many parts of the country, they also had greater autonomy to travel independently. But that’s all changed since the Taliban returned to power one year ago amid the US’ chaotic withdrawal. Afghan women and girls, many of whom weren’t alive when the Taliban last ruled, are now watching their hard-fought freedoms disappear.

A fighter is seen at the Taliban flag-raising ceremony in Kabul.

REUTERS/Ali Khara

The Taliban’s one-year report card in Afghanistan

A year ago, the Taliban won their war in Afghanistan. On Aug. 15, 2021, as they entered Kabul in a lightning advance that shocked the world, images of a botched US exit permanently scarred America’s legacy in its longest war — a mission US commanders now admit they lost track of years ago.

But where does Afghanistan stand a year after the Taliban took over?

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Talks with Taliban won’t legitimize them (US already did that)
Talks With Taliban Won’t Legitimize Them (US Already Did That) | Pakistan's Hina Khar | GZERO World

Talks with Taliban won’t legitimize them (US already did that)

Want the Taliban to form a more inclusive Afghan government? Talk to them. Otherwise, don't complain about millions of starving Afghans.

That's the advice of Hina Khar, Pakistan's former foreign minister, to Western nations who say they don't want to "enable" the regime.

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US has set the stage for Afghanistan’s humanitarian disaster, says Hina Khar
Afghan Humanitarian Crisis is the West’s Fault, Says Pakistan’s Hina Khar | GZERO World

US has set the stage for Afghanistan’s humanitarian disaster, says Hina Khar

Afghans are starving. Not just because the Taliban are now in charge, according to Pakistan's former top diplomat.

“Of course, people are talking about the starving Afghan people who need our help,” Hina Khar told Ian Bremmer in a GZERO World interview at the 2022 Munich Security Conference. “But that's the white man's burden — not accepting what you did wrong in creating the situation that is starving the Afghans right now.”

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