Podcasts about afghanistan reconstruction sigar

Join Jim and Greg for Wednesday's 3 Martini Lunch as they discuss the mounting economic pressure on China from President Trump's new tariffs, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's decision not to challenge Sen. Jon Ossoff, and explosive findings that the Taliban is making billions selling abandoned U.S. weapons and vehicles to terrorists.First, they welcome reports that Trump's 145 percent tariffs are already hitting China hard—forcing many companies to pull out of the U.S. market, threatening millions of Chinese jobs, and sparking public protests over unpaid wages. But will this lead to any major concessions from the communist leaders in Beijing?Next, they react to Gov. Kemp's announcement that he won't run for the U.S. Senate in 2026. Kemp matched up far better against Ossoff than any other likely Republican candidate. They examine why Kemp decided not to run and what the Senate race will look like without him.Finally, they unload on new findings from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), revealing that the Taliban is making billions by selling the military equipment the U.S. abandoned in Afghanistan to terror groups, including Al Qaeda affiliates. Jim and Greg blast both the Biden administration's epic failures and empty promises, warning that this predictable disaster now poses grave new threats.Please visit our great sponsors:This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. We're all better with help. Visithttps://BetterHelp.com/3ML to get 10% off your first month.This spring, get up to 50% off select plants at Fast Growing Trees with code MARTINI, plus anextra 15% off at checkout on your first purchase! Visit https://fastgrowingtrees.com/MartiniFuture-proof business operations with NetSuite by Oracle. Visit https://NetSuite.com/MARTINI todownload the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning.

John Sopko was the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) who revealed the shocking truth about tens of billions of our tax dollars misspent in Afghanistan. He also made a lot of powerful enemies among those exposed by his audits. I interviewed him for my TV program Full Measure as he prepared to wind his office down early, since we aren't spending as much in Afghanistan anymore. Order Sharyl's national bestseller: “⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow the $cience⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.” Subscribe to my two podcasts: “The Sharyl Attkisson Podcast” and “Full Measure After Hours.” Leave a review, subscribe and share with your friends! Support independent journalism by visiting the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sharyl Attkisson store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 

John Sopko was the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) who revealed the shocking truth about tens of billions of our tax dollars misspent in Afghanistan. He also made a lot of powerful enemies among those exposed by his audits. I interviewed him for my TV program Full Measure as he prepared to wind his office down early, since we aren't spending as much in Afghanistan anymore. Order Sharyl's national bestseller: “⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow the $cience⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.” Subscribe to my two podcasts: “The Sharyl Attkisson Podcast” and “Full Measure After Hours.” Leave a review, subscribe and share with your friends! Support independent journalism by visiting the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sharyl Attkisson store⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 4: In bombshell testimony on Wednesday, John Sopko—the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR)—told the House Oversight Committee, “as I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban…Nor can I assure you that the Taliban are not diverting the money we are sending from the intended recipients, which are the poor Afghan people.” You can read more about the testimony here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/politics/afghanistan-congress-watchdog-hearing/index.html While speaking in North Charleston, South Carolina as part of his Florida Blueprint tour, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated, “a man in a dress is not a woman.” Last month, The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board documented a “strange house call” the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made to independent journalist Matt Taibbi's home—unannounced “the same day Mr. Taibbi testified before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.” The WSJ Editorial Board writes, “[t]he taxman left a note instructing Mr. Taibbi to call the IRS four days later. Mr. Taibbi was told in a call with the agent that both his 2018 and 2021 tax returns had been rejected…the curious timing of this visit, on the heels of the FTC demand that Twitter turn over names of journalists, raises questions about potential intimidation.” Today, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) confronted IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel about the aforementioned “visit” during a hearing on Capitol Hill. Read the full editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/irs-matt-taibbi-twitter-files-jim-jordan-daniel-werfel-lina-khan-84ee518?mod=hp_opin_pos_2#cxrecs_s

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (04/19/2023): 3:05pm- On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. During questioning, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) quoted a recent New York Times article documenting the Biden Administration ignoring multiple warnings that migrant children were being exploited for labor. Sen. Hawley stated that Sec. Mayorkas should resign for putting the lives of innocent children in danger. You can read Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Hannah Dreier's report here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/17/us/politics/migrant-child-labor-biden.html 3:10pm- During an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, billionaire Elon Musk alarmingly explained that, prior to his acquisition of Twitter, government agencies had access to the private direct messages of users on the social media platform. 3:20pm- During a House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Andrew Clyde (R-GA) asked Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky about statements she made in March 2021—she had claimed, “vaccinated people don't carry the virus, they don't get sick.” Dr. Walensky explained that discrepancy between her optimistic claims in 2021 and reality were due to “an evolution of science.” 3:30pm- On Wednesday, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) chaired the Senate Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition. Unfortunately, Sen. Fetterman seemed unwell. 3:45pm- While appearing before a House Appropriations Committee, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Lawrence Tabak said he believes COVID-19 originated via a zoonotic transfer that occurred naturally. Is it just us, or does he sound exactly like Frank Pentangeli from The Godfather Part II? “I don't know nothing about that!” 4:05pm- During a Homeland Security and Immigration hearing on Capitol Hill, Senator Rand Paul stated: “DHS even put out a video encouraging children to report their own family members to Facebook for disinformation if they challenged US government narratives on COVID-19. Does that not sound like something out of 1984? Does that not sound like something out of Stalin's Russia?” He went on to accuse the U.S. government of disseminating misinformation regarding COVID-19. 4:10pm- While appearing on Fox News with Laura Ingraham, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) accused Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of having facilitated “the biggest child trafficking ring in U.S. history.” 4:15pm- Rich continues to marvel over the similarities between National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Lawrence Tabak's answers to Congressional questions about the origins of COVID-19 and Frank Pentangeli's responses to a Senate investigation hearing in The Godfather Part II. 4:30pm- In an article on his Substack—The Disinformation Chronicle—Paul Thacker documents how Dr. Anthony Fauci and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) “created an earworm in the intelligence community with lyrics bent against a Chinese lab accident.” You can read the full article here: https://disinformationchronicle.substack.com/p/the-wuhan-road-show-forming-a-band 4:45pm- Netflix announces they will discontinue its DVD mailing business and will also begin to crack-down on password sharing.   5:05pm- The Drive at 5: Dr. Wilfred Reilly—Professor of Political Science at Kentucky State University & Author of “Taboo: 10 Facts You Can't Talk About”—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss his most recent article on National Review, “We Need a Revenge of the Jocks.” Dr. Reilly writes, “Tennessee state representative Justin Pearson became famous as one of the so-called Tennessee Three, a small group of state lawmakers who led a mob into the legislative chamber during business hours. Pearson and another Justin (Jones), who disrupted the session with bullhorns, found themselves thrown out of the legislature (before being reinstated shortly thereafter). A bespectacled black dude known for his Afro hairdo and histrionic arm movements while speaking, Pearson always struck me as a Dollar General Malcolm X. But, the past few weeks have provided a deeper revelation about him: It's all an act.” Why are we incentivizing people to veer away from normalcy? Dr. Reilly argues, “[t]he focus of mainstream conservatism in the near term should be to re-normalize normalcy and to counter the institutions promoting division as a virtue.” You can read the full article right now: https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/04/we-need-a-revenge-of-the-jocks/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=river&utm_content=featured-content-trending&utm_term=first 5:30pm- In a Wall Street Journal exclusive report, Aruna Viswanatha, Sadie Gurman, and C. Ryan Barber write, “[a]n IRS supervisor has told lawmakers he has information that suggests the Biden administration is improperly handling the criminal investigation into President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, and is seeking whistleblower protections… The supervisor has details that show ‘preferential treatment and politics improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject were not politically connected.'” You can read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/irs-whistleblower-says-u-s-is-mishandling-hunter-biden-probe-7cd127f2?mod=hp_lead_pos7 5:40pm- Matt reveals his favorite comedy of all time is “This is the End”—Rich yells at him, but then concedes he has never seen the film. 6:05pm- In bombshell testimony on Wednesday, John Sopko—the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR)—told the House Oversight Committee, “as I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban…Nor can I assure you that the Taliban are not diverting the money we are sending from the intended recipients, which are the poor Afghan people.” You can read more about the testimony here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/politics/afghanistan-congress-watchdog-hearing/index.html 6:30pm- While speaking in North Charleston, South Carolina as part of his Florida Blueprint tour, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated, “a man in a dress is not a woman.” 6:45pm- Last month, The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board documented a “strange house call” the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made to independent journalist Matt Taibbi's home—unannounced “the same day Mr. Taibbi testified before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.” The WSJ Editorial Board writes, “[t]he taxman left a note instructing Mr. Taibbi to call the IRS four days later. Mr. Taibbi was told in a call with the agent that both his 2018 and 2021 tax returns had been rejected…the curious timing of this visit, on the heels of the FTC demand that Twitter turn over names of journalists, raises questions about potential intimidation.” Today, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) confronted IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel about the aforementioned “visit” during a hearing on Capitol Hill. Read the full editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/irs-matt-taibbi-twitter-files-jim-jordan-daniel-werfel-lina-khan-84ee518?mod=hp_opin_pos_2#cxrecs_s

Eric flies solo in this episode (while Eliot is traveling in Europe) and hosts guest Paul D. Miller, Professor of Practice in International Affairs at Georgetown University and former NSC Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Bush 43 Administration. They discuss the recent Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report on the collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in August of 2021 and attempt to assess the roles of the Trump and Biden Administrations in the debacle. They cover the diplomatic malpractice involved in reaching and implementing the Doha Agreement between the US and the Taliban, the repeated failure of US efforts to train foreign military forces to be self-sustaining, and the possible alternatives that might have been pursued to hold the Taliban at bay. They also discuss Paul's new book, The Religion of American Greatness: What Is Wrong WIth Christian Nationalism? (InterVarsity Press, 2022) and touch on American identity and the US role in the world, the universalism of the American creed, how Christian nationalism is related to isolationism, democracy promotion and the role of history and heritage in American life. https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/evaluations/SIGAR-23-16-IP.pdf https://www.amazon.com/Religion-American-Greatness-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1514000261 https://www.thebulwark.com/afghanistans-terrorist-future/ https://www.thebulwark.com/the-catastrophic-u-s-exit-from-afghanistan/ https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/video/eric-edelman-v/ https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/transcript/eric-edelman-v-transcript/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01402390.2016.1145588 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09592318.2013.857935 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric flies solo in this episode (while Eliot is traveling in Europe) and hosts guest Paul D. Miller, Professor of Practice in International Affairs at Georgetown University and former NSC Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Bush 43 Administration. They discuss the recent Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report on the collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in August of 2021 and attempt to assess the roles of the Trump and Biden Administrations in the debacle. They cover the diplomatic malpractice involved in reaching and implementing the Doha Agreement between the US and the Taliban, the repeated failure of US efforts to train foreign military forces to be self-sustaining, and the possible alternatives that might have been pursued to hold the Taliban at bay. They also discuss Paul's new book, The Religion of American Greatness: What Is Wrong WIth Christian Nationalism? (InterVarsity Press, 2022) and touch on American identity and the US role in the world, the universalism of the American creed, how Christian nationalism is related to isolationism, democracy promotion and the role of history and heritage in American life. https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/evaluations/SIGAR-23-16-IP.pdf https://www.amazon.com/Religion-American-Greatness-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1514000261 https://www.thebulwark.com/afghanistans-terrorist-future/ https://www.thebulwark.com/the-catastrophic-u-s-exit-from-afghanistan/ https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/video/eric-edelman-v/ https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/transcript/eric-edelman-v-transcript/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01402390.2016.1145588 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09592318.2013.857935 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2019, through FOIA requests and lawsuits, the Washington Post obtained hundreds of interviews conducted by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) for its Lessons Learned Program. The interviews showed that behind the scenes, U.S. military and government officials in Afghanistan presented a far gloomier picture of the war and reconstruction efforts than was presented to the American public by officials in Washington. Washington Post investigative reporter Craig Whitlock, author of "The Afghanistan Papers," joins us to talk about the Post's efforts to obtain the SIGAR interviews, the war in Afghanistan, his reporting on the U.S. Navy's "Fat Leonard" scandal, and more.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and David Schwendiman discuss the evolution of human rights law, international criminal justice, investigations and prosecutions, and its implications for prosecuting war crimes in Ukraine.  H.R. McMaster in conversation with David Schwendiman on Wednesday, June 8, 2022 at 9:00am PT. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS David Schwendiman served for over twenty-five years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Utah. He was the Chief Prosecutor of the Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor's Office in The Hague from 2016 to 2018 and previously oversaw investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo in 1998, 1999 and 2000 as the Lead Prosecutor of the EU's Special Investigative Task Force (SITF). Schwendiman investigated and prosecuted atrocities committed during the war in the Former Yugoslavia as an international prosecutor in the Special Department for War Crimes of the State Prosecutor's Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also served as the U.S. Justice Attaché in Kabul, Afghanistan from 2010 through 2013 and spent 2014 as the Assistant Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) and Director of Forward Operations for SIGAR.  He is now an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Utah's S.J. Quinney College of Law.   H. R. McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University and the Japan Chair at the Hudson Institute.  He is also the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute and lecturer at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.  He was the 26th assistant to the president for National Security Affairs. Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1984, McMaster served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for thirty-four years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), John Sopko, tells us what he's investigating, and what we should do about taxpayer money we're sending to that country now that it's controlled by the Islamic extremist enemy we fought for two decades.Subscribe to my two podcasts: “The Sharyl Attkisson Podcast” and “Full Measure After Hours.” Leave a review, subscribe and share with your friends! Support independent journalism by visiting the new Sharyl Attkisson store.Order “Slanted: How the News Media Taught Us to Love Censorship and Hate Journalism” by Sharyl Attkisson at Harper Collins, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, IndieBound, Bookshop!Visit JustTheNews.com, SharylAttkisson.com and www.FullMeasure.news for original reporting. Do your own research. Make up your own mind. Think for yourself.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In 2019, through FOIA requests and lawsuits, the Washington Post obtained hundreds of interviews conducted by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) for its Lessons Learned Program. The interviews showed that behind the scenes, U.S. military and government officials in Afghanistan presented a far gloomier picture of the war and reconstruction efforts than was presented to the American public by officials in Washington. Washington Post investigative reporter Craig Whitlock, author of "The Afghanistan Papers," joins us to talk about the Post's efforts to obtain the SIGAR interviews, the war in Afghanistan, his reporting on the U.S. Navy's "Fat Leonard" scandal, and more.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam and Emma host Craig Whitlock, investigative reporter at the Washington Post, to discuss his recent book The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War. Sam and Emma first touch upon the resounding victory for Gavin Newsom in the California recall election from last night, and discuss Newsom's nationalizing of the recall/pinning the results to the "shadow president" for the Republicans (Trump) as a telegraph of the political strategy going forward into 2022. Then Emma and Sam are joined by Craig, who starts out by discussing how him and the Washington Post obtained the Afghanistan Papers, the trove of documents the Post obtained via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that serve as the basis for the book, and how the book timed up perfectly with Biden's announcement of the withdrawal of troops in August, as well as the context behind the "Lessons Learned" project run through a little known federal agency called the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) that was the source of the lion's share of the notes and transcripts that comprised the papers. Craig goes deeper into describing the testimony from the interview transcripts of "Lessons Learned", citing how many past, present, and current military officials considered the war in Afghanistan "much worse than you think", and that "we didn't know what we were doing" in terms of strategic goals in Afghanistan. Craig goes so far as to report that former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had no appreciable strategy for the war in Afghanistan beyond "chasing terrorists". Sam and Emma dive deeper into the idea that these transcripts and notes were intentionally hidden by the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, noting that the SIGAR reports that were publicly disclosed were significantly edited and sanitized. Craig then goes back to the early 2000's, stating that there was a pretty clear game plan for the first 60 days of the war, but that there was no recognizable strategy or timetable for what the United States was doing occupying Afghanistan, especially when George W. Bush made it clear that this was not a "nation-building" project to begin with. The emphasis was also very clearly on Iraq over Afghanistan, to the point where Rumsfeld asked Bush to meet with the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan as well as the commander in Iraq. Bush only wanted to meet with the Iraq commander, and didn't even know who the Afghanistan commander was, and didn't want to meet with him anyways. Craig then pivots to the Obama years, where the Administration very clearly wanted to continue the war without calling it a war, so as to not step on the toes of their allies whose presence in Afghanistan would violate some of their own war-making laws and practices if it was called a war by their allies. Not wanting to call it a war, but not being accurate enough to call it a "peacekeeping mission", the Obama administration landed on the clunky "non-conventional war effort" to split the difference. Afterwards, Craig discloses the combustible report that the Bush Administration furiously attempted to cover up, that former Vice President Dick Cheney was almost killed in a suicide bombing at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, and how this pattern of attempting to spin every negative outcome into a positive one throughout the war persisted across every presidential administration in the 21st century. They end on the warped and strange arc of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's career, how he was a widely respected military official until his full throated embrace of Trump and QAnon stifled that perception, as well as Craig hoping that previous, current, and future administrations will learn from the mistakes of the past 20 years, but doesn't have too much hope because, well, Bush and Rumsfeld didn't learn from the mistakes of Vietnam outlined in, you guessed it, another trove of documents that made clear how badly we were losing a protracted war: The Pentagon Papers. In the Fun Half, Sam gives a brief primer on the fight over taxation between the House and the Senate Dems in the reconciliation mockups going around the Hill, the crew checks in on the House and Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings where in the House Ilhan Omar grills Secretary of State Blinken over the drone strike that may have killed a foreign aid worker instead of an ISIS-K operative, and in the Senate Idaho Senator Jim Risch gets to more pressing matters, namely: who the heck is pressing the button that controls when Biden talks? Then the crew check in on Ben Shapiro melting down over Cara Delevingne's "Peg the Patriarchy" look at the Met Gala, to which Ben feels the great need to describe what pegging means to him. And FINALLY the crew has the honor of dissecting Tucker Carlson's fascination with Nicki Minaj's cousin's friend's balls after his COVID vaccination (Tucker corrected the record to reflect it was Nicki's cousin's friend, not cousin), Tucker's quest to get him on the show, and we get a real time dispatch from the Trinidad and Tobago Health Minister over whether this dude's balls actually swelled post-vax. Plus, your calls and IM's! Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here. Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ (Merch issues and concerns can be addressed here: majorityreportstore@mirrorimage.com) You can now watch the livestream on Twitch Check out today's sponsors: Grove: Companies around the world produce two billion pounds of new plastic every day. Yet no matter how much we put in our recycling bin, just nine percent of plastic actually gets recycled. At Grove Collaborative, they believe it's time to stop making single-use plastic. Grove is the online marketplace that delivers healthy home, beauty, and personal care products directly to you! It takes the guesswork out of going green — Every product is guaranteed to be good for you, your family, your home, and the planet. Choosing products that are better for you AND the planet has never been easier. For a limited time when our listeners go to Grove.com/MAJORITY you will get to choose a FREE starter set with your first order. Go to Grove.com/MAJORITY to get your exclusive offer! That's Grove.com/MAJORITY. 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In part two of their discussion, CNA counterterrorism experts Alex Powell and Jon Schroden sit down with James Cunningham the lead author for two comprehensive lessons learned reports published by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).  They discuss some positive takeaways from the development of the Afghan National Security Forces and what lessons the U.S. government can learn from Afghanistan. Timestamps by Topic 1:17: Were there effective approaches to developing the Afghan National Security Forces? 7:05: What lessons should the U.S. government learn from Afghanistan? 12:59: Will the U.S. government make any actionable change because of these lessons? Guest Biographies James Cunningham is the lead author and project lead for two comprehensive lessons learned reports published by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction focused on reconstructing the ANDSF.  For over 16 years, James has worked Afghanistan-related issues as a member of the Intelligence community and providing independent oversight of U.S. reconstruction programming. Jonathan Schroden is the Director of CNA's Countering Threats and Challenges Program (CTCP), whose mission is to support US government efforts to better understand and counter state and non-state threats and challenges. Schroden has deployed or traveled to Afghanistan 13 times. Alex Powell is an expert on terrorist group tactics, counterterrorism, and special operations forces (SOF).  He has worked extensively on security issues in Afghanistan, traveling there numerous times to conduct assessments of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. Additional Resources SIGAR Website: https://www.sigar.mil/ Divided Responsibility: Lessons from U.S. Security Sector Assistance Efforts in Afghanistan, June 2019 (https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-19-39-LL.pdf) Reconstructing the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan, September 2017 (https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-17-62-LL.pdf)

This week Grant and Zoe are joined by Farhat Popal, Immigrant Affairs Manager with the City of San Diego and former Senior Program Analyst at Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). Farhat talks about what the United States can do to protect Afghans in Afghanistan and support them wherever they seek refuge. In the final segment, Zoe discusses anticipating Sally Rooney's new book Beautiful World, Where Are You and Grant endorses playing Wingspan. Help Afghan refugees here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/21/how-to-help-afghan-refugees/ If you are under 40 and interested in being featured on the podcast, be sure to fill out this form: https://airtable.com/shr5IpK32opINN5e9

The Afghanistan Debacle and why it matters. It has provided our enemies a tremendous windfall in advanced armaments. “The Taliban has seized US weapons left in Afghanistan worth billions — possibly including 600,000 assault rifles, some 2,000 armored vehicles, and 40 aircraft, including Black Hawks, according to reports. The US gave the Afghan military an estimated $28 billion in weaponry between 2002 and 2017 — including seven brand new helicopters delivered to Kabul just a month ago. The war chest also included the supply of at least 600,000 infantry weapons — including M16 assault rifles — as well as 162,000 pieces of communication equipment and 16,000 night-vision goggles. In just two years from 2017 to 2019, the US gave 7,035 machine guns, 4,702 Humvees, 20,040 hand grenades, 2,520 bombs and 1,394 grenade launchers, The Hill noted, citing a report last year from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). “Everything that hasn't been destroyed is the Taliban's now,” one US official told Reuters, speaking on the condition of anonymity.” Excerpt from NY Post article from Taliban has billions in US weapons, including Black Hawks and up to 600K rifles Creates a potential hostage situation that could dwarf the Iran hostage crisis. (In 1979 Iranian militants took over the American embassy in Tehran and held them for 444 days.) The White House claims that between 100 and 200 Americans were left behind in Afghanistan. Every one is a potential hostage and bargaining chip to be used by the Taliban to gain monetary and other concessions Endangers Afghan Christians, women, and gays Undermines our standing in the world, especially with our allies and with Taiwan. “Several MPs said constituents, particularly former service personnel, had been in contact, with “heart-rending” stories of friends and former colleagues in Afghanistan who were now in immediate danger, piling pressure on the government to act faster to help save them. Tom Tugendhat, who chairs the foreign affairs select committee, said he was “extremely angry” at Biden's criticism of Afghan soldiers, calling those troops “incredibly brave” and saying the US withdrew “like a thief in the night” with no proper handover. The former Treasury minister Huw Merriman, who chairs the transport select committee, called Biden a “total blithering idiot” for blaming Afghan forces. “Makes me wonder if he is the Siamese twin of Donald Trump. Tony Blair left us with this mess and we did not try hard enough to clear it up,” he tweeted. Another former minister, Simon Clarke, said it was the end of an American era. “The more you reflect, the more you realise the speech [Biden] gave last night was grotesque. An utter repudiation of the America so many of us have admired so deeply all our lives – the champion of liberty and democracy and the guardian of what's right in the world,” he said.” --Excerpt from The Guardian article from 17 Aug 21 article: UK politicians decry Joe Biden's defense of Afghanistan pullout --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jp-mac/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jp-mac/support

In this episode, CNA counterterrorism experts Alex Powell and Jon Schroden sit down with James Cunningham the lead author for two comprehensive lessons learned reports published by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).  They discuss the collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in the face of the Taliban offensive, how the Taliban were able to take territory with so little resistance and problems with how the U.S. military trained the ANDSF. Guest Biographies James Cunningham is the lead author and project lead for two comprehensive lessons learned reports published by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction focused on reconstructing the ANDSF.  For over 16 years, James has worked Afghanistan-related issues as a member of the Intelligence community and providing independent oversight of U.S. reconstruction programming. Jonathan Schroden is the Director of CNA's Countering Threats and Challenges Program (CTCP), whose mission is to support US government efforts to better understand and counter state and non-state threats and challenges. Schroden has deployed or traveled to Afghanistan 13 times. Alex Powell is an expert on terrorist group tactics, counterterrorism, and special operations forces (SOF).  He has worked extensively on security issues in Afghanistan, traveling there numerous times to conduct assessments of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. Additional Resources SIGAR Website: https://www.sigar.mil/ Divided Responsibility: Lessons from U.S. Security Sector Assistance Efforts in Afghanistan, June 2019 (https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-19-39-LL.pdf) Reconstructing the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan, September 2017 (https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-17-62-LL.pdf)  

“It’s time to leave Afghanistan.”That’s what the Pentagon’s new acting leader, Chris Miller, wrote in a two-page memo to Defense Department staff on Nov. 13.Related: Australian special forces allegedly killed 39 unarmed Afghans — reportMiller went on to add: “We are not a people of perpetual war — it is the antithesis of everything for which we stand and for which our ancestors fought. All wars must end.”Four days later, Miller announced a major troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia: “By Jan. 15, 2021, our forces, their size in Afghanistan will be 2,500 troops. Our force size in Iraq will also be 2,500 by that same date.”There are currently about 4,500 troops in Afghanistan and 3,000 in Iraq. The administration also aims to pull out all 700 service members currently fighting in Somalia.Omar Mahmood, of the International Crisis Group, said US troops have been training an elite Somali fighting force to keep the al-Qaeda linked group, al-Shabab, at bay. Listen to that interview on The World below. The news from Washington broke late Tuesday night for people in Afghanistan and Iraq, and many learned the next morning.And while some say it’s time for American troops to come home, Miller’s announcement has been met with plenty of skepticism. Many US military experts worry a hasty and uncoordinated troop withdrawal would leave local forces in a dangerous position in both Afghanistan and Iraq, where Americans help train and assist local forces. And some critics say that the move is political — and seems to have more to do with President Donald Trump’s legacy than concern for Americans.Related: At the UN review of US human rights, the Trump administration gets an earfulJavid Faisal, an adviser to Afghanistan’s National Security Council, said the news wasn’t a complete surprise since the Trump administration had already made remarks about pulling out American troops. Faisal said that the Afghan national defense and security forces have been defending the country since 2014 on their own.“They are able to do it in the future, but they will need the support of the international community,” he said, “for financial, training and advising.”“The withdrawal should be a very responsible one to make sure that any decision that’s being taken in this regard does not reverse us. Does not take us back to where we were 20 years ago, when there was al-Qaeda, when there was other insurgent groups.”Javid Faisal, Afghanistan’s National Security Council, adviser“The withdrawal should be a very responsible one to make sure that any decision that’s being taken in this regard does not reverse us. Does not take us back to where we were 20 years ago, when there was al-Qaeda, when there was other insurgent groups,” he added.Many share this concern.“It will be much harder to provide advice and training to Iraqi forces, which is the primary role that’s going on right now,” said David M. Witty, a retired US Army colonel who served in Iraq, including after a major troop withdrawal by the Obama administration in 2011.US forces help the Iraqis fight ISIS, and they limit Iran’s influence in Iraq, he said.Related: An American journalist was murdered in Turkey. Why didn’t the US investigate?“The problem would be, you would basically be turning Iraq over to Iran. There’s no other way to put it,” Witty said.Iran has created and supported a web of powerful militias in Iraq. A drawdown of US forces would mean these militias could have more of a free hand in the country.Meanwhile, the US troop withdrawal in Afghanistan was to be conditional.Last February, the Trump administration signed an agreement with the Taliban. The US agreed to pull troops out in phases and only if the group met a series of conditions: that the Taliban reduces its violence, sits down with the representatives of the Afghan government and cuts ties with al-Qaeda.Retired US Army Gen. David Petraeus told The World that there is no indication that the Taliban has met any of these conditions.“This [troop withdrawal] frankly undermines the efforts at the negotiating table because you’re essentially giving the Taliban what they really want, having already pressured the Afghan government to release some 5,000 or so Taliban detainees.”Retired US Army Gen. David Petraeus“This [troop withdrawal] frankly undermines the efforts at the negotiating table because you’re essentially giving the Taliban what they really want, having already pressured the Afghan government to release some 5,000 or so Taliban detainees,” Petraeus said.Petraeus added that a reduction of forces should always be conditions-based. His concern is that after the US leaves, the Afghan security forces will no longer be able to maintain the security for major routes and cities.Related: He survived torture in a Syrian prison. Now, he’s set to study in the US.Violence in Afghanistan increased as much as 50% in recent months as the Taliban was taking part in peace talks. In its quarterly report to the US Congress, the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said there were at least 2,561 civilian casualties this quarter, including 876 deaths, up 43% from the April to June period.Michael Kugelman, senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center in Washington, said that the Taliban wants to have complete power — and that it will have that opportunity if it just waits out the United States and focuses entirely on the fight.Kugelman and other experts told The World that they sympathize with Americans who are weary of war and with families who have loved ones serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.“I think it’s time to bring all troops home,” Kugelman said, “but this is really the last opportunity you have to try to kickstart an admittedly fragile, but nonetheless, existent peace process, and yet you’re whittling away your last elements of leverage by pulling all of these troops very suddenly without the Taliban having done anything first.”Can the US send additional troops back to Afghanistan if needed?Jonathan Schroden, director for the Center for Stability and Development at the CNA Corporation and a longtime military analyst, said it could get complicated.“[The US] would have to get the approval of the Afghan government in order to do that. The current Afghan government, I think, would agree to that type of arrangement, but I wouldn’t want to presume that the US could just do that because it’s not a unilateral decision,” he said.Schroden said troop withdrawals take time. Flying personnel out of the country can be done quickly, but winding down big military bases is a different undertaking.“If they were going to zero, I would say it would be a logistical nightmare to do that by January, to go to 2,500 is still going to be challenging because they’re going to have to close a number of fairly sizable military installations.”Jonathan Schroden, director, Center for Stability and Development at the CNA Corporation“If they were going to zero, I would say it would be a logistical nightmare to do that by January,” he said, “to go to 2,500 is still going to be challenging because they’re going to have to close a number of fairly sizable military installations.”Ultimately, Trump’s decision to bring troops home, Kugelman, at the Wilson Center, said, is based on political goals. The election might be over, but the president is still thinking about his legacy.“He wants to be remembered as the president who brought as many troops home,” Kugelman said.“But when we hear all this talk here in Washington about ending the war, it’s important to remember that by bringing US troops home, we’re not ending the war. War may be ending for the US, but it’s not going to end for the Afghans.”

In December 2019, The Washington Post obtained and published internal documents, now known as The Afghanistan Papers, from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). These documents revealed top political and military leaders systematically lied to the American public about the war in Afghanistan’s progress, and continued its mission despite knowing victory was unachievable. Why do both Democratic and Republican administrations continue misleading us, and what is at stake? Mark Hannah sits down with Kelley B. Vlahos this week to discuss a culture in Washington which leads to a perpetual investment in unnecessary war. They discuss the military-industrial complex, military restraint, and where conservatism fits into it all.  What is the conservative case against these wars, and how can we break the blob mentality which perpetuates America’s troubling cycle of miring itself in unnecessary wars?  Kelley B. Vlahos is a national security and foreign policy writer and columnist in Washington, DC and is the executive editor of The American Conservative magazine. @KelleyBVlahos

Ronie Berggren och Björn Norström uppdaterar den 10 december 2019 om det senaste i den amerikanska politiken: Riksrättsprocessen; Department of Justices Inspector Generas rapport om The Steele Dossier; Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) om det förslösade biståndet till Afghanistan. ------- STÖD AMERIKANSKA NYHETSANALYSER: http://usapol.blogspot.com/p/stod-oss-support-us.html

Please join the CSIS International Security Program for a conversation with John F. Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). Inspector General Sopko will discuss findings from the SIGAR's latest report on U.S. security sector assistance efforts in Afghanistan, his first public remarks on the report since its publication in June 2019. This event is made possible by general support to CSIS.

I’ve fired around a half dozen belt fed weapons systems during my time in service; some bigger and louder than others, and all of them a kick ass way to spend an afternoon.  Well, that is until you realize the effects of firing them over a longer period of time. It’s not just loud noise or dangerous, hot metal. I remember spending an entire day working as a lane safety for a .50 cal machine gun range.  I stood less than three feet from a firing heavy machine gun all day, burning my hands as I changed the barrels when they became too hot despite using a specially designed heat mitten. At a certain point of temperature, it doesn’t matter anymore.  Glove or not, you’re getting burned. I remember I set a hot barrel a bit too close to the side of my foot while it was cooling and the damn barrel burned my foot through my boot. This is part and parcel the Army’s (and I’m assuming the Marine Corps as well) main area of training.  We’d spent hundred of hours a year on a variety of ranges and not just when we were the ones firing.  It takes dozens of people to run most ranges, so in the lovely mist that is Fort Lewis in the winter and spring, your entire platoon would be spend whole days at the range, near these loud and dangerous devices.  But what if that was enough to hurt you? I was already told as long as we had proper eye and ear protection, we were golden. The truth is much darker. 00:45 - Blast pressure report on heavy use of crew served weapons 11:40 - Afghanistan update from recent SIGAR report 22:32 - Water contamination at 126 DOD sites In Vets, Even Mild Case of TBI Linked to Increased Risk of Dementia - Karen Kaplan - Los Angeles Times Gunners Using Shoulder-Borne Heavy Weapons at Risk for Brain Damage - Stars and Stripes - Wyatt Olson Update to last week’s post on suicide and combat guilt - Matthew Hoh Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) quarterly report to Congress - 4-30-18 DoD: At least 126 bases report water contaminants linked to cancer, birth defects - Military Times - Tara Copp Ranks of Notorious Hate Group Include Active-Duty Military - Propublica Enjoy the show?!  Please leave us a review right here. Got news to share about our military or veterans?! Or just need to cuss at us for a bit?! Contact us direct by email at fortressonahill@gmail.com Leave us a voicemail at 860-598-0570.  We might even play it on the podcast!!! Not a contributor on Patreon? You're missing out on amazing bonus content! Sign up to be one of our contributors today! - www.patreon.com/fortressonahill A special thanks to our honorary producers Matthew Hoh, Will Ahrens, and Gage Counts!!  Without you guys, we couldn't continue our work.  Thank you all so much!!! Facebook - Fortress On A Hill Twitter - Fortress On A Hill Soundcloud - Fortress On A Hill FOH is hosted, written, and produced by Chris 'Henri' Henrikson and Danny Sjursen Cover and website art designed by Brian K. Wyatt Jr. of B-EZ Graphix Multimedia Marketing Agency in Tallehassee, FL Music provided royalty free by Bensound.com Note: The views expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts alone, expressed in an unofficial capacity, and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.

USIP and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) presented and discussed how the United States can improve its private-sector development and economic growth efforts in Afghanistan and in other states emerging from conflict. Participants John F. Sopko, Keynote AddressSpecial Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Scott Worden, ModeratorDirector, Afghanistan and Central Asia Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace William ByrdSenior Expert, Afghanistan, U.S. Institute of Peace Paul FishsteinLead Research Analyst, Lessons Learned Program, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Mary Louise Vitelli, Esq.President, Vitelli & Associates, and former advisor to Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum For more information about this event, please visit: https://www.usip.org/events/aiding-afghanistans-economy-lessons-us-experience

Corruption hardly topped the threat list when U.S. military forces and civilians first entered Afghanistan in 2001. But recognition of its devastating potential to undermine U.S. national security objectives is far higher today. Despite a myriad of U.S. efforts, however, corruption remains deeply entrenched in Afghanistan. It undermines the government’s legitimacy, enables an emboldened insurgency, and puts at risk the gains from U.S. taxpayers’ nearly $115 billion investment in reconstruction. The Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has publicly reported on corruption in Afghanistan since 2008. Now SIGAR is releasing its first lessons learned report, on U.S. efforts to address the Afghan corruption problem: Corruption in Conflict: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan. John F. Sopko explored the U.S. experience fighting corruption in Afghanistan and its broader implications, and detailed recommendations to Congress and policy makers to improve such efforts in current and future contingency operations.