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After spending two decades in Afghanistan, the government has accumulated a lot of lessons learned. In fact, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, has published 13 chapters of lessons learned. The latest one concerns personnel practices in Afghanistan activities. Basically, everyone who ever worked there said personnel practices were terrible. We get more now from SIGAR's deputy director for lessons learned, David Young. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After spending two decades in Afghanistan, the government has accumulated a lot of lessons learned. In fact, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, has published 13 chapters of lessons learned. The latest one concerns personnel practices in Afghanistan activities. Basically, everyone who ever worked there said personnel practices were terrible. We get more now from SIGAR's deputy director for lessons learned, David Young. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Det er duket for sesongstart i den Nordlys-sendte 4. divisjon Troms, og med superekspert Magnus Leo Leonhardsen og superspiss Jonas Simonsen dykker vi dypt inn i TITO-serien før det smeller. I tillegg til et grundig tabelltips blir det plenty med gode historier, litt breaking news (i ordets rette forstand), dom over årets signering, spådommer om gule kort og de beste spillerne og MYE mer. Vi toucher også innom TIL før de skal ut på årets første eliteseriereise. God lytting!

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This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, August 8th, 2023. Rowdy Christian Merch Plug: If you’re a fan of CrossPolitic, or the Fight Laugh Feast Network, then surely, you know we have a merch store right? Rowdy Christian Merch is your one-stop-shop for everything CrossPolitc merchandise. We’ve got T-Shirts, hoodies, hats, but we’ve also got specialty items like backpacks, mugs, coffee, even airpod cases! Visit Rowdy Christian Merch at rowdychristian.com, and buy that next gift, or a little something for yourself. Again, that’s rowdychristian.com. https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/desantis-replaces-campaign-manager-amid-low-polling DeSantis launches major shakeup, replaces presidential campaign manager amid low polling In a major shakeup weeks in the making, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign announced Tuesday it had replaced its campaign manager amid low polling in the 2024 GOP primary. DeSantis' gubernatorial chief of staff James Uthmeier replaced campaign manager Generra Peck, DeSantis' team confirmed to The Hill. Peck will now work as the campaign's chief strategist. "People have written Governor DeSantis’s obituary many times," Uthmeier told The Messenger. "He’s breaking records on fundraising and has a supporting super PAC with $100 million in the bank and an incredible ground game. Get ready." Additionally, David Polyansky, former chief of staff for Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, will also join the campaign after serving as an adviser at the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC. "David Polyansky will also be a critical addition to the team given his presidential campaign experience in Iowa and work at Never Back Down," DeSantis' communications director Andrew Romeo said. Republican strategist and former Trump adviser Roger Stone predicted that 2024 presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will completely run out of money by the first of October. The largest donor to the Florida governor said earlier this week that he was going to hold off funding until DeSantis could appeal more to moderates. Trump is ahead of DeSantis in Republican primary polls with 53.2% to the Florida Republican's 15.1%, according to an average of polls analyzed by FiveThirtyEight. The staffing changes come after the DeSantis campaign laid off more than one-third of its employees last month. https://bongino.com/electric-vehicle-company-heavily-promoted-by-biden-admin-goes-bankrupt Electric Vehicle Company Heavily Promoted by Biden Admin Goes Bankrupt Proterra, an electric bus manufacturing company promoted by the Biden administration, had everything it needed to succeed - and failed anyway. As the Washington Free Beacon’s Chuck Ross reported: Proterra cited "various market and macroeconomic headwinds" in a Chapter 11 filing on Monday, which came after the California-based firm cut hundreds of jobs earlier this year and restructured hundreds of millions of dollars in outstanding debt. Proterra stood to rake in millions from Biden's infrastructure and green energy initiatives, the former of which included at least $5 billion in spending on electric buses alone. Biden's flagship climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, also includes spending to help cities convert from diesel buses to electric buses, a major incentive for companies like Proterra. JoAnn Covington, Proterra's chief legal officer, acknowledged last year that tax credits and federal grants under Biden's bills were a major incentive for the company. Grants to purchase electric buses and to create electric vehicle charging infrastructure would ​"open up opportunities to accelerate adoption of battery-electric and zero-emissions vehicles to all the other commercial segments on the cusp of being electrified," Covington said. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm held non-public shares of proterra, which she sold in mid 2021 to an undisclosed buyer, pocketing over a $1 million profit in the process. She pledged to disclose the buyer, but never did. Proterra's stock only crashed from there, and Granholm’s 240,000 shares would be worth roughly $60,000 total as of writing, had she still held them. Earlier this year in February, Proterra’s CEO Gareth Joyce was appointed by Biden to his Export Council. The year prior, Biden hosted a virtual White House event that spotlighted Proterra’s business, which included the president of the company giving a virtual tour of the company’s manufacturing facility. https://freebeacon.com/national-security/biden-admin-has-given-2-35-billion-to-taliban-controlled-afghanistan/ Biden Admin Has Given $2.35 Billion to Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan The Biden administration has provided more than $2.35 billion in taxpayer dollars to Afghanistan since the Taliban retook control of the government in 2021 following a deadly U.S. evacuation. The United States remains Afghanistan’s top patron, even as lawmakers and federal oversight officials warn that these funds could be propping up the Taliban’s terrorist government. Updated spending figures were disclosed Tuesday in a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a federal watchdog that documents waste, fraud, and abuse related to U.S. expenditures in the war-torn country. Around $1.7 billion "remained available for possible disbursement" at the time of SIGAR’s report, meaning that this money is ready to flow into non-profit groups and other entities working on reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. With the Taliban exerting control over nearly every sector of the country’s infrastructure—including the NGO community—it is more than likely that a sizable portion of these funds will end up in the terror group’s coffers. The latest figures are certain to increase congressional pressure on the Biden administration to stop sending taxpayer funds into Afghanistan until officials can ensure the Taliban is not stealing the money. John Sopko, head of SIGAR, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in April that he "cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban." Sopko also accused the Biden administration of blocking his investigatory efforts and refusing to hand over documents that could show if the Taliban is being propped up by American cash. In the two years since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan following the Biden administration's withdrawal of American forces in 2021, it has become increasingly clear that the terrorist group views international assistance as a "revenue stream," according to SIGAR’s latest report. The United States Institute of Peace recently warned the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the primary vehicle for U.S. spending in Afghanistan, that the Taliban is "pushing for ever-increasing degrees of credit and control over the delivery of aid." United Nations officials also disclosed to the watchdog that "the Taliban have effectively infiltrated and influenced most UN-managed assistance programming." This reality is raising questions about the nearly $2 billion in funds the Biden administration has made available for disbursement in the country. As U.S. aid money flows to the country, "Taliban interference with NGO work escalated, leading to a steady decline in humanitarian access in 2023, with a 32 percent increase in incidents between January and May 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022," according to the report. The Taliban government also has not moderated its jihadi principles since seizing the country. As SIGAR and congressional oversight committees raise concerns about the Biden administration’s push to pump money into Afghanistan, the government agencies in control of these expenditures are not cooperating with investigations. Sopko revealed in April that the "the Department of State, USAID, the U.N., and other agencies are refusing to give us basic information that we or any other oversight body would need to ensure safe stewardship of tax dollars." Sopko revealed in April that the "the Department of State, USAID, the U.N., and other agencies are refusing to give us basic information that we or any other oversight body would need to ensure safe stewardship of tax dollars." "More troubling," he added, "State and USAID have instructed their employees not to talk to SIGAR, and in one recent instance, State told one of its contractors not to participate in a SIGAR audit." The White House also would not cooperate with SIGAR. Congress has had similar experiences, with USAID declining to tell investigators what safeguards were put in place to ensure taxpayer cash is not stolen by the Taliban. https://nypost.com/2023/08/07/nathan-cruz-cousin-of-uvalde-school-shooter-arrested-for-threatening-school/ Cousin, 17, of Uvalde school shooter arrested for allegedly threatening ‘to do the same thing’ A cousin to Uvalde school shooter Salvador Ramos was arrested after he was accused of threatening to shoot up a school and shoot his sister in the head, according to authorities. Nathan Cruz, 17, allegedly told his sister he planned “to do the same thing” as his sicko cousin, who shot and killed 19 students and two staffers inside Robb Elementary School last year, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the San Antonio Express-News. San Antonio officers responded to a mental health call after the teen suspect’s mother grew worried Monday morning. “The suspect’s mother was especially concerned because the suspect is currently on probation, was intoxicated at the time, and for the fact that they live near an elementary school,” the affidavit reportedly stated. Cruz also allegedly mentioned how “school is starting soon,” according to KSAT, which also obtained the warrant. Cruz reportedly denied making any threats when speaking with detectives. Cruz’s mother said she overheard her son attempting to buy an AR-15 illegally over the phone, according to the warrant. The family lives across the street from the Gardendale Early Learning Program, the newspaper reported. In addition to the school shooting threat, he also threatened to shoot his sister in the head, the mother alleged. The young man’s sister believed his threat was credible “due to the recent history of their family and the suspect’s knowledge of his cousin’s actions,” according to the San Antonio Express-News. Cruz was booked on a felony charge of making a terroristic threat to the public and a misdemeanor charge of making a terroristic threat to a family member, according to online records from the Bexar County jail. Just when you think Disney may have figured things out… https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2023/08/07/disney-teams-up-with-transgender-tiktok-influencer-to-promote-girls-apparel-i-literally-look-like-minnie-mouse/ Disney Teams Up with Transgender TikTok Influencer to Promote Girls Apparel The Walt Disney Co. has teamed up with a transgender TikTok influencer to promote apparel for girls — specifically, Minnie Mouse-themed clothes that include a red dress, yellow pumps, and a red hair bow. Transgender influencer Seann Altman — a biological male who identifies as “gender fluid” — created a promotional TikTok video for Disney Style, the company’s social media brand promoting Disney-themed clothing, makeup, and accessories. In the video, which was first reported by the Twitter account @LeftismForU, he provides a dress-up tutorial to look like Minnie Mouse. The video was subsequently posted to Disney Style’s official TikTok account. https://twitter.com/i/status/1688344659003629569 - Play Video As you just heard, Altman models a red dress, which he accessorizes with a white petticoat, yellow high-heel shoes, and a belt. He then adds artificial buns to his hair to simulate Minnie’s ears and tops it off with Minnie’s signature red bow. The video is the latest example of Disney promoting transgenderism and gender non-conformity. As Breitbart News reported, Disneyland recently employed a mustachioed transvestite to welcome young girls into the park’s Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. In the past couple of years, Disney has fought Florida over its anti-grooming Parental Rights in Education law, created multiple transgender characters for its children’s shows, put gay characters at the center of its big-budget movies, and even launched an LGBTQ-themed apparel line. In 2021, the Disney+ streaming service hosted This Is Me: Pride Celebration Spectacular, a musical special on YouTube starring drag queen Nina West, with performances of popular Disney songs re-imagined with LGBTQ themes.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, August 8th, 2023. Rowdy Christian Merch Plug: If you’re a fan of CrossPolitic, or the Fight Laugh Feast Network, then surely, you know we have a merch store right? Rowdy Christian Merch is your one-stop-shop for everything CrossPolitc merchandise. We’ve got T-Shirts, hoodies, hats, but we’ve also got specialty items like backpacks, mugs, coffee, even airpod cases! Visit Rowdy Christian Merch at rowdychristian.com, and buy that next gift, or a little something for yourself. Again, that’s rowdychristian.com. https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/desantis-replaces-campaign-manager-amid-low-polling DeSantis launches major shakeup, replaces presidential campaign manager amid low polling In a major shakeup weeks in the making, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign announced Tuesday it had replaced its campaign manager amid low polling in the 2024 GOP primary. DeSantis' gubernatorial chief of staff James Uthmeier replaced campaign manager Generra Peck, DeSantis' team confirmed to The Hill. Peck will now work as the campaign's chief strategist. "People have written Governor DeSantis’s obituary many times," Uthmeier told The Messenger. "He’s breaking records on fundraising and has a supporting super PAC with $100 million in the bank and an incredible ground game. Get ready." Additionally, David Polyansky, former chief of staff for Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, will also join the campaign after serving as an adviser at the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down super PAC. "David Polyansky will also be a critical addition to the team given his presidential campaign experience in Iowa and work at Never Back Down," DeSantis' communications director Andrew Romeo said. Republican strategist and former Trump adviser Roger Stone predicted that 2024 presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will completely run out of money by the first of October. The largest donor to the Florida governor said earlier this week that he was going to hold off funding until DeSantis could appeal more to moderates. Trump is ahead of DeSantis in Republican primary polls with 53.2% to the Florida Republican's 15.1%, according to an average of polls analyzed by FiveThirtyEight. The staffing changes come after the DeSantis campaign laid off more than one-third of its employees last month. https://bongino.com/electric-vehicle-company-heavily-promoted-by-biden-admin-goes-bankrupt Electric Vehicle Company Heavily Promoted by Biden Admin Goes Bankrupt Proterra, an electric bus manufacturing company promoted by the Biden administration, had everything it needed to succeed - and failed anyway. As the Washington Free Beacon’s Chuck Ross reported: Proterra cited "various market and macroeconomic headwinds" in a Chapter 11 filing on Monday, which came after the California-based firm cut hundreds of jobs earlier this year and restructured hundreds of millions of dollars in outstanding debt. Proterra stood to rake in millions from Biden's infrastructure and green energy initiatives, the former of which included at least $5 billion in spending on electric buses alone. Biden's flagship climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, also includes spending to help cities convert from diesel buses to electric buses, a major incentive for companies like Proterra. JoAnn Covington, Proterra's chief legal officer, acknowledged last year that tax credits and federal grants under Biden's bills were a major incentive for the company. Grants to purchase electric buses and to create electric vehicle charging infrastructure would ​"open up opportunities to accelerate adoption of battery-electric and zero-emissions vehicles to all the other commercial segments on the cusp of being electrified," Covington said. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm held non-public shares of proterra, which she sold in mid 2021 to an undisclosed buyer, pocketing over a $1 million profit in the process. She pledged to disclose the buyer, but never did. Proterra's stock only crashed from there, and Granholm’s 240,000 shares would be worth roughly $60,000 total as of writing, had she still held them. Earlier this year in February, Proterra’s CEO Gareth Joyce was appointed by Biden to his Export Council. The year prior, Biden hosted a virtual White House event that spotlighted Proterra’s business, which included the president of the company giving a virtual tour of the company’s manufacturing facility. https://freebeacon.com/national-security/biden-admin-has-given-2-35-billion-to-taliban-controlled-afghanistan/ Biden Admin Has Given $2.35 Billion to Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan The Biden administration has provided more than $2.35 billion in taxpayer dollars to Afghanistan since the Taliban retook control of the government in 2021 following a deadly U.S. evacuation. The United States remains Afghanistan’s top patron, even as lawmakers and federal oversight officials warn that these funds could be propping up the Taliban’s terrorist government. Updated spending figures were disclosed Tuesday in a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a federal watchdog that documents waste, fraud, and abuse related to U.S. expenditures in the war-torn country. Around $1.7 billion "remained available for possible disbursement" at the time of SIGAR’s report, meaning that this money is ready to flow into non-profit groups and other entities working on reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. With the Taliban exerting control over nearly every sector of the country’s infrastructure—including the NGO community—it is more than likely that a sizable portion of these funds will end up in the terror group’s coffers. The latest figures are certain to increase congressional pressure on the Biden administration to stop sending taxpayer funds into Afghanistan until officials can ensure the Taliban is not stealing the money. John Sopko, head of SIGAR, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in April that he "cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban." Sopko also accused the Biden administration of blocking his investigatory efforts and refusing to hand over documents that could show if the Taliban is being propped up by American cash. In the two years since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan following the Biden administration's withdrawal of American forces in 2021, it has become increasingly clear that the terrorist group views international assistance as a "revenue stream," according to SIGAR’s latest report. The United States Institute of Peace recently warned the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the primary vehicle for U.S. spending in Afghanistan, that the Taliban is "pushing for ever-increasing degrees of credit and control over the delivery of aid." United Nations officials also disclosed to the watchdog that "the Taliban have effectively infiltrated and influenced most UN-managed assistance programming." This reality is raising questions about the nearly $2 billion in funds the Biden administration has made available for disbursement in the country. As U.S. aid money flows to the country, "Taliban interference with NGO work escalated, leading to a steady decline in humanitarian access in 2023, with a 32 percent increase in incidents between January and May 2023 as compared to the same period in 2022," according to the report. The Taliban government also has not moderated its jihadi principles since seizing the country. As SIGAR and congressional oversight committees raise concerns about the Biden administration’s push to pump money into Afghanistan, the government agencies in control of these expenditures are not cooperating with investigations. Sopko revealed in April that the "the Department of State, USAID, the U.N., and other agencies are refusing to give us basic information that we or any other oversight body would need to ensure safe stewardship of tax dollars." Sopko revealed in April that the "the Department of State, USAID, the U.N., and other agencies are refusing to give us basic information that we or any other oversight body would need to ensure safe stewardship of tax dollars." "More troubling," he added, "State and USAID have instructed their employees not to talk to SIGAR, and in one recent instance, State told one of its contractors not to participate in a SIGAR audit." The White House also would not cooperate with SIGAR. Congress has had similar experiences, with USAID declining to tell investigators what safeguards were put in place to ensure taxpayer cash is not stolen by the Taliban. https://nypost.com/2023/08/07/nathan-cruz-cousin-of-uvalde-school-shooter-arrested-for-threatening-school/ Cousin, 17, of Uvalde school shooter arrested for allegedly threatening ‘to do the same thing’ A cousin to Uvalde school shooter Salvador Ramos was arrested after he was accused of threatening to shoot up a school and shoot his sister in the head, according to authorities. Nathan Cruz, 17, allegedly told his sister he planned “to do the same thing” as his sicko cousin, who shot and killed 19 students and two staffers inside Robb Elementary School last year, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the San Antonio Express-News. San Antonio officers responded to a mental health call after the teen suspect’s mother grew worried Monday morning. “The suspect’s mother was especially concerned because the suspect is currently on probation, was intoxicated at the time, and for the fact that they live near an elementary school,” the affidavit reportedly stated. Cruz also allegedly mentioned how “school is starting soon,” according to KSAT, which also obtained the warrant. Cruz reportedly denied making any threats when speaking with detectives. Cruz’s mother said she overheard her son attempting to buy an AR-15 illegally over the phone, according to the warrant. The family lives across the street from the Gardendale Early Learning Program, the newspaper reported. In addition to the school shooting threat, he also threatened to shoot his sister in the head, the mother alleged. The young man’s sister believed his threat was credible “due to the recent history of their family and the suspect’s knowledge of his cousin’s actions,” according to the San Antonio Express-News. Cruz was booked on a felony charge of making a terroristic threat to the public and a misdemeanor charge of making a terroristic threat to a family member, according to online records from the Bexar County jail. Just when you think Disney may have figured things out… https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2023/08/07/disney-teams-up-with-transgender-tiktok-influencer-to-promote-girls-apparel-i-literally-look-like-minnie-mouse/ Disney Teams Up with Transgender TikTok Influencer to Promote Girls Apparel The Walt Disney Co. has teamed up with a transgender TikTok influencer to promote apparel for girls — specifically, Minnie Mouse-themed clothes that include a red dress, yellow pumps, and a red hair bow. Transgender influencer Seann Altman — a biological male who identifies as “gender fluid” — created a promotional TikTok video for Disney Style, the company’s social media brand promoting Disney-themed clothing, makeup, and accessories. In the video, which was first reported by the Twitter account @LeftismForU, he provides a dress-up tutorial to look like Minnie Mouse. The video was subsequently posted to Disney Style’s official TikTok account. https://twitter.com/i/status/1688344659003629569 - Play Video As you just heard, Altman models a red dress, which he accessorizes with a white petticoat, yellow high-heel shoes, and a belt. He then adds artificial buns to his hair to simulate Minnie’s ears and tops it off with Minnie’s signature red bow. The video is the latest example of Disney promoting transgenderism and gender non-conformity. As Breitbart News reported, Disneyland recently employed a mustachioed transvestite to welcome young girls into the park’s Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. In the past couple of years, Disney has fought Florida over its anti-grooming Parental Rights in Education law, created multiple transgender characters for its children’s shows, put gay characters at the center of its big-budget movies, and even launched an LGBTQ-themed apparel line. In 2021, the Disney+ streaming service hosted This Is Me: Pride Celebration Spectacular, a musical special on YouTube starring drag queen Nina West, with performances of popular Disney songs re-imagined with LGBTQ themes.

Hoy conversamos en el Tema del Día desde nuestro estudio en vivo con Claudia Irene Zelaya, experta en Liderazgo Organizacional en Centroamérica. Gerente de País para ManpowerGroup en El Salvador, Honduras y Nicaragua, Dirección de Operaciones de CCK y Marta Sigarán, experta en Liderazgo Organizacional en Centroamérica. Gerente de CCK.

Freddy Silva entrevista a Ron Aledo sobre la audiencia que se está dando ante el comité de la cámara de representantes donde el Inspector general especial para la reconstrucción en Afganistán, SIGAR, por sus siglas en inglés, reveló la negligencia con la que está actuando la administración de Joe Biden y cómo, millones de dólares de los contribuyentes estadounidenses estarían llegando a parar a los talibanes, entre otras preocupaciones.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While Eliot is on travel Eric welcomes LTG Sami Sadat whose poignant op-ed in the New York Times in August 2021 about the fall of Afghanistan described his personal feelings of betrayal by the US. He is a major figure in the National Geographic documentary Retrograde now airing on Disney+. They discuss the Biden Administration's recent "Interim Report on Lessons Learned from the Afghanistan Withdrawal" and the contrast between it and the report of the Special Inspector General on Afghanistan, the relative responsibility of the Trump and Biden Administrations, the flaws in the Doha Agreement and the role that contractors played in sustaining Afghan National Security Forces. They also discuss the current humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan and the country's future prospects. Lt. Gen Sami Sadat's 2021 Op-Ed: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/opinion/afghanistan-taliban-army.html Biden Administration Interim Report the Afghanistan Withdrawal: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/US-Withdrawal-from-Afghanistan.pdf SIGAR Report on the Afghan Security Forces Collapse: https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/evaluations/SIGAR-23-16-IP.pdf Retrograde Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CufeaxpsTTQ 1208 Foundation Website: https://www.1208foundation.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While Eliot is on travel Eric welcomes LTG Sami Sadat whose poignant op-ed in the New York Times in August 2021 about the fall of Afghanistan described his personal feelings of betrayal by the US. He is a major figure in the National Geographic documentary Retrograde now airing on Disney+. They discuss the Biden Administration's recent "Interim Report on Lessons Learned from the Afghanistan Withdrawal" and the contrast between it and the report of the Special Inspector General on Afghanistan, the relative responsibility of the Trump and Biden Administrations, the flaws in the Doha Agreement and the role that contractors played in sustaining Afghan National Security Forces. They also discuss the current humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan and the country's future prospects. Lt. Gen Sami Sadat's 2021 Op-Ed: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/opinion/afghanistan-taliban-army.html Biden Administration Interim Report the Afghanistan Withdrawal: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/US-Withdrawal-from-Afghanistan.pdf SIGAR Report on the Afghan Security Forces Collapse: https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/evaluations/SIGAR-23-16-IP.pdf Retrograde Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CufeaxpsTTQ 1208 Foundation Website: https://www.1208foundation.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, FBI providing info to the US Attorney in Delaware. SIGAR's oversight of $146B cannot guarantee U.S. taxpayer dollars are not funding the Taliban. Our 45th President lays out plan to address homelessness in the U.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

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow #Afghanistan  The failure started long before August 2021.  Husain Haqqani, Hudson Institute https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/evaluations/SIGAR-23-16-IP.pdf

Photo: No known restrictions on publication. @Batchelorshow #Afghanistan: SIGAR documents catastrophe, August 2021.  https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/evaluations/SIGAR-23-16-IP.pdf

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction issued his report on the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan, calling America's longest war a $145 billion failure. 5) SIGAR calls 20-year Afghanistan adventure a “total, epic, predestined failure”; 4) Target reports $600 million drop in gross margin this year due to “organized retail crime”; 3) San Francisco can't keep streets clean, but launches guaranteed income program for transgenders; 2) Pfizer and Moderna launch trials to determine long-term side effects to COVID jabs; 1) Sheep at farm in China mysteriously walk in clockwise circle for twelve days without stopping.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction issued his report on the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan, calling America's longest war a $145 billion failure.5) SIGAR calls 20-year Afghanistan adventure a “total, epic, predestined failure”; 4) Target reports $600 million drop in gross margin this year due to “organized retail crime”; 3) San Francisco can't keep streets clean, but launches guaranteed income program for transgenders; 2) Pfizer and Moderna launch trials to determine long-term side effects to COVID jabs; 1) Sheep at farm in China mysteriously walk in clockwise circle for twelve days without stopping.

Sara welcomes businessman and columnist Steven Hecht to discuss how the Biden administration is aggressively pressuring Latin American nations to put Marxists and criminals in powerful positions. Hecht also calls out both political parties for their refusal to confront China - noting the Democrats are busy trying to transform the U.S. into something far worse than what this nation has been and Republicans are busy pocketing donations from companies that are getting filthy rich in China.Sara also tees off on the left and establishment Republicans, explaining their real reasons for being vehemently opposed to another presidential run from President Trump. And she slams the State Department for refusing to explain how it spent $1 billion in Afghanistan after the Taliban took control.Please visit our great sponsors...My Pillow https://www.mypillow.com/carterGet the 6-piece Towel Set for only $39.98!The Association of Mature American Citizenshttps://amac.us/carterThe benefits of membership are great, but the cause is even greater.

This episode contemplates lessons learned from America’s twenty years of war in Afghanistan. To do so, we're joined by Dr. Carter Malkasian, author of The American War in Afghanistan: A History, and James Cunningham, a senior analyst with SIGAR—the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The discuss whether, in the year following the US withdrawal, the United States and its allies have sufficiently reflected on lessons learned from the war. They then describe various reasons why the intervention in Afghanistan failed, based on their extensive research and on-the-ground experience—to include multiple lessons from SIGAR reporting and Dr. Malkasian’s argument that the Taliban won because it fought for values close to what it means to be Afghan, including religion and resistance to occupation. Our guests conclude with policy implications we can draw from twenty years of strategy that ultimately resulted in failure. Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

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

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Danny and Derek do a lightning round of news: they talk about a potential Chinese naval base in Cambodia (0:54), the SIGAR report on missing Afghanistan funds (5:01), the IAEAs' censure of Iran (8:33), the recent Israeli vote on settlements (12:54), Ukraine (16:52), and the Summit of the Americas meeting (22:05). They they speak with Samuel Huneke (29:52), assistant professor of history at George Mason University, about queer theory. They discuss Foucault, the rise of sexual identities, essentialism vs social constructionism, the role of the state in gay liberation, and more. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.americanprestigepod.com/subscribe

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, known by its initials as SIGAR, released an interim report last week on the reasons for the collapse of the Afghan army. To break down the report's findings, Bryce Klehm spoke with Dr. Jonathan Schroden, the research program director at the Center for Naval Analysis. Dr. Schroden is a longtime analyst of the Afghan military and has deployed or traveled to Afghanistan 13 times since 2003. He is quoted and cited several times in the latest report. They spoke about a range of topics covered in the report, including the U.S.'s efforts to build an Afghan army, the Afghan government's decisions that contributed to the collapse and the Taliban's highly effective military campaign.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

La Turchia progetta di rimpatriare 1 milione di siriani scappati dalla guerra. Afghanistan: rapporto Sigar, peggiora la crisi umanitaria. Stati Uniti: il governatore dell'Oklahoma firma il divieto di aborto cardiaco. L'Ucraina dice di aver ottenuto la lista di spie russe in Europa. Egitto: Bancomat vuoti, le banche si prendono 9 giorni di ferie Questo e molto altro nel notiziario di Radio Bullets, a cura di Barbara Schiavulli Se vuoi sostenere l'informazione indipendente www.radiobullets.com/sostienici

La Turchia progetta di rimpatriare 1 milione di siriani scappati dalla guerra. Afghanistan: rapporto Sigar, peggiora la crisi umanitaria. Stati Uniti: il governatore dell'Oklahoma firma il divieto di aborto cardiaco. L'Ucraina dice di aver ottenuto la lista di spie russe in Europa. Egitto: Bancomat vuoti, le banche si prendono 9 giorni di ferie Questo e molto altro nel notiziario di Radio Bullets, a cura di Barbara Schiavulli Se vuoi sostenere l'informazione indipendente www.radiobullets.com/sostienici

Hope you enjoy the show ! #podcast #inspiring #kulinerindonesia DON'T FORGET TO LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE ! Tiarbah (Bahtiar Sigar) : https://www.instagram.com/tiarbah/ Nasgor Tiarbah : https://www.instagram.com/nasgortiarbah/ Masak Darurat : https://www.instagram.com/masakdarurat/ Masak Insitute : https://www.instagram.com/masakinstitute/ Ray Janson Radio is available on: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lEDF01 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/2nhtizq Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2laege8i Anchor App: https://anchor.fm/ray-janson-radio Let's talk some more: https://www.instagram.com/rayjanson/ #RAYJANSONRADIOPODCAST

The Biden administration pulled U.S. troops and pretty much everything else out of Afghanistan months ago. But the work of the Special Inspector for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, goes on. There's humanitarian aid flowing into Afghanistan. And still things to account for. The Federal Drive got an update from the special IG, John Sopko.

Johannes 4:3-8 Toe Jesus dit verneem, het Hy Judea verlaat en weer na Galilea toe gegaan. Hy moes deur Samaria gaan. Hy kom toe by 'n dorp in Samaria met die naam Sigar, naby die stuk grond wat Jakob aan sy seun Josef gegee het. Die fontein van Jakob was daar, en Jesus het toe, omdat Hy moeg was van die reis, sommer by die fontein gaan sit. Dit was omtrent twaalfuur die middag. Daar kom toe 'n Samaritaanse vrou water haal, en Jesus vra vir haar: “Gee My 'n bietjie water om te drink.” Sy dissipels was intussen weg dorp toe om te gaan kos koop.Daar is tye in die lewe wanneer jy ontdek dat gewone, alledaagse gebeurtenisse goddelike afsprake was. En as ons oë en ore oop is, beleef ons goddelike afsprake baie meer gereeld.Jesus het dikwels sulke goddelike afsprake gehad. Ons sien in:Johannes 4: 3 tot 8 Toe Jesus dit verneem, het Hy Judea verlaat en weer na Galilea toe gegaan. Hy moes deur Samaria gaan. Hy kom toe by 'n dorp in Samaria met die naam Sigar, naby die stuk grond wat Jakob aan sy seun Josef gegee het. Die fontein van Jakob was daar, en Jesus het toe, omdat Hy moeg was van die reis, sommer by die fontein gaan sit. Dit was omtrent twaalfuur die middag. Daar kom toe 'n Samaritaanse vrou water haal, en Jesus vra vir haar: “Gee My 'n bietjie water om te drink.” Sy dissipels was intussen weg dorp toe om te gaan kos koop.Jesus wou die potensiële konflik tussen Hom en die Judeërs vermy en het deur Samaria gereis. Die Jode en die Samaritane het nie goed klaargekom nie. So gebeur dit toe dat Jesus alleen by 'n put sit, toe 'n Samaritaanse vrou kom water skep. Hy was moeg en honger, maar Hy het in sy Gees geweet dat dit 'n goddelike afspraak was. Ons sal meer hieroor praat gedurende die res van die week. Ek wil net stilstaan by die feit dat Jesus die geleentheid aangegryp het. Een kommentator stel dit so...Iemand met ‘n dienende hart verstaan hoe kosbaar elke mens se lewe is. Dit is 'n ontnugterende besef dat ons nooit met 'n blote sterfling praat nie. Nee, nooit nie! Almal wat ons ontmoet, sal ewig lewe, óf as 'n glorieryke wese óf as 'n verskriklike verlore siel. Die dienende hart verstaan dit en behandel alle ontmoetings met respek.Hou jou oë en ore oop. Moenie die goddelike afsprake misloop nie.Dit is God se Woord. Vars ... vir jou ... vandag.Enjoying The Content?For the price of a cup of coffee each month, you can enable Christianityworks to reach 10,000+ people with a message about the love of Jesus!DONATE R50 MONTHLY

no, not really…it was spent in Afghanistan - was it worth it? well, here are 10 bad examples of "waste, fraud, and abuse"…could have been spent on affordable housing and jobs programs. HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS WERE SPENT BY THE US IN AFGHANISTAN. HERE ARE 10 OF THE STARKEST EXAMPLES OF 'WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE' In addition to the $85 billion of military equipment and weapons left behind in Afghanistan....here are som less costly but inane expenditure of us taxpayer and government debt. Tarakhil power plant cost $335 million to build, and had an estimated annual fuel cost of $245 million. The most recent SIGAR assessment said at best it was used at just 2.2% capacity, as the Afghan government could not afford the fuel. Pentagon chose the G222 - Six years after the procurement was launched, the 16 aircraft delivered to Afghanistan were sold for scrap for $40,257. The cost of the project: $549 million. 64,000-square foot Marine HQ control center - It cost $36 million, was never used, and seems to have been later stripped by the Afghans, who also never appeared to use it. Uniforms camouflage pattern, "Spec4ce Forest" cost $28 million more than a more appropriate pattern. The US spent $1.5 million a day on counter-narcotics programs (from 2002 to 2018). Opium production was, according to the last SIGAR report, up in 2020 by 37% compared to the year before. This was the third-highest yield since records began in 1994. $249 million being handed out to contractors, but only 15% of the road being built An extensive hotel and apartment complex was commissioned next to the US Embassy in Kabul - "the $85 million in loans is gone, the buildings were never completed and are uninhabitable, and the U.S. Embassy is now forced to provide security for the site at additional cost to U.S. taxpayers." Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) expanded from Iraq to include Afghanistan in 2009, for whose operations in Afghanistan Congress set aside $823 million. Over half the money actually spent by TFBSO -- $359 million of $675 million -- was "spent on indirect and support costs, not directly on projects in Afghanistan," SIGAR concluded in an audit. 510 projects they had been given coordinates for, did not exist in those locations.The audit said that USAID and the Afghan ministry of Public Health could only provide "oversight of these facilities [if they] know where they are." USAID declined to comment. SIGAR was able to review $63 billion of it -- nearly half. They concluded $19 billion of that -- almost a third -- was "lost to waste, fraud, and abuse."

The Taliban raided an ISIS-affiliated hideout in the Afghan capital Kabul killing several insurgents, hours after a deadly bombing outside the Eid Gah mosque on Sunday that left at least five people dead. No one has taken responsibility for the blast, but the rival ISIS group has ramped up attacks against the Taliban, including the Aug. 26 bombing that killed more than 169 Afghans and 13 US military personnel outside Kabul airport.Related: Former adviser Sarah Chayes: The US failed to understand how Afghans wage warThough many people dread the harsh elements of Taliban rule, the group does not bring with it a reputation of being corrupt — a stark contrast to the government it ousted — which was notoriously rife with bribery, embezzlement and graft.Related: The Taliban want international recognition. Countries are debating.The US has invested some $2 trillion in Afghanistan. Corruption and mismanagement plagued the efforts from the start.One US government agency charged with overseeing money used to rebuild Afghanistan is called SIGAR, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.John Sopko, who has led SIGAR since 2012, joined The World's host Marco Werman from Washington to discuss the years of mismanagement in the country.Marco Werman: Inspector general, your job is to sound the alarm when funds are being misused. Tell us in brief what your agency actually does.John Sopko: We're one of the independent inspectors general created by Congress. And we have audit and criminal investigative authority. And our job, as you rightfully noted, was to ferret out waste, fraud, abuse in the money spent in Afghanistan, as well as to give advice to Congress on any administration on the problems we found and how to fix them.So, knowing what you knew over the years in Afghanistan, tell me about your reaction when you saw the Taliban take over the country in August.I have to be honest, although we had predicted problems and major problems for the 10 years I'd been there with the Afghan military and the government, I think we were surprised, just like everybody else, at the speed to which the government and the military collapsed. And not only surprise, but also shock and sadness, because we knew what it meant for a lot of Afghans we had worked with over those years.In the report, SIGAR talks extensively about corruption. Can you highlight what was going on and could the US have done more to prevent it?I think the US, and we highlighted the US could have done a lot more, and actually the US contributed a lot to the corruption in Afghanistan, because we spent too much money, too fast in too small a country, with too little oversight. So, the corruption was really endemic, and we're not talking about corruption like you may see in the United States or Europe or elsewhere. We're talking about corruption that's actually baked into the system there. Money was being stolen from us and from all the other allies who contributed for years from the top, all the way down to the bottom. So, what was the attitude of the Afghan government to this kind of thing that would inevitably lead to dysfunction?The Afghan government did not take an active response to our criticism on corruption. And I think, in part, because the corruption was so endemic. They were very good at checking the box. They would create an organization, hold a conference, rename something. We were really upset, and repeatedly talked about this in our reports, with not only the [Ashraf] Ghani government, but the [Hamid] Karzai government before that. Now, this doesn't mean there weren't some honest cops — Afghan cops and prosecutors and parliamentarians and judges who tried to do something — but overall, it was a pretty pathetic response to fight corruption in that country.And what impact did that have on the government's ability to repel the Taliban ultimately?Well, ultimately it contributed to the Taliban's success, because what happened is, the Afghan people saw how corrupt and incompetent their government was, and they saw it wasn't improving. So, they lost respect for the government and support for the government. They also saw that our government was giving that money to those corrupt officials and those corrupt contractors and those corrupt warlords. So, we lost support. I imagine, John Sopko, calling this stuff out over the past decade has not made you the most popular man in Washington. How have administration officials and members of Congress responded to your reports?A lot of members of Congress responded positively and have been very supportive of us and have actually recognized, over the years, what we were doing and the warnings we were giving. Some people in the administration have done that and been very responsive. But once you start a war, it's hard to stop, and once you're in there for 20 years, then it's like changing a ship in the water, trying to slowly move it. We had some successes, but obviously, a lot of things were not taken to heart by some of the administration people. And there there was a groundswell of opposition to some of the ideas we came up with. When we first highlighted the problem of ghost soldiers and ghost police, there were a lot of nameless, faceless bureaucrats who whispered to congressmen and senators and staffers that, "Oh, SIGAR was exaggerating." Well, turned out, we weren't. And it turned out, even the Afghans admitted, for example, right before the collapse, that over 50% of the police in Helmand and other provinces never existed. So, the first US mission in Afghanistan was to get rid of al-Qaeda, then came the nation building, then came the surge and a strong desire to leave, but nothing happened until this year. How much do you think that constant pivoting led to a lack of mission focus and more corruption?I mean, the report we came out with, we've been working on summarizing all of our work in what happened over the last 20 years. We've been working on it for a year and it came out, ironically, just a day or two after the collapse of Kabul. That highlighted a number of lessons. We didn't really have a clear, articulated strategy and goal. And so, a lot of things collapsed as a result. So, instead of fighting a 20-year war, doing 20 years of reconstruction, we did it one year at a time. We really never focused our resources on the target. And that also contributed, although I think it's an equal problem, was just a lack of understanding of the political and cultural context of Afghanistan. I mean, we basically empowered the warlords who the Taliban had successfully beaten with the support of the people when we came in. And again, not understanding the context, not understanding the corrupting influence, not understanding how the Afghans hated these people, we empowered them. And, lo and behold, when you go to sleep with dogs, you wake up with fleas. And what we did here is, we made our bed with some very evil, corrupt, powerful individuals in Afghanistan who were hated by the people. So, John, Congress has called for a review of the rapid collapse of the Afghan government and its military. How do you think Congress will react to its own findings? Will officials be more likely to listen this time around?Well, I hope they will. I mean, Congress has asked us to answer a number of critical questions to do these. I mean, they've asked us to explain, "Why did the Afghan military collapse so quickly? Why did the Afghan government collapse so quickly? What happened to all the money that we were shipping over there? Particularly, when did we shut off the spigots of money flowing to Afghanistan? What happened to all the weapons? What is happening to all of the women and girls who we supported and all those programs?" I think they're reaching out to us because we have a track record of speaking truth to power. We have a track record of being non-partisan. We've criticized Democrats, we've criticize Republican administrations. We just state the facts. I think a lot of people in Congress actually think we may be the best organization out there to answer those type of questions. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. AP contributed to this report.

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

We welcome Kate Bateman, @katebatemandc), senior expert in the Afghanistan program of the United States Institute of Peace (https://www.usip.org/regions/asia/afghanistan), formerly in the Lessons Learned Program at Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (www.sigar.mil) Quarterly report by SIGAR: https://www.sigar.mil/quarterlyreports/index.aspx?SSR=6 Corruption lessons learned report : https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-16-58-LL.pdf Building the ANDSF lessons learned report: https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-17-62-LL.pdf most recent Lesson Learned report “What We Need to Learn,” distilling the insights of previous reports: https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-21-46-LL.pdf Books by Sarah Chayes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Chayes#Books_and_other_works Previous Kickback Episode on the role of Corruption in Afghanistan: https://soundcloud.com/kickback-gap/59-jodi-vittori-on-corruption-and-the-us-military-operation-in-afghanistan Recommended Podcast from Kate: https://www.cna.org/news/podcast Episodes 96 and 97.

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. 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The war in Afghanistan is over. In this episode, we document how and why the Biden administration finally admitted defeat in our 20 year attempt to create a new government in Afghanistan and we take a hard look at the lessons we need to learn. Afghanistan is a country in a far away land, but there are disturbing similarities between the Afghanistan government that just collapsed and our own. We'd be wise not to ignore them. Executive Producer: Rachel Passer Executive Producer: Anonymous  Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Support Congressional Dish via Patreon (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536. Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD236: January 6: The Capitol Riot CD218: Minerals are the New Oil CD210: The Afghanistan War CD124: The Costs of For-Profit War How We Got Here Craig Whitlock. The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War. Simon and Schuster, 2021. Patrick Tucker. August 18, 2021. “Trump's Pledge to Exit Afghanistan Was a Ruse, His Final SecDef Says.” Defense One. Eugene Kiely and Robert Farley. August 17, 2021. “Timeline of U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan.” FactCheck.org. Eric Schmitt and Jennifer Steinhauer. July 30, 2021. “Afghan Visa Applicants Arrive in U.S. After Years of Waiting.” The New York Times. Craig Whitlock, Leslie Shapiro and Armand Emamdjomeh. December 9, 2019. “The Afghanistan Papers: A secret history of the war.” The Washington Post. Mark Landler and James Risen. July 25, 2017. “Trump Finds Reason for the U.S. to Remain in Afghanistan: Minerals.” The New York Times. John F. Harris. October 15, 2001. “Bush Rejects Taliban Offer On Bin Laden ” Washington Post. The Evacuation: Those Left Behind William Mauldin. September 2, 2021. “Afghanistan Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Staff Left Behind.” Wall Street Journal. Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Annie Karni. August 29, 2021. “Series of U.S. Actions Left Afghan Allies Frantic, Stranded and Eager to Get Out.” The York Times. Sami Sadat. August 25, 2021. “I Commanded Afghan Troops This Year. We Were Betrayed.” The New York Times. Marjorie Censer. August 18, 2021. “US contractors rush to get former employees out of Afghanistan.” Defense News. Siobhan Hughes. August 18, 2021. “Afghanistan Veterans in Congress Trying to Prevent ‘a Death Warrant' for Helping America.” Wall Street Journal. Alex Sanz and Tammy Webber. August 18, 2021. “US friends try to rescue brother in arms in Afghanistan.” AP News. Seth Moulton. June 04, 2021. "Moulton, Bipartisan Honoring Our Promises Working Group to White House: Evacuate our Afghan Partners.” Contractors in Afghanistan Matt Taibbi. August 18, 2021. “We Failed Afghanistan, Not the Other Way Around.” TK News by Matt Taibbi on Substack. Jack Detsch. August 16, 2021. “Departure of Private Contractors Was a Turning Point in Afghan Military's Collapse.” Foreign Policy. Matt Stoller. July 15, 2021. “‘A Real S*** Show': Soldiers Angrily Speak Out about Being Blocked from Repairing Equipment by Contractors.” BIG by Matt Stoller. Lynzy Billing. May 12, 2021. “The U.S. Is Leaving Afghanistan? Tell That to the Contractors.” New York Magazine. Oren Liebermann. March 29, 2021. “Pentagon could open itself to costly litigation from contractors if US pulls out of Afghanistan this year.” CNN. Lucas Kunce and Elle Ekman. September 15, 2019. “Comment Submitted by Major Lucas Kunce and Captain Elle Ekman.” [Regulations.gov(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulations.gov). Aaron Mehta. Oct 25, 2016. “30 Years: William Perry — Reshaping the Industry.” Defense News. Jared Serbu. August 22, 2016. “DoD now awarding more than half its contract spending without competitive bids.” Federal News Network. 41 U.S. Code § 3307 - Preference for commercial products and commercial services. Money: Lost and Gained David Moore. August 23, 2021. “Lawmakers Benefit From Booming Defense Stocks.” Sludge. Lee Fang. August 20, 2021. “Congressman Seeking to Relaunch Afghan War Made Millions in Defense Contracting.” The Intercept. Anna Massoglia and Julia Forrest. August 20, 2021. “Defense contractors spent big in Afghanistan before the U.S. left and the Taliban took control.” OpenSecrets.org. Stephen Losey. April 16, 2021. “The Bill for the Afghanistan War Is $2.26 Trillion, and Still Rising.” Military.com. Eli Clifton. February 16, 2021. “Weapons Biz Bankrolls Experts Pushing to Keep U.S. Troops in Afghanistan.” Daily Beast. Open Secrets. 2021. Defense: Lobbying, 2021. Open Secrets. 2021. Defense: Money to Congress. Laws S.1790 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 Sponsor: Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) Status: Became Public Law No: 116-92 on December 20, 2019 H.R. 3237: Emergency Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 Sponsor: Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) Status: Signed into law, 2021 May 20 House Vote Breakdown Congressional Budget Office Score Law Outline TITLE IV: BILATERAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE GENERAL PROVISIONS EXTENSION AND MODIFICATION OF THE AFGHAN SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM Sec. 401: Amends the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 to expand eligibility to include Afghans who worked not only for the US Government for more than 1 year but also our allies as an off-base interpreter or if they performed "activities for United States military stationed at International Security Assistance Force (or any successor name for such Force). Increases the number of Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) to Afghan partners by 8,000, for a total of 34,500 allocated since December 19, 2014. Sec. 402: Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of state to jointly waive for 1 year (maximum 2 years with an extension) the requirement that Afghan partners eligible for SIVs get a medical exam before they can receive their visa. The Secretary of Homeland Security has to create a process to make sure Afghan SIV holders get a medical exam within 30 days of entry into the United States. Sec. 403: Allows the surviving spouse or child or employee of the United States Government abroad to be eligible for immigration into the United States if the employee worked for our government for at least 15 years or was killed in the line of duty. It also expands entry permissions for Afghan SIV applicants in addition to those who have already been approved. This is retroactive to June 30, 2021. Policies for Visa Processing: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual, Chapter 9: Certain Afghan Nationals U.S Department of State -- Bureau of Consular Affairs. “Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans - Who Were Employed by/on Behalf of the U.S. Government.” Audio Sources Gen. Mark Milley: "There was nothing that I or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days." August 18, 2021 General Mark Milley: The time frame of rapid collapse that was widely estimated and ranged from weeks to months, and even years following our departure, there was nothing that I or anyone else saw that indicated a collapse of this army and this government in 11 days. Central Command submitted a variety of plans that were briefed and approved by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense and the President. These plans were coordinated, synchronized and rehearsed to deal with these various scenarios. One of those contingencies is what we are executing right now. As I said before, there's plenty of time to do AARs(After Action Reviews) and key lessons learned and to delve into these questions with great detail. But right now is not that time. Right now, we have to focus on this mission, because we have soldiers at risk. And we also have American citizens and Afghans who supported us for 20 years also at risk. This is personal and we're going to get them out. President Biden on Afghanistan Withdrawal Transcript July 8, 2021 Sound Clips 01:30 President Biden: When I announced our drawdown in April, I said we would be out by September, and we're on track to meet that target. Our military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31. The drawdown is proceeding in a secure and orderly way, prioritizing the safety of our troops as they depart 3:40 President Biden: Together with our NATO allies and partners, we have trained and equipped nearly 300,000 current serving members of the military, the Afghan national security force, and many beyond that are no longer serving. Add to that hundreds of thousands more Afghan national defense and security forces trained over the last two decades. 04:04 President Biden: We provided our Afghan partners with all the tools, let me emphasize, all the tools -- training, equipment -- of any modern military. We provided advanced weaponry, and we're going to continue to provide funding and equipment and we'll ensure they have the capacity to maintain their Air Force. 5:54 President Biden: We're also going to continue to make sure that we take on Afghan nationals who worked side by side with US forces, including interpreters and translators. Since we're no longer going to have military there after this, we're not going to need them and they'll have no jobs. We're [sic] also going to be vital to our efforts. they've been very vital, and so their families are not exposed to danger as well. We've already dramatically accelerated the procedure time for Special Immigrant Visas to bring them to the United States. Since I was inaugurated on January 20, we've already approved 2,500 Special Immigrant Visas to come to the United States. Up to now, fewer than half have exercised the right to do that. Half have gotten on aircraft and come commercial flights and come and other half believe they want to stay, at least thus far. We're working closely with Congress to change the authorization legislation so that we can streamline the process of approving those visas. And those who have stood up for the operation to physically relocate 1000s of Afghans and their families before the US military mission concludes so that, if they choose, they can wait safely outside of Afghanistan, while their US visas are being processed. 8:13 President Biden: For those who have argued that we should stay just six more months, or just one more year, I asked them to consider the lessons of recent history. In 2011, the NATO allies and partners agreed that we would end our combat mission in 2014. In 2014, some argued one more year. So we kept fighting. We kept taking casualties. In 2015, the same, and on and on. Nearly 20 years of experience has shown us that the current security situation only confirms that just one more year of fighting in Afghanistan is not a solution, but a recipe for being there indefinitely. It's up to the Afghans to make the decision about the future of their country. Others are more direct. Their argument is that we should stay with the Afghans and Afghanistan indefinitely. In doing so they point to the fact that we we have not taken losses in this last year. So they claim that the cost of just maintaining the status quo is minimal. 9:19 President Biden: But that ignores the reality, and the facts that already presented on the ground in Afghanistan when I took office. The Taliban is at its strongest militarily since 2001. The number of US forces in Afghanistan had been reduced to a bare minimum. And the United States and the last administration made an agreement that they have to with the Taliban remove all our forces by May 1 of this year. That's what I inherited. That agreement was the reason the Taliban had ceased major attacks against US forces. 9:55 President Biden: If in April, I had instead announced that the United States was going to go back on that agreement, made by the last administration, the United States and allied forces will remain in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future, the Taliban would have again begun to target our forces. The status quo was not an option. Staying would have meant US troops taking casualties, American men and women back in the middle of a civil war, and we would run the risk of having to send more troops back in Afghanistan to defend our remaining troops. Once that agreement with the Taliban had been made, staying with a bare minimum force was no longer possible. 10:34 President Biden: So let me ask those who want us to stay: how many more? How many 1000s more Americans' daughters and sons are you willing to risk? How long would you have them stay? Already we have members of our military whose parents fought in Afghanistan 20 years ago. Would you send their children and their grandchildren as well? Would you send your own son or daughter? After 20 years, a trillion dollars spent training and equipping hundreds of 1000s of Afghan National Security and Defence Forces. 2,448 Americans killed, 20,722 more wounded, and untold 1000s coming home with unseen trauma to their mental health. I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome. 11:51 President Biden: Today the terrorist threat has metastasized beyond Afghanistan. So, we are repositioning our resources and adapting our counterterrorism posture to meet the threats where they are now: significantly higher in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. 12:07 President Biden: But make no mistake, our military and intelligence leaders are confident they have the capabilities to protect the homeland and our interests from any resurgent terrorist challenge emerging or emanating from Afghanistan. We're developing a counterterrorism over-the-horizon capability that will allow us to keep our eyes firmly fixed at any direct threat to the United States in the region and act quickly and decisively if needed. 12:38 President Biden: We also need to focus on shoring up America's core strengths to meet the strategic competition competition with China and other nations that is really going to determine our future. 14:58 Reporter: Is the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan now inevitable? President Biden: No. It is not. Because you have the Afghan troops, 300,000. Well equipped, as well equipped as any army in the world, and an air force against something like 75,000 Taliban. It is not inevitable. 15:45 President Biden: Do I trust the Taliban? No, but I trust the capacity of the Afghan military who is better trained, better equipped, and more competent in terms of conducting war. 18:07 Reporter: Your own intelligence community has assessed that the Afghan government will likely collapse President Biden: That is not true 18:53 President Biden: And I want to make clear what I made clear to Ghani, that we are not going to walk away and not sustain their ability to maintain that force. We are. We're going to also work to make sure we help them in terms of everything from food necessities and other things in the region. But there is not a conclusion that in fact, they cannot defeat the Taliban. I believe the only way there's going to be -- this is now Joe Biden, not the intelligence community -- the only way there's only going to be peace and secure in Afghanistan, is that they work out a modus vivendi with the Taliban, and they make a judgement as to how they can make peace. And the likelihood there's going to be one unified government in Afghanistan, controlling the whole country is highly unlikely. 21:30 Reporter: Mr. President, how serious was the corruption among the Afghanistan government to this mission failing there? President Biden: First of all, the mission hasn't failed yet. 22:00 President Biden: There were going to be negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan national security forces, and the Afghan government that didn't come to fruition. So the question now is where do they go from here? The jury is still out, but the likelihood there's going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely. 23:20 Reporter: Mr. President, "speed is safety," as you just said in your remarks. Are you satisfied with the timeline of relocating Afghan nationals? Is it happening quickly enough to your satisfaction if it may not happen until next month at the end? President Biden: It has already happened, there have already been people, about 1000 people have gotten on aircraft and come to the United States already on commercial aircraft. So as I said, there's over 2500 people, that as from January to now, have have gotten those visas and only half decided that they wanted to leave. The point is that I think the whole process has to be speeded up -- period -- in terms of being able to get these visas. Reporter: Why can't the US evacuate these Afghan translators to the United States to await their visa processing as some immigrants of the southern border have been allowed to? President Biden: Because the law doesn't allow that to happen. And that's why we're asking the Congress to consider changing the law. President Biden Remarks on Afghanistan Strategy Transcript April 14, 2021 Sound Clips 00:38 President Biden: I'm speaking to you today from the Roosevelt -- the Treaty room in the White House -- the same spot where in October of 2001, President George W. Bush informed our nation that the United States military had begun strikes on terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. It was just weeks, just weeks after the terrorist attack on our nation that killed 2,977 innocent souls, that turned Lower Manhattan into a disaster area, destroyed parts of the Pentagon and made hallowed ground in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and sparked an American promise that we would never forget. We went to Afghanistan in 2001, to root out al Qaeda to prevent future terrorist attacks against the United States planned from Afghanistan. Our objective was clear, the cause was just, our NATO allies and partners rallied beside us. And I supported that military action along with the overwhelming majority of the members of Congress. More than seven years later, in 2008 weeks before we swore the oath of office -- President Obama and I were about to swear -- President Obama asked me to travel to Afghanistan and report back on the state of the war in Afghanistan. I flew to Afghanistan to the Kunar Valley, a rugged, mountainous region on the border of Pakistan. What I saw on that trip reinforced my conviction that only the Afghans have the right and responsibility to lead their country. And that more and endless American military force could not create or sustain a durable Afghan Government. I believed that our presence in Afghanistan should be focused on the reason we went in the first place: to ensure Afghanistan would not be used as a base from which to attack our homeland again. We did that, we accomplished that objective. I said, along with others, we would follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell if need be. That's exactly what we did. And we got him. It took us close to 10 years to put President Obama's commitment into form. And that's exactly what happened Osama bin Laden was gone. That was 10 years ago. Think about that. We delivered justice to Bin Laden a decade ago. And we've stayed in Afghanistan for a decade since. Since then, our reasons for remaining in Afghanistan have become increasingly unclear, even as the terrorist threat that we went to fight evolved. Over the past 20 years, the threat has become more dispersed, metastasizing around the globe. Al Shabaab in Somalia, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, on Al Nusra in Syria, ISIS attempting to create a caliphate in Syria and Iraq and establishing affiliates in multiple countries in Africa and Asia. With the terror threat now in many places, keeping 1000s of troops grounded and concentrated in just one country at a cost of billions each year makes little sense to me and our leaders. We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan, hoping to create ideal conditions for the withdraw and expecting a different result. I'm now the fourth United States President to preside over American troop presence in Afghanistan: two Republicans, two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth. After consulting closely with our allies and partners, with our military leaders and intelligence personnel, with our diplomats and our development experts, with the Congress and the Vice President, as well as with Mr. Ghani and many others around the world. I concluded that it's time to end America's longest war. It's time for American troops to come home. 5:01 President Biden: When I came to office, I inherited a diplomatic agreement, duly negotiated between the government of the United States and the Taliban, that all US forces would be out of Afghanistan by May 1 2021, just three months after my inauguration. That's what we inherited. That commitment is perhaps not what I would have negotiated myself, but it was an agreement made by the United States government. And that means something. So in keeping with that agreement, and with our national interest, the United States will begin our final withdrawal beginning on May 1 of this year. 8:11 President Biden: You all know that less than 1% of Americans serve in our Armed Forces. The remaining 99%, we owe them. We owe them. They've never backed down from a single mission that we've asked of them. I've witnessed their bravery firsthand during my visits to Afghanistan. They've never wavered in their resolve. They paid a tremendous price on our behalf and they have the thanks of a grateful nation. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) High-Risk List Center for Strategic and International Studies Transcript March 10, 2021 Speaker: John Sopko - Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Sound Clips 7:40 John Sopko: But right now, that state is under threat. In the wake of the February 2020 withdrawal agreement, all is not well. Compromise appears in short supply on either side. Taliban attacks have actually increased since the agreement was signed. Assassination of prominent officials, activists, journalists, aid workers and others have also increased, including an unsuccessful attack on one of the female members of the peace negotiating team. And the Taliban offensive on Kandahar city last October, as peace negotiations were ongoing, may well have succeeded, were it not for U.S. air support. Peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban have achieved little for Afghanistan so far, and only time will tell as to whether the new Biden administration initiative will bear fruit. And the Afghan people's fears for its own government survival are exacerbated by the knowledge of how dependent their country is on foreign military and financial support. 12:56 John Sopko: Another equally serious threat to Afghanistan's stability has also largely been ignored as we focus on the boots on the ground in Afghanistan. And that is the provision of last year's U.S.-Taliban agreement that stipulates that in addition to the departure of U.S. and coalition troops, or non-diplomatic civilian personnel: private security contractors, trainers, advisors, and supporting service personnel also must leave the country by May 1. Should this come to passSIGAR and many others believe this may be more devastating to the effectiveness of the Afghan security forces than the withdrawal of our remaining troops. Why is that? Because the Afghan government relies heavily on these foreign contractors and trainers to function. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 there are over 18,000 Defense Department contractors in Afghanistan, including 6000 Americans, and 7,000 3rd country nationals, 40% of whom are responsible for logistics, maintenance, or training tasks. Now, it is well known that the Afghan security forces need these contractors to maintain their equipment, manage supply chains, and train their military and police to operate the advanced equipment that we have purchased for them. For example, as of December, the Afghan National Army was completing just under 20% of its own maintenance work orders, well below the goal of 80% that was set and the 51% that they did in 2018. So that's actually going down. The Afghan National Police were just as bad if not worse, undertaking only 12% of their own maintenance work against a target of 35% and less than the 16% that we reported in our 2019 high risk list. Additionally, and more troubling. The Department of Defense does train, advise and assist command air, or commonly called TAC air recently reported that since late 2019, they have reduced their personnel in Afghanistan by 94%, and that the military drawdown now requires near total use of contract support to maintain the Afghan Air fleet. They assess that quote “further drawdown in the associated closure basis will effectively end all in country aviation training contracts in Afghanistan.” Again, why is this significant? Why do we view this as a high risk? Namely because contractors currently provide 100% of the maintenance for the Afghan Air Force, UAE 60 helicopters and CE 130 cargo aircraft and a significant portion of Afghans Light Combat Support aircraft. TAC air this January gave a bleak assessment, namely, that no Afghan airframe can be sustained as combat effective for more than a few months in the absence of contractor support. 17:51 John Sopko: Continued funding for U.S. reconstruction programs aimed at promoting economic development, rule of law, respect for human rights, good governance and security for the Afghan people may be more significant, because it may be the primary lever left for the US and other donors to influence that country. It appears that even the Taliban understand Afghanistan's dire need for foreign assistance. Because, as one of the few commitments that the US had to make last year was, “to seek economic cooperation for reconstruction, with the new post settlement, Afghan Islamic government.” Now how much the donor community wishes to stay involved will of course depend on what that government looks like and how it behaves. Numerous officials, including then Secretary of State Pompeo and Ambassador Halley, have stated that the US will be able to advance its human rights goals, including the rights of women and girls with the Taliban by leveraging or conditioning this much needed financial assistance. But unfortunately, as SIGAR has long reported, even when conditionality involved only dealing with the Afghan government, donors do not have a stellar record of successfully utilizing that conditionality to influence Afghan behavior. 27:19 John Sopko: Today our report suggests the donor community should realize the Afghan government is focused on a single goal, its survival. Afghanistan is more dependent on international support than ever before. It may not be an overstatement that if foreign assistance is withdrawn and peace negotiations fail, Taliban forces could be at the gates of Kabul in short order. Hearing: A PATHWAY FOR PEACE IN AFGHANISTAN: EXAMINING THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE AFGHANISTAN STUDY GROUP House Committee on Oversight and Reform: Subcommittee on National Security February 19, 2021 Testimony was heard from the following Afghanistan Study Group officials: Kelly A. Ayotte, Co-Chair; News Corp Board of Directors since April 2017 BAE Systems Board of Directors since June 2017 Blackstone Board of Directors Boston Properties Board of Directors Caterpillar Board of Directors Board of Advisors at Cirtronics General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. (Retired), Co-Chair Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Obama and Trump presidencies. Lockheed Martin Board of Directors since February 2020 Nancy Lindborg, Co-Chair President and CEO of the David Lucile Packard Foundation Former President and CEO of the US Institute for Peace Former Assistant Administrator for the bureau for democracy conflict and humanitarian assistance at USAID During the mid-Obama years. Sound Clips 3:13 Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA): I'd also like to take a moment to thank the nonpartisan US Institute of Peace for the support and expertise they provided to the study group during the course of its work. 3:23 Rep. Stephen Lynch (MA): In the fiscal year 2020 omnibus bill Congress led by Senator Graham Senator Patrick Leahy and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee of state foreign ops and related programs. They tasked the independent and bipartisan Afghanistan study group to quote, consider the implications of a peace settlement or the failure to reach a settlement on US policy, resources and commitments in Afghanistan. After nearly nine months of review and consultation with current and former US and Afghan government officials, allies and partners and other key stakeholders, the Afghanistan study group issued its final report earlier this month. 15:12 Kelly Ayotte: We recommend that US troops remain beyond may 1. We believe a precipitous withdrawal of US and international troops in May, would be catastrophic for Afghanistan, leading to civil war, and allow the reconstitution of terror groups which threaten the United States within an 18 to 36 month period. 15:41 Kelly Ayotte: Let me be clear, although we recommend that our troops remain beyond may 1, we propose a new approach toward Afghanistan, which aligns our policies, practices and messaging across the United States government to support the Afghan peace process, rather than prosecute a war. Our troops would remain not to fight a forever war, but to guarantee the conditions for a successful peace process and to protect our national security interests to ensure that Afghanistan does not become a haven again, for terrorists who threaten the United States of America. 37:15 General Joseph F. Dunford: Do we need to increase forces if the Taliban don't accept an extension past the first of May, and if they then would re initiate attacks against US forces? and Chairman, we heard exactly what you heard. In the fall. What we were told by commanders on the ground in the department of fence was that 4500 US forces, in addition to the NATO forces that are there was the minimum level to address both the mission as well as protection of our forces in the context of the conditions that existed in the fall in as you've highlighted, those conditions have only gotten worse since the fall so in in our judgment 2500 would not be adequate. Should the Taliban re initiate attacks against the United States Hearing: Examining the Trump Administration's Afghanistan Strategy House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Subcommittee on National Security January 28, 2020 Witness: John Sopko - Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) Sound Clips 48:54 John Sopko: We've almost created a system that forces people in the government to give happy talk success stories because they're over there on very short rotations. They want to show success. The whole system is almost geared to give you, and it goes up the chain of command, all the way to the President sometimes. He gets bad information from people out in the field because somebody on a nine month rotation, he has to show success, and that goes up. 54:24 John Sopko: Maybe incentivize honesty. And one of the proposals I gave at that time,be cause I was asked by the staff to come up with proposals, is put the same requirement on the government that we impose on publicly traded corporations. Publicly traded corporations have to tell the truth. Otherwise the SEC will indict the people involved. They have to report when there's a significant event. So put that onus, call it The Truth in Government Act if you want, that you in the administration are duty bound by statute to alert Congress to significant events that could directly negatively impact a program or process. So incentivize honesty. 1:10:25 John Sopko: Over 70% of the Afghan budget comes from the United States and the donors. If that money ended, I have said before and I will stand by it, then the Afghan government will probably collapse. Wartime Contracting Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs September 21, 2011 Witnesses: Charles Tiefer: Commissioner on the Commission on Wartime Contracting Clark Kent Ervin: Commissioner on the Commission on Wartime Contracting Sound Clips 1:11:30 Charles Tiefer: Our private security in Afghanistan appears to be a major source of payoffs to the Taliban. Our report has the first official statement that it's the second-largest source of money for the Taliban. Sen. Carl Levin: After drugs. Charles Tiefer: After drugs, that's right. 1:25:18 Clark Kent Ervin: It's critical that the government have a choice, and that means that there needs to be at least a small and expandable, organic capacity on the part of these three agencies to perform missions themselves, so the next time there's a contingency, the government has a choice between going with contractors and going in-house and the determination can be made whether it's more effective to do it either way, whether it's cheaper to do it either way. As we said at the inception, right now the government doesn't have an option. Contractors are the default option because they're the only option. President George W. Bush announces U.S. Military Strikes on Afghanistan October 7, 2001 President George W. Bush: Good afternoon. On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against Al-Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. These carefully targeted actions are designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime. More than two weeks ago, I gave Taliban leaders a series of clear and specific demands: close terrorist training camps, hand over leaders of the Al-Qaeda network, and return all foreign nationals including American citizens unjustly detained in your country. None of these demands were met and now the Taliban will pay a price by destroying camps and disrupting communications. We will make it more difficult for the terror network to train new recruits and coordinate their evil plans. ** International Campaign Against Terrorism Senate Foreign Relations Committee October 25, 2001 Witness: Colin Powell: Secretary of State Sound Clip 27:00 Colin Powell: Our work in Afghanistan though, is not just of a military nature. We recognize that when the Al Qaeda organization has been destroyed in Afghanistan, and as we continue to try to destroy it in all the nations in which it exists around the world, and when the Taliban regime has gone to its final reward, we need to put in place a new government in Afghanistan, one that represents all the people of Afghanistan and one that is not dominated by any single powerful neighbor, but instead is dominated by the will of the people of Afghanistan. Executive Producer Recommendations Elect Stephanie Gallardo 2022 Krystal Kyle and Friends. August 21, 2021. “Episode 35 Audio with Matthew Hoh.” Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

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)

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)  

"Two years ago he and a team at The Post published a prescient and ground-breaking project called “The Afghanistan Papers,” revealing hundreds of secret interviews with U.S. officials candidly discussing the failures of the war.By Martine PowersThe interviews with some 400 people were part of a project called “Lessons Learned,” undertaken by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, and The Post obtained them after a three-year legal battle. These Afghanistan papers are a secret history of the war, Whitlock tells Martine Powers, and “they contain these frank admissions of how the war was screwed up and that what the American people were being told about the war wasn't true.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/tablet/2021/08/20/afghanistan-papers-revisited/?utm_campaign=ext_rweb&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=extensionSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/TheDarrellmcclainshow)

Would you prefer a reassuring lie about the situation in Afghanistan? Or an uncomfortable truth? In the latest episode of "Right Now with Stephen Kent," Stephen sits down with Fiona Harrigan of Reason magazine to discuss the US withdrawal from Afghanistan; the rise of the Taliban; the media's partisan divide between getting Americans out vs. getting Afghans out; if there was any true reason or justification for US invasion in the first place; and what the future may look like for both Afghanistan and the world. Subscribe to Rightly and catch more details about the episode below. Make sure to sign up for Unfettered, our new newsletter, available now. Newsletter signup: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/rightlyaj/issues/right-now-unfettered-8-20-730588 ---- Content of This Episode ---- 00:00 Episode start 00:05 A little white lie 05:50 Giving the Taliban legitimacy – or not 10:55 Throwing good money after bad 12:57 How to help Afghans now 18:30 Afghans still looking for ways out 21:33 The refugee debate feat. Sasse & Vance 33:00 It didn’t have to be like this 34:21 For Gen Z 9/11 is history, not memory 43:10 Good news on film school and audio books ---- Reading list ----- We Need To Get Afghans Out of Afghanistan Too (Reason) https://reason.com/2021/08/16/we-need-to-get-afghans-out-of-afghanistan-too/Withdrawing From Afghanistan Is Still the Right Thing To Do (Reason) https://reason.com/2021/07/14/withdrawing-from-afghanistan-is-still-the-right-thing-to-do/Denied American Visas, These Afghans Were Forced To Make a Perilous Escape After Helping U.S. Troops for Years (Reason) https://reason.com/2021/07/08/denied-american-visas-these-afghans-were-forced-to-make-a-perilous-escape-after-helping-u-s-troops-for-years/AT WAR WITH THE TRUTH: The Afghanistan Papers, A secret history of the war (Washington Post) https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/WHAT WE NEED TO LEARN: LESSONS FROM TWENTY YEARS OF AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction) https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-21-46-LL.pdfTony Blair: Why We Must Not Abandon the People of Afghanistan – For Their Sakes and Ours (Tony Blair Institute for Global Change) https://institute.global/tony-blair/tony-blair-why-we-must-not-abandon-people-afghanistan-their-sakes-and-ours---- Plugs for our guests ----Follow Fiona Harrigan: https://twitter.com/Fiona_Harrigan https://reason.com/people/fiona-harrigan/

Poppy means opium, opium means opiates (both legal and illegal). You do the math. Short and sweet today. U.S. Inspector General Report on Afghanistan: https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-18-52-LL.pdf --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Dr. Rasmus discusses his latest published article, ‘Afghanistan & the American Imperial Project' (see his blog, http://jackrasmus.com, for free copy), explaining the US retreat in Afghanistan has to do with the inability of the US to maintain the costs of empire in the middle east (not just Afghanistan) and simultaneously pay for the cost of the new ‘wars' looming on the horizon. The wars in the middle east since 2001 have officially cost $6.4T according to the US oversight office, SIGAR. However, that's only for Afghanistan ($1-$2T) and Iraq. If Syria/Isis, Libya, naval blockade of Iran, US financing Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, annual handouts in aid to Egypt & Israel, Somalia, and other ‘operations' in the region are concerned, the total cost the past 20 years is easily $10 trillion. Rasmus explains the US empire cannot continue funding $500B/yr. on average, while it faces new costs of empire in the new wars: the nextgeneration tech war with China, the cybersecurity war with Russia & others, and the ‘war' against Nature itself as the US scrambles to deal with climate change. Rasmus further notes the middle east wars have been financed as the US cut taxes by $15 trillion over the 20 yrs. The result of $10T cost as $15T taxes cut is annual budget deficits > $1T and cumulated deficits approaching $28T. Imperial financing of new wars will have to change, as the US shifts focus from the ‘old wars' of middle east to protect oil (the US no longer needs) to the ‘new wars' with China, Russia & Nature. The US empire is not imploding. It is restructuring, Rasmus concludes.  

This week, Americans watched in disbelief as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in a matter of days — and we wondered what Craig Whitlock was thinking. Two years ago he and a team at The Post published a prescient and ground-breaking project called “The Afghanistan Papers,” revealing hundreds of secret interviews with U.S. officials candidly discussing the failures of the war.The interviews with some 400 people were part of a project called “Lessons Learned,” undertaken by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, and The Post obtained them after a three-year legal battle. These Afghanistan papers are a secret history of the war, Whitlock tells Martine Powers, and “they contain these frank admissions of how the war was screwed up and that what the American people were being told about the war wasn't true.” “They really do bring to mind the Pentagon Papers, which were the Defense Department's top-secret history of the Vietnam War,” Whitlock says. These recordings have new resonance this week. Read excerpts from Craig Whitlock's new book, ‟The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War”.Deceptions and lies: What really happened in AfghanistanThe grand illusion: Hiding the truth about the Afghanistan war's ‘conclusion'

In today's Federal Newscast, during its 20 years in Afghanistan, no specific agency had the mindset, expertise or resources to develop the country, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

세계 뉴스와 함께 미국의 모든 것을 소개하는 '생방송 여기는 워싱턴입니다', 2021년 7월 29일 저녁 방송입니다. '지구촌 오늘'에서는 미군 철수 후 아프가니스탄 정부가 탈레반에 함락될 수 있다고 미국 ‘아프간재건특별감사관(SIGAR)'이 새 보고서에서 평가한 소식, '아메리카 나우'에서는 미국 의회에서 1조 달러 인프라 투자 입법이 본격적으로 진행되는 소식 전해드립니다. 방송 시간: 한반도 오후 10:00~11:00 (UTC 13:00~14:00).

세계 뉴스와 함께 미국의 모든 것을 소개하는 '생방송 여기는 워싱턴입니다', 2021년 7월 30일 아침 방송입니다. '지구촌 오늘'에서는 미군 철수 후 아프가니스탄 정부가 탈레반에 함락될 수 있다고 미국 ‘아프간재건특별감사관(SIGAR)'이 새 보고서에서 평가한 소식, '아메리카 나우'에서는 미국 의회에서 1조 달러 인프라 투자 입법이 본격적으로 진행되는 소식 전해드립니다. 방송 시간: 한반도 오전 4:00~5:00 (UTC 19:00~20:00).

#S5E08. Ingen har flere eller bedre historier enn Røverne. Mange har opplevd ting som de fleste på utsiden knapt kan forestille seg, og i denne ukens episode skal Røverne selv fortelle om noen av de absurde situasjonene de har havnet i - som da Røver Christian gikk forkledd på Oslo politihus.

On February 17, the Foreign Policy program at Brookings hosted Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko for a keynote address on the release of the new SIGAR report, “Support for Gender Equality: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan.” A discussion facilitated by Brookings President John R. Allen and a panel conversation with distinguished analysts and practitioners followed Mr. Sopko’s remarks. https://www.brookings.edu/events/women-in-afghanistan-and-the-role-of-us-support/ Subscribe to Brookings Events on iTunes, send feedback email to events@brookings.edu, and follow us and tweet us at @policypodcasts on Twitter. To learn more about upcoming events, visit our website. Brookings Events is part of the Brookings Podcast Network.

Bjørn Eidsvåg stikker innom søndagsbrunsj standsmessig antrukket i sixpence. Else og Cecilie helgarderer seg og Bjørn forteller om Twitter-tabber.

Selamat datang di podcast kisah horror

This episode references: SIGAR's 2019 High Risk Listhttps://www.sigar.mil/pdf/spotlight/2019_High-Risk_List.pdf Interactive High Risk Listhttps://www.sigar.mil/interactive-reports/high-risk-list/index.html SIGAR's April 30, 2020 Quarterly Report to Congresshttps://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2020-04-30qr.pdf Learning Lessons: Capturing and Institutionalizing Lessonsfrom Complex Stabilization Effortshttps://www.sigar.mil/pdf/lessonslearned/SIGAR-17-15-LL.pdf "Boondoggle HQ: The $25 Million Building in Afghanistan Nobody Needed" Pro Publica, May 20, 2015.https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/boondoggle Cleveland.Com "John Sopko fought the Mafia in Cleveland and now he's fighting fraud and corruption in Afghanistan", updated January 12, 2019https://www.cleveland.com/open/2013/07/he_fought_the_mafia_in_clevela.html John Sopko is the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstructionhttps://www.sigar.mil/about/leadership/leadership.aspx?SSR=1&SubSSR=2&Sub2SSR=1&WP=IG%20SIGAR

This episode references: The Inspector General Act of 1978, As Amended https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title5/title5a/node20&edition=prelim 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, SIGAR authorities at Section 1229 https://www.congress.gov/110/plaws/publ181/PLAW-110publ181.pdf SIGAR's 2019 High Risk List https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/spotlight/2019_High-Risk_List.pdf Interactive High Risk List https://www.sigar.mil/interactive-reports/high-risk-list/index.html SIGAR's April 30, 2020 Quarterly Report to Congress https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/quarterlyreports/2020-04-30qr.pdf Counternarcotics: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan https://www.sigar.mil/interactive-reports/counternarcotics/index.html Reintegration of Ex-Combatants: Lessons from the U.S.Experience in Afghanistan https://www.sigar.mil/interactive-reports/reintegration/index.html Washington Post, "The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War", December 9, 2019 https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/afghanistan-papers/documents-database/ Cleveland.Com "John Sopko fought the Mafia in Cleveland and now he's fighting fraud and corruption in Afghanistan", updated January 12, 2019 https://www.cleveland.com/open/2013/07/he_fought_the_mafia_in_clevela.html John Sopko is the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction https://www.sigar.mil/about/leadership/leadership.aspx?SSR=1&SubSSR=2&Sub2SSR=1&WP=IG%20SIGAR

In today's Federal Newscast, a bipartisan bill in the Senate would fast-track hiring staff to work for the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery, who’s now one step away from confirmation.

Jen talks with Jarrett Blanc about the blockbuster report by the Washington Post, revealing hundreds of scathing interviews with U.S. officials involved in the war in Afghanistan.The World Unpacked will be back in January. 

On September 18, USIP and SIGAR held the official launch of “Reintegration of Ex-Combatants: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan.” The event included a keynote address by Special Inspector General John Sopko, followed by a panel discussion on the report’s findings and recommendations—both for the ongoing insurgency and for a post-settlement Afghanistan.

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.

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On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, and Isabel Garcia, co-founder of Coalición de Derechos Humanos.With less than a week left before the midterm election, Donald Trump has announced that he would be sending up to 15,000 soldiers to the U.S.-Mexico border. Meanwhile Republicans released an overtly racist campaign ad yesterday showing an undocumented migrant who was convicted of killing two policemen saying with a smile that he would soon escape and kill more people and then blaming Democrats for the deaths. Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, join the show. More than 1,000 Google employees and contractors briefly walked off the job yesterday in Europe and Asia amid complaints of racism, sexism, and abuse of executive authority in the workplace. More walkouts are scheduled today. Google’s chief executive said in a statement that the company will carefully weigh its employees demands and respond appropriately. Brian and John speak with Patricia Gorky, an activist and a tech worker in San Francisco. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, issued a report yesterday showing that the Afghan government controls less territory than it has at any time since the US invasion. SIGAR said that the government of Ashraf Ghani controls only 55.5 percent of Afghanistan after 17 years of US military aid and support. Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, joins the show. Human Rights Watch, the US-based human rights organization, released a study yesterday based on interviews with more than 100 North Korean defectors now in South Korea, saying that North Korean government officials routinely commit sexual violence against women with impunity. The allegation is shocking, but critics say this is just another smear job to derail steps towards peace in Korea. Dr. Christine Hong, Associate Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at UC Santa Cruz and a member of the Korea Policy Institute, joins Brian and John. The Bank of England this morning warned of an economic catastrophe if the UK leaves the European Union without a Brexit deal. Bank governor Mark Carney said that absent an agreement, the UK should expect gridlock in its ports and airports, inflation, and a collapse in the value of the pound. This comes as police open a criminal probe into pro-Brexit campaign donor Arron Banks, who has been the target of conspiracy theories relating to his business interest in Russia. Steve Hedley, senior assistant general secretary of the the UK’s Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers Union, joins the show.Rep. Steve King, a Republican of Iowa, is one of the most conservative and anti-immigrant members of the House of Representatives. He calls himself a nationalist. Many of his detractors call him a bigot, a racist, and a white nationalist. King made a controversial tweet a few days ago and instantly moved his safe Republican seat to a toss-up. Is there a limit to xenophobia, even for conservative Republicans?

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.

For a decade, the special inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction has been trying to keep tabs on expenditures totaling $122 billion. John Sopko has presided over production of dozens of reports and hundreds of lessons learned. From buildings that collapse at the first rain fall, to crooked contractors and Afghan security forces that seem impervious to learning, he has seen it all. He joined Federal Drive with Tom Temin for an extended interview about the outlook for SIGAR and for inspectors general in general. He also discussed the type of employee he is looking for, and whether he was what fellow IGs often say is sufficient access to the data they need to do their work.

Salt vs. pepper, Utakt-robot, sigar-vise, smatting, 1-års-evaluering og kanskje menthol.

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Like a lot of TV and radio shows do at the end of the year, we’re gonna have a bit of a look back. Most of us can’t wait for 2016 to end—though, I do have some bad news for you, folks: by the looks of it, 2017 will be even worse than 2016.We want to spend a little more time with it...thinking about it…So for today’s show we’re gonna look back on the year, and discuss some of the most important news threads that took hold this year, but didn’t get near the attention they should have.

Like a lot of TV and radio shows do at the end of the year, we’re gonna have a bit of a look back. Most of us can’t wait for 2016 to end—though, I do have some bad news for you, folks: by the looks of it, 2017 will be even worse than 2016.We want to spend a little more time with it...thinking about it…So for today’s show we’re gonna look back on the year, and discuss some of the most important news threads that took hold this year, but didn’t get near the attention they should have.

Looking at all the banksters Trump is considering for top posts in his administration, Wall Street couldn’t be more delighted. Also, Who’s excited about the next Census?! I’ll tell you who: hackers. A government watchdog is warning that new census technology could be vulnerable to cyber attack. And, the election is over, now it’s time for the candidates to pay for the laws they broke during it, right? We talk to Brendan Fischer with the Campaign Legal Center to go over what was one of the more corrupt elections in memory.

Looking at all the banksters Trump is considering for top posts in his administration, Wall Street couldn’t be more delighted. Also, Who’s excited about the next Census?! I’ll tell you who: hackers. A government watchdog is warning that new census technology could be vulnerable to cyber attack. And, the election is over, now it’s time for the candidates to pay for the laws they broke during it, right? We talk to Brendan Fischer with the Campaign Legal Center to go over what was one of the more corrupt elections in memory.

After FBI Director James Comey updated Congress on the Clinton email investigation last week, Democrats are accusing the G-Man of breaking the law. They were singing his praises just two months ago, when he exonerated their nominee.Also, America’s overseas military adventures might not be getting the attention they deserve this election cycle. Fortunately, our man the Special Inspector General of Afghanistan Reconstruction never sleeps. News from SIGAR later in the show.And the DCist’s Rachel Kurzius stops by to talk beer and presidential politics. One lager maker is facing a backlash after jumping aboard the Trump train.Finally….God Created Adam and Eve…He did not create Atoms to Cleve. We bring you an update on the decline of the Nuclear Power Industry later in the show.

After FBI Director James Comey updated Congress on the Clinton email investigation last week, Democrats are accusing the G-Man of breaking the law. They were singing his praises just two months ago, when he exonerated their nominee.Also, America’s overseas military adventures might not be getting the attention they deserve this election cycle. Fortunately, our man the Special Inspector General of Afghanistan Reconstruction never sleeps. News from SIGAR later in the show.And the DCist’s Rachel Kurzius stops by to talk beer and presidential politics. One lager maker is facing a backlash after jumping aboard the Trump train.Finally….God Created Adam and Eve…He did not create Atoms to Cleve. We bring you an update on the decline of the Nuclear Power Industry later in the show.