Annie Pforzheimer for Opinion has It: America’s Afghan Debacle

Annie Pforzheimer assesses the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the country’s prospects under Taliban rule. The PS Say More Newsletter | [View this message in a web browser]( [PS Opinion Has It]( In this week's newsletter, we present the newest episode of our podcast, Opinion Has It. Every other week in Opinion Has It, host Elmira Bayrasli is joined by a leading expert to examine a critical and timely issue. America’s Afghan Debacle In this episode, Elmira Bayrasli talks with Annie Pforzheimer, a former acting deputy assistant secretary of state for Afghanistan, a former deputy chief of mission in Kabul, and a non-resident associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Listen now on [PS]( [Acast]( [Apple]( [Google]( or [Spotify](. [America's Afghan Debacle]( The Taliban has announced its interim government, and its all-male, often-hardline makeup seems to have confirmed many observers’ worst fears. Why did the US mission in Afghanistan fail, and what is in store for the country under Taliban rule? This week on the podcast, [Annie Pforzheimer]( considers these questions and more. [Listen now]( Opinion Has It is also available on your favorite listening app. Listen now on [Acast]( [Apple]( [Google]( or [Spotify](. In this episode... Elmira Bayrasli: The Biden administration claims that the Taliban’s quick takeover was proof that no amount of training would have been enough. In fact, Biden himself says that he had only two options when it came to Afghanistan: to leave completely or deploy more American troops. But you say, this is a false dichotomy. What should he have done? Annie Pforzheimer: Yeah, I think that that dichotomy that he presented to the American people, it’s very self-serving, and it followed a somewhat long tradition of us oversimplifying the choices when discussing with the American people or Congress. There are always more than two choices, of course. But in this particular case, Congress had set forward... [Read the transcript]( Listen now on [PS]( [Acast]( [Apple]( [Google]( or [Spotify](. [Take 50% of a new subscription with the code: HALLOWEEN2021]( Previously in Opinion Has It [Voting in a Time of Democratic Erosion]( [Voting in a Time of Democratic Erosion]( with [Francesca Binda]( a co-founder of Binda Consulting International and an expert on elections and political transitions While elections alone don’t necessarily make a state democratic, they do offer a glimpse into the strength and legitimacy of a democracy. What can we learn from recent electoral outcomes? Listen now on [PS]( [Acast]( [Apple]( [Google]( or [Spotify](. Or [read the transcript](. [Check out the Opinion Has It archive]( Previously in Say More [An Interview with Jan-Werner Mueller]( [An Interview with Jan-Werner Mueller]( [Jan-Werner Mueller]( advises the media on how to avoid ushering in another Donald Trump presidency, clarifies the meaning of populism, and worries that we are underestimating authoritarian regimes. Mueller is a professor of politics at Princeton University and a fellow at The New Institute, Hamburg. [Check out the Say More archive]( [New Special-Edition Magazine: New Summits. Order now.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( Project Syndicate publishes and provides, on a not-for-profit basis, original commentary by the world's leading thinkers to more than 500 media outlets in over 150 countries. This newsletter is a service of [Project Syndicate](. [Change your newsletter preferences](. Follow us on [Facebook]( [Twitter]( and [YouTube](. © Project Syndicate, all rights reserved. [Unsubscribe from all newsletters](.