Episode Notes:

On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced that the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan was 90 percent complete. This announcement came alongside reports of continued Taliban gains across the country as well as criticism over U.S. forces’ late-night departure from Bagram Airbase. On Thursday, President Biden defended his withdrawal decision in a speech to the nation saying it was “the right and the responsibility of Afghan people alone to decide their future"

To discuss this, we're joined today by Dominic Tierney. Dominic is a professor of political science at Swarthmore and a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is the author of four books not unrelated to our topic today, including “Failing to Win: Perceptions of Victory and Defeat in International Politics” and “How We Fight: Crusades, Quagmires, and the American Way of War.”

[ 01:12 ] Overview of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan

[ 02:29 ] Relevance of diplomatic track

[ 04:07 ] Biden’s Speech

[ 05:58 ] Domestic implications

[ 08:41 ] Global implications

[ 10:11 ] Will the Taliban sack Kabul?