Five years ago, Taliban militants retook the Afghan capital, Kabul. NPR's Eyder Peralta talks to former Afghan official Matin Bek about the consequences of the U.S. withdrawal from his country. President Trump is struggling to end the Iran war on his terms, but today marks the anniversary of what was a key moment in another American war.
Five years ago, the Taliban retook Afghanistan's capital. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: President Ashraf Ghani held emergency talks with senior U.S. and NATO officials shortly after the Taliban amassed on the outskirts of Kabul. UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: The Taliban have moved into Kabul and are now patrolling the streets.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #3: Meanwhile, Taliban fighters were posing for pictures in the presidential palace in Kabul after Afghanistan's president fled the country. PERALTA: Matin Bek was in Kabul that day as the chief of staff to the Afghan president. He joins us now from Maryland.
Matin, thank you for being here. PERALTA: What do you remember from that day? BEK: Well, that day, I started my day very normal.
I had breakfast at my home, and then I joined later in the meeting at the palace. No one was expecting there's a storm coming. We worked hard to put something in place.
There were negotiations behind the scene going on with the Taliban. Then we had reached an understanding with the Taliban they would not enter Kabul for 15 days. So I tweeted that day saying, Kabul is safe.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
