Welcome to Episode 17 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast, where hosts Mikael Cook and Beth Bailey highlight the struggles of Afghans living under Taliban rule, and the efforts of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and political affiliations who have stepped up to provide support to the people of Afghanistan in the chaos that followed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

This week’s guest is Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the managing editor of its preeminent publication on the Global War on Terror, the Long War Journal. Bill provided a thorough debrief about the Taliban, who are largely unchanged from the Taliban of the 1996-2001 regime. If anything, Bill explained various reasons why the Taliban’s current iteration should prompt more concern from international onlookers than the regime of old. We discussed the Taliban’s leadership and military structure, its control over the judiciary, and its use of military assets that remained in Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal in August 2021. Bill was adamant that, despite calls for peace talks from National Resistance Front leaders, the Taliban is intent to rule without opposition. Any hope for the future in Afghanistan will likely arise from armed resistance inside the country, though Bill believes that this resistance must rise up organically, and with new leaders who are not tied to the previous Afghan government.

Concluding our episode, we shared a story from “Rahimullah,” a former combat interpreter. Rahimullah spent three years working alongside U.S. forces until he was fired from his job without explanation after a routine counterintelligence examination. Rahimullah has been unable to receive a special immigrant visa on account of his termination. Now he lives in hiding for fear of being captured by the Taliban, who will not count him as an innocent because he was terminated from his work with the Americans.

More about Bill Roggio and Long War Journal:

Find Bill on Twitter @billroggio, and find the Long War Journal here.

About the hosts:

Mikael Cook was an Army non-commissioned officer and veteran of the war in Afghanistan. He was an active member of the #DigitalDunkirk movement to evacuate our Afghan allies in August of 2021. You can follow his Instagram @Mikaelcook89.

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance writer who has covered post-withdrawal Afghanistan extensively, primarily in the Washington Examiner. Follow her on Instagram @BWBailey85 or Twitter @BWBailey85.

For listeners in Afghanistan:

If you would like to have your story considered for a future episode, please send us a letter about your experiences to our show e-mail address, [email protected]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.