Welcome to Episode 55 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. We're bringing back a return guest, retired Lt. Col. Will Selber, for an awesome update about how he was able to get Ahmadullah to safety, and the superhuman levels of trust and faith Afghan allies have had to hold in their American contacts in order to secure safety in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Will also talked about more incredible news that came shortly after Ahmadullah’s return – another friend, Nazir, made his way out of Afghanistan and to the States after going radio silent when he recognized that there was no quick path to safety to keep him from falling victim to the Taliban’s reprisal campaign without taking matters into his own hands.

Will and I, as we so often do, also talked about the mental load of this casework, which is significant, even if the events themselves are joyous.

About Will Selber:

Will Selber is a retired Middle East Foreign Area Officer who spent 4 1/2 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was an active member of Operation Sacred Promise and has helped relocate 100+ Afghans. He is currently the Millitary Affairs Fellow at the Bulwark. You can follow him on X at @AggieWill00 or on Substack: https://substack.com/@willselber

About the hosts:

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 contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner. Follow her on Instagram or X ⁠@BWBailey85⁠.

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 him on Instagram or X ⁠@Mikaelcook89⁠.

For Afghan listeners:

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].