Kieran talks with Alex Zerden about his time as Treasury attaché at the United States Embassy in Kabul, the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and the renewed terrorism threat related to the Taliban’s return to power.

Alex, the principal and founder of Capital Peak Strategies, a financial technology and digital asset advisory firm, talks about how the United States presence in Afghanistan was marked by corruption connected to an inflow of money the Afghan economy was incapable of absorbing. He adds that it was nonetheless “seeing the work and sacrifices made by my Afghan counterparts” that got him through his worst days.

“By my own research I have identified 17 terrorist organizations [now] operating in Afghanistan,” says Alex, in reflecting on the ongoing challenge the world faces to not reward the Taliban for “bad behavior” but to ease the humanitarian crisis now threatening Afghans.