Welcome to Episode 108 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal.

Today, my guest is Army veteran Mikael Cook, my formerco-host and the author of Life and Death at Abbey Gate.

Mikael and I finally tell the story of how this podcast cameto be – which includes some embarrassing tears (mine), and the desire to counteract hatred and misunderstanding in the general population.

We talk about how Mikael began fighting to help his formerinterpreters escape Hamid Karzai International Airport, and how the effort morphed into involvement with two other evacuations

About Mikael Cook:

Find Mikael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikaelcook89/

Buy Life and Death at Abbey Gate: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Death-Abbey-Gate-Afghanistan-ebook/dp/B0CTRZJHRY?ref_=ast_author_mpb

About the host:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as acivilian 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 Beth:

on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/

on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85

on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85

on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

https://buymeacoffee.com/bwbailey85

Welcome to "The case that broke my heart," a special series within The Afghanistan Project Podcast where volunteers, advocates, and veterans speak out about the case or cases that had the greatest impact on them over the course of four years (sometimes more, rarely less) of supporting Afghan allies.Today's episode features Megan, who asked to be identified by first name only.

Welcome to Episode 107 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal.

Today I am joined by Chris Robinson of the Last DeploymentProject to bring listeners back to the immediate consequences of the Taliban takeover for Americans and Afghans converging on Hamid Karzai InternationalAirport between August 15 and 16, 2021.

Using the over 300 hours of testimony accumulated from 70participants in HKIA operations, Chris goes into a detailed account of what occurred on the airfield during those days, complete with maps that help demonstrate key locations where actions took place.

This can be a difficult time for veterans of Afghanistan. For anyone in need of help or looking for ways to connect with other veterans who share their experience, please reach out to any of the following:

Operation Allies Refuge Foundation

PB Abbate

Fight the War Within Foundation

Veterans Crisis Line 

About Chris:

Chris Robinson is a Marine Infantry veteran and OralHistorian. He served from 2016-2020 with the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (2nd LAR), 2nd Marine Division out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Originally from Southeast Louisiana, he is a two-time graduate fromSoutheastern Louisiana University, getting a BA in English (with a concentration in Creative Writing) in 2016 and a MA in History in 2023. He started The Last Deployment Project while he was at university and conducted his first interview in October 2022. In April 2023, he published his 176-pagethesis: The Last Deployment Project - Voices from HKIA. As of now, he has conducted 70 interviews totaling around 300 hours of recordings. In August 2024, he finalized a book deal with Casemate Publishers to have a book published for the fifth anniversary, August 2026.

Find The Last Deployment Project:

On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2NsCAm4XYhb00g6ggstwfZ

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.last.deployment_project/

About the host:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as acivilian 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 Beth:

on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/

on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

https://buymeacoffee.com/bwbailey85

Welcome to "The case that broke my heart," a special series within The Afghanistan Project Podcast where volunteers, advocates, and veterans speak out about the case or cases that had the greatest impact on them over the course of four years (sometimes more, rarely less) of supporting Afghan allies.Today's episode features John Moses of the Massachusetts Afghan Alliance and Kate Kovarovic, the former Director of Resilience Programming at #AfghanEvac.

Welcome to Episode 106 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal.

Today, my guest is Geeta Bakshi, founder of nonprofit Familand 14-year veteran of the CIA.

Geeta and I talk about the CIA-trained National Strike Units,more commonly known as the Zero Units, and the challenges they faced as our most highly-vetted partners over twenty years of war, and during the final weeks of our presence in Afghanistan. We focus particularly on the role the Zero Units played in clearing Hamid Karzai International Airport in August 2021 and the upheaval they experienced after being exfiltrated from their homeland.

We talk about the toll that losses and injuries within theZero Units had on the group and the families of the wounded and fallen, and the ongoing challenges they face in the U.S. We also discuss the imperative to help the Zero Units now as many have still not been processed for Special ImmigrantVisas and are reaching the end of their humanitarian parole.

Find Famil here: http://familusa.org/

About the host:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as acivilian 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 Beth:

on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/

on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85

on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85

on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

https://buymeacoffee.com/bwbailey85

Welcome to a special episode of The Afghanistan Project,where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal.

Today, my guest is Sonia Norton, the Director of Advocacyfor nonprofit No One Left Behind. Sonia delivers details about the two bipartisan acts that have been put forward in the last week by House and Senate, and how they would impact our allies if passed.

Sonia also discusses additional changes needed to do themost good for our allies, including the addition of more Special Immigrant Visas in subsequent legislation.

I mention new changes in IRAP's Pacito v Trump case, whichhas become a class action lawsuit that seeks to help all USRAP applicants impacted by the suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and several other subgroups of refugees and allies.

About Sonia Norton:

Before joining No One Left Behind, Sonia worked in the House of Representatives for five years with members of the House Committees on Armed Services, Judiciary, and Ways and Means. Most recently, she served as the Senior Legislative Assistant for Representative Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), where she led a policy portfolio including Afghan allies, foreign affairs, and judiciary issues. In that role, Sonia was the lead House Democratic staffer for the introduction of the Afghan Adjustment Act and was named one of the Top 10Policy Staff to Watch. Sonia has also served as a Fulbright-Nehru English Teaching Assistant and was elected for three terms on the Women’s Congressional Staff Association Board.

Follow No One Left Behind:

Online: https://www.nooneleft.org/

On X: https://x.com/n1leftbehind

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nooneleftbehindus/

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-one-left-behind

About the host:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as acivilian 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 Beth:

on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/

on X: https://x.com/BWBailey85

on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85

on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

https://buymeacoffee.com/bwbailey85

Welcome to Episode 105 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal.

Today, my guest is Scott Bailey, co-founder and President ofthe Board of Directors of the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership.

Scott and I discuss the hopelessness that Afghan refugees and visa applicants are experiencing in Pakistan as they attempt to evade deportation to Afghanistan.

We also discuss the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership’s effortsto assist Afghans in need of assistance during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the community outreach from Blacksburg at large as the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership filed applications to help a number of Afghans reach the U.S. through Welcome Corps in late 2024.

Though those efforts have stalled, one family was able toarrive in Blacksburg, and received a warm welcome from a community who showered them with care.

Scott also talked about his work with She Leads Tomorrow,which allows Afghan women forbidden from receiving an education in the Taliban’s Afghanistan to further their learning online.

Find Blacksburg Refugee Partnership Inc. here: https://www.blacksburgrefugeepartnership.org/

About the host:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as acivilian 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 Beth:

on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/

on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85

on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85

on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

 https://buymeacoffee.com/bwbailey85

Welcome to "The case that broke my heart," a special series within The Afghanistan Project Podcast where volunteers, advocates, and veterans speak out about the case or cases that had the greatest impact on them over the course of four years (sometimes more, rarely less) of supporting Afghan allies.Today's episode features Leslie Merriman, founder of Our Culture is Giving. Find Our Culture is Giving here:https://ourcultureisgiving.org/

Welcome to Episode 104 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal.

Today, my guest Andy Sullivan, the Executive Director for nonprofit organization No One Left Behind.

Today, we discuss No One Left Behind’s incredible pivot to help more than 2,000 Special Immigrant Visa applicants who were in need of a path to the U.S. after a series of executive orders and stop work orders halted the prior methods of evacuating processed allies with SIVs to our country. Andy talks about what No One Left Behind accomplished in Albania and Qatar and continues to do today for ourallies in need of assistance.

Andy also gives an incredibly helpful update on SIV numbers and statistics, and talks about the biggest need No One Left Behind has as it takes on new work and fulfills our promises to our wartime allies.

About Andy Sullivan:

Andy is an Erie, PA native and a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute. For over nine years, Andy served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army, and was deployed to Iraq, Eastern Europe, and Zabul, Afghanistan. Andy has his Mastersin Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.   

Find No One Left Behind via:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/n1leftbehind

Website: http://nooneleft.org/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-one-left-behind/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nooneleftbehindus/

About the host:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as acivilian 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 Beth:

on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/

on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85

on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85

on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

Welcome to a special extra episode of the Afghanistan Project Podcast featuring guestElizabeth Lynn, the director of nonprofit Operation Recovery.

We discuss my latest piece in the Washington Examiner, about the deportation of 19-year-old single, unaccompanied Afghan female Khultum from Pakistan, where her mother is suffering from extreme burns she received in an electrical accident in December, and her USRAP-applicant father is tooendangered to face a return to the Taliban’s Afghanistan.

Find the article here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/courage-strength-optimism/3474703/afghan-refugees-face-imminent-danger-in-talibans-domain/

Five other U.S. allies were deported alongside Khultum, including 4 USRAP applicants in the care of Paws Unite Pups, and one SIV applicant being assisted by No One Left Behind, whose executive director Andy Sullivan will be Monday’s guest.

We also discuss the lack of information for nonprofitsassisting Afghans, and the need to stand by our Afghan allies.

About Elizabeth Lynn:

Elizabeth served in the U.S. Air Force and the Navy Reserves, and has received multiple commendations for her service. After holding a variety of positions with the U.S. Postal Service, USCIS, IRS and other U.S. government institutions, Elizabeth retired in 2020. She came out of retirement shortly thereafter to help Afghans left behind in their homeland.

Find Operation Recovery here: https://operationrecovery.org/

Find Paws Unite People here:https://www.pawsunitepeople.com/

Find No One Left Behind here: https://www.nooneleft.org/

About the host:

Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as acivilian 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 Beth:

on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/

on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85

on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85

on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

https://buymeacoffee.com/bwbailey85