Zack and Alex are joined by Ben Pauker, Vox’s managing editor for news and a longtime foreign correspondent, to talk about the war in Afghanistan — and why the US can’t seem to win it. They discuss the reasons that Afghanistan is fertile ground for an insurgency, why the Taliban has become a particularly effective bunch of militants, and why the US’ ultimate goal — building up an Afghan government and military that can sure the country in its absence — is so hard to achieve. Come for the policy pessimism, stay for Zack’s oblique reference to a dril tweet.

Read this interview Alex did with warfare expert Dominic Tierney on why the US has trouble winning wars.

The New York Times has a good history (with pictures!) of why many have tried and failed to win in Afghanistan.

Here’s how the US “won” in Iraq

Alex wrote about how the Taliban has very slightly moderated its stances towards women and minorities in recent years.

Yes, a Taliban fighter really did say “You have the watches. We have the time.”

Here’s what you need to know about the US-backed president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai

A US government report from this August found that the size of the Afghan army fell by 42,000 soldiers — mostly they had been paying 42,000 people who don’t actually exist. 

Zack mentioned that the US even put treadmills in bases 

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), Senior Correspondent, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), National security reporter, Vox

Guest:

Ben Paulker (@benpaulker), Managing Editor, Vox

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Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily news podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

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