Understanding the Taliban, and living among them

Hour 1

The United States has been at war with the Taliban of Afghanistan for almost 9 years, yet most Americans know very little about them. A new book, My Life with the Taliban, by Abdul Salam Zaeef, is the first autobiography and first-person account of the birth of the Taliban in the mujahudeen’s successful revolt against the Soviet invasion, as well as the first insider look at the Taliban government that was overthrown by the Northern Alliance and U.S. forces in 2001. Zaeef was the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, and was locked up for four years in Guantanamo Bay. The men who convinced Zaeef to tell his story are ALEX STRICK VAN LINSCHOTEN and FELIX KUEHN, the editors and translators of Zaeef’s book. With U.S. and coalition forces wrapping up one offensive in Helmand province and reportedly preparing an offensive on Kandahar, we’ll talk to Alex and Felix about what it’s like to be the only Westerners living unprotected in Kandahar, the heart of the Taliban insurgency, which they wrote about in a recent Foreign Policy article, titled, “See You Soon, If We’re Still Alive.”

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[audio: 031110_100630.mp3]