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Welcome to Episode 69 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’s guest is Gaisu Yari, a human rights activist, writer, and speaker who has fought for freedom in Afghanistan and vocally opposed the Taliban's repressive rule there.
In today’s episode, Gaisu talks about her escape from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover and a project, Afghan Voices of Hope, that began as she processed the trauma of her experience in a refugee camp in Poland. Gaisu has now documented the Afghan experience throughout the U.S., in France, in Canada, and in Afghanistan in order to help develop and sustain the spirit of Afghanistan within Afghans who were spread around the world after the former government collapsed.
Find Afghan Voices of Hope here: https://www.afghanvoicesofhope.org/
About the host:
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.
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] include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 68 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war inAfghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal.
For today’s topic of military transition, I have three special guests: Jenn Noonkester, a retired Air Force senior NCO; Michael DeSerio, a 15-year Army senior NCO, and Rob Dufresne, a retired Army Special Forces senior NCO.
Jenn, Michael, and Rob talk about their experiences leaving the military, including the difficulties they experienced and the programs that were indispensable. We touch on SkillBridge, which Jenn utilized with great results, and the Army’s Master Resilience Training, which Michael is a particular advocate for.
While Jenn and Michael’s more recent transitions came with slightly more assistance from their military institutions, Rob’s experience during his service and during his transition in 2015 were vastly different. The spectrum of experiences and the similarities in the issues all three discuss will be helpful for any veteran preparing for transition, or still struggling with adjusting to post-military life. This episode will also be a game changer for civilians who want to understand the transitionprocess to better support their loved ones and friends during or after service.
About the host:
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.
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] include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 67 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast with guest Fazle Chowdhury, distinguished writer and global affairs analyst known for his in-depth exploration of Ukrainian, Iranian, and post-communist affairs.
Fazle talks about the origin of conflict in Southeast Asia, and how Peshawar, Pakistan changed during the conflict in neighboring Afghanistan. Fazle also discusses the importance of Afghanistan on the world stage, and its enduring legacy for those who love it.
About the host:
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.
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]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 66 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast featuring a retired Air Force senior NCO Jenn Noonkester, who has been involved in efforts to support Afghans seeking to escape their homeland.
Jenn spoke about her military service prior to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the upheaval that occurred financially, physically, and mentally when Jenn became involved in evacuation efforts.
About the host:
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.
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]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity
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Welcome to Episode 65 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast featuring Afghan journalist in exile, Bilal Sarwary.
Bilal and I talk about many of the more nuanced aspects of Taliban rule that are not getting covered, either because journalists in the West lack a comprehensive source network inside Afghanistan, or because the Taliban have effectively quashed freedom of the press inside Afghanistan.
We chat about the continued cultivation of opium, despite the Taliban’s opium ban, as well as the growing trade in crystal meth. We also talk about the General Directorate of Intelligence, the powerful Taliban intelligence agency with ties to Al Qaeda that is creating a Hell on earth for Afghans it detains.
Follow Bilal on X: https://x.com/bsarwary
About the host:
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.
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] include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 64 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast with special guests Hillar Moore and Joe Maida.
Hillar Moore is the District Attorney for East Baton Rouge and has developed a reputation for fighting hard for victims, including those impacted by domestic abuse, fraternity hazing, and the rising opioid epidemic. As a member of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Hillar has been working on assisting Afghan prosecutors who were left behind after the U.S. withdrawal, and had no access to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program or the special immigrant visa program despite having worked to instill the rule of law in support of U.S. operations in Afghanistan.
Joe Maida IV is a former Texas prosecutor who supported the Afghan legal system’s growth between 2006 and 2013 on the ground, and focused on Afghanistan policy at U.S. Special Operations Command, and later at Special Operations and Combating Terrorism at the Pentagon through 2019. In August 2021, he supported the evacuation of an Afghan prosecutor with whom he worked and his family during the final days of the US presence. In December 2021, he started a group that has grown to over 130 members from different nations trying to support legal pathways for justice sector officials seeking to leave Afghanistan.
In this episode, Hillar talks about an upcoming Association of Prosecuting Attorneys fundraiser which hopes to raise at least $200,000 to support some of the around 1,500 Afghan attorneys who were left behind after the U.S. withdrawal and need to be resettled in safe countries. The APA estimates this will cost around $10,000 per family, or about $15 million together.
Joe Maida IV offers his expertise and stories from his time in Afghanistan, as well as his ongoing efforts to support prosecutors attempting to leave Afghanistan.
This week’s letter comes from “Asan,” an Afghan Air Force officer left behind and asking for assistance from the U.S. leadership to support the movement of other vulnerable Afghan military personnel from the country.
Find information about the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys’ Gala here: https://apat.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mcform&view=ngforms&id=2212720#!/
For more on Afghan prosecutors’ plight, or to access the Fox article Beth (continually) references, go here:
https://www.foxnews.com/world/former-afghan-prosecutors-hunted-down-killed-taliban-three-years-after-us-withdrawal
About the host:
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.
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] include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 63 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Our guest this week is Marine Corps veteran Gabby Southern Daiss, who was taking part in the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit as an adjutant for Combat Logistics Battalion 24 when she was diverted to Hamid Karzai International Airport to assist with the withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Gabby is now a member of the board at Operation Allies Refuge Foundation.
Gabby gave an incredible overview of her decision to join the U.S. Marine Corps, and some of the challenges she overcame while going through Officer Candidate School and The Basic School. Then we launched forward to the MEU, and the point in June where Gabby and other female Marines began to identify the need to prepare for the eventuality that they might be needed in Afghanistan.
After receiving approval, female Marines with the MEU began to train as Female Search Teams (FSTs) which would assist with the process of searching women on the airfield. As Gabby explained, the advice from on high was that FST should prepare for a controlled situation, which was anything but what the Marines encountered.
The Marines headed to Afghanistan in mid-August, and Gabby began filling two roles at once: FST member, and adjutant. This gave her a firsthand view of not just North and East Gates, where she searched women who had often stashed their most valuable possessions beneath heavy layers of clothing, but also of the Evacuation Control Center and the Joint Operations Center, where the chaos outside was more controlled – except on Aug. 26, 2021.
Gabby describes the sights, sounds, and smells of HKIA in vivid detail, including her perspective after the Abbey Gate bombing.
She also details the ostracism she faced after returning to the boat, when male Marines seemed to believe that Gabby and other FST members were trying to avoid returning to their units.
Finally, Gabby and I talked about the awarding of Combat Action Ribbons at the end of the Afghanistan deployment, and the factors at hand in determining who rated what types of awards.
About Operation Allies Refuge Foundation
Find OAR Foundation on Instagram @OARFoundation
or on their website:https://www.operationalliesrefugefoundation.org/
About the host:
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.
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] include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to a short update from TheAfghanistan Project Podcast, where Beth talks about the impending return ofnormal episodes and highlights her new Substack account, where she will be sharingstories from Afghanistan that need telling.
Find the Substack account here and please sign up for updates: https://bwbailey85.substack.com/
About the host:
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.
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] include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 62 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Our guest this week is Army veteran John Moses, a veteran fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-founder of the Massachusetts Afghan Alliance, an organization supporting Afghans building new lives in Massachusetts.
This week, John takes us through his participation in evacuation support during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Come for amazing and heart-wrenching stories of joyful success and heartrending failure, and stay for the mental images of John surviving on Zyn pouches and caffeine while he worked himself to the point of being mentally unhealthy to perform 68 miracles with the Evac Fellows.
About John Moses and Massachusetts Afghan Alliance
Find Massachusetts Afghan Alliance through their website: https://massafghanalliance.org/
Follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/massafghanalliance/
Or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/massafghanalliance/
About the host:
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.
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]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 61 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. I’m joined today by three women’s rights advocates to discuss the UN’s third round of talks about Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar. Mariam Solaimankhil is a former member of the Parliament of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Gaisu Yari is a human rights activist, writer, and speaker who has fought for freedom in Afghanistan and vocally opposed the Taliban's repressive rule there. Jason Howk is a U.S. Army veteran and the Director of Global Friends of Afghanistan.
Gaisu, Mariam, Jason and I talk about the disservice the UN has done to Afghan women, crushed under Taliban restrictions, by failing to include them in talks about the future of Afghanistan, and failing to even bring up the vast loss of human rights Afghan women have experienced since the Taliban took over the country in 2021.
We also discuss the current experiences of Afghan women, the hurdles they overcame between the prior period of Taliban rule and the fall of the country, and the hope that remains for Afghanistan when the Taliban’s time comes to an end.
About the host:
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.
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] include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 60 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Our guest this week is Army veteran John Moses, a veteran fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-founder of the Massachusetts Afghan Alliance, an organization supporting Afghans building new lives in Massachusetts.
John and Beth talk at length about the trauma for Afghans who were separated from their families during the withdrawal and are hoping for reunification, including the unique challenges faced by adults whose wives are left behind in Afghanistan, and children who have worked to forge new lives in the U.S. without their parents.
We talk about the load for volunteers who want to participate in resettlement efforts, and the need to atone for our failure to help those Afghans we promised to aid in return for their support during our Afghanistan endeavors.
About the Massachusetts Afghan Alliance
Find MassachusettsAfghan Alliance through their website: https://massafghanalliance.org/
Follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/massafghanalliance/
Or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/massafghanalliance/
About the host:
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.
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] include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 59 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Our guest this week is Leslie Merriman, whose work volunteering to aid Afghan special immigrant visa recipients through No One Left Behind became a broader mission of feeding SIV applicants left behind in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal in August 2021. Leslie’s work has now expanded to include coordinating medical care for communities, particularly in minority-dominated regions, with limited facilities, supplies, and doctors. Through Leslie’s medical clinics, she began explicitly supporting a large number of women and children who have been raped by members of the Taliban. She has started nonprofit organization Our Culture is Giving to coordinate emotional and physical assistance for these victims.
Leslie discussed the harrowing level of hunger impacting Afghans, including children who came to her clinics and were in such a state of malnutrition that they could not be saved. She also discussed the doctors working in her clinics who have been killed by the Taliban, and the women and children who have been raped by Taliban members, whom she is currently helping to rebuild their lives free from the trauma and stigma of the assaults they faced.
Leslie also discusses the deep and traumatic impact that her work has made on her life.
About our guest:
Follow Leslie on Twitter @LeslieAMerriman or Instagram @ourcultureislove, and support Our Culture is Giving by visiting their website, http://ourcultureisgiving.org
About the host:
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.
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]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 58 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast, featuring the incredible return guests Bill Roggio, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and an unmatched expert on the Taliban, and Will Selber, retired Air Force Lt. Col., prolific writer, and host of the "Shoulder to Shoulder" and "Stories From My Brothers" podcasts.
Today’s episode looks at the latest developments within al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Islamic State Khorasan Province, as well as the group’s ties to one another and to Iran.
We also discuss the breadth and history of the war in Afghanistan, our lack of will to get the fight right, and the pain we left in our wake when ending nearly twenty years of involvement with the disastrous withdrawal.
About Will Selber and Bill Roggio:
Find Bill on X @billroggio, and find the Long War Journal here: https://www.longwarjournal.org/
Find Will Selber’s writings at the Bulwark, where he is a Military Affairs Fellow. You can follow him on X at @AggieWill00 or on Substack: https://substack.com/@willselber
About the host:
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.
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] include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 57 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Our guests today are Rob Dufresne, Tony Barnes, and Jason Howk, members of “Over Never Out.” Together, the group created “Hold On, Reach Out,” a moving song about the important role veterans play for one another in the fight for mental health growth and countering spiking suicide rates in the veteran community.
eRob, Tony, and Jason talked about how the song was created, and their unique backgrounds and connections to the message within “Hold On, Reach Out.”
Jason Howk also talks about his latest release, “It’s Not Over For Them,” a ballad about the ongoing battle our Afghan allies face in the aftermath of the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, and the continuing battles for those in the U.S. who bear the emotional burden of that failure.
Recurrent themes in this episode are healing through pain, supporting those we care about as they deal with struggles we may never fully fathom, and using music to heal loudly, which is Rob’s post-transition goal and something Jason and Tony have personally witnessed.
About the guests:
Find “Over Never Out” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVqqu1DRcoMCX_kvrysKTvQ
Listen to “Hold On, Reach Out:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXc4rsRy9Lw&list=OLAK5uy_ku87T-xRWASumpCloIKxat-Om7Uj0tvh4
Listen to “It’s Not Over For Them:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBwddNCZ18M
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]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 56 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Our special guest today is an Afghan woman still living under Taliban rule in hiding in Afghanistan. We will be calling her “Amina” to protect her identity.
Amina spoke about her life as a legal professional beforethe Taliban came to power, and the fear that accompanied their takeover as the individuals that prosecutors put in prison were freed. She also spoke about how she now lives in hiding to protect her life.
We talked about the gender apartheid that the Taliban arepracticing against Afghan women, and specifically addressed education bans, a ban on independent journalism, and the sexual assaults that imprisoned women have faced. In the face of watching their human rights get stripped away, Amina said many women are facing a mental health crisis.
Despite all that she has lost in her current situation,Amina stressed that this is not the time to give up, and that “this darkness will not last forever.”
About the hosts:
Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operationsas 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 consideredfor a future episode, please send us a letter about your experiences to our show e-mail address, [email protected] include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity
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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] include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 54 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast, featuring John Ondrasik, the platinum-selling, Grammy nominated recording artist also known as Five For Fighting.
John discusses the anger he felt during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that led him to write “Blood On My Hands” and begin his efforts to help Afghans left behind during the initial withdrawal escape to freedom after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.
John continued to write more protest music as the worldwide destabilization from our failure in Afghanistan was felt in Ukraine. “Can One Man Save the World” is a tribute to the heroism of Ukrainians who have led a hard fight against Russia’s unprovoked attack in February 2022.
Most recently, when Hamas terrorists massacred over athousand Israelis on Oct. 7 and took hundreds of hostages back into their tunnels in Gaza, John wrote “OK,” which explains that the communities impacted by Hamas’ barbarity “are not okay.” John discusses his feelings about the need to stand up for Israel and for Jews around the world as they are targeted by another iteration of an age-old hate.
About John Ondrasik:
Follow John on X: https://twitter.com/johnondrasik
Find John’s charity website, What Kind of World Do You Want, here: https://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/
Listen to “Blood on My Hands” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpTrYHCmwOs
Listen to “Can One Man Save the World?” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm3XEsIXJaI
Listen to “OK” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDJXo2Gn-ww&rco=1
About the hosts:
Beth W. Bailey worked in support of Afghanistanoperations 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 his Instagram @Mikaelcook89.
For listeners in Afghanistan:
If you would like to have your story considered for a futureepisode, please send us a letter about your experiences to our show e-mail address, [email protected]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 53 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast, featuring Beau Lendman, a former Senior Vice President at Anham whose support to the company’s 5,000 Afghan special immigrant visa applicants led him to create AfghanHire, a remote hiring platform that links skilled Afghans with lucrative jobs.
Beau and I discussed the effort of supporting so many SIV applicants in the days after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the journey to understand how to successfully help applicants navigate the program. We also talked about a problematic development in December 2023, when a series of applicants were denied SIV in what appeared to be a batched manner, and some applicants who had achieved Chief of Mission approval and sometimes were preparing for flights to the U.S. had that COM approval revoked. We addressed the mental load that the latest devastating turn of events has added for Beau, who feels he has been party to malfeasance.
Finally, we talked about the development of AfghanHire, and how Beau hopes the company can make a difference around the world in the future.
About AfghanHire:
Follow AfghanHire on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/afghan-hire/about/ or visit their website: https://teams.afghanhire.org/
About the hosts:
Beth W. 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 his Instagram @Mikaelcook89.
For listeners in Afghanistan:
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]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 52 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast, featuring Amy Sins, a master of all trades and dynamic disaster relief professional. Amy is a chef and owner of Langlois, a traveling culinary showcase in her hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. Amy is also the founder and executive director of Fill the Needs, a nonprofit organization through which she and her team provide immediate assistance within the first two weeks of natural or man-made disasters.
Amy was the focus of TAPP’s second episode, where she talked about the case that found her pivoting into the world of Afghanistan evacuations. Today, we talk about the changes that have occurred in more than a year since we last spoke. Amy reported that all of the families whose cases she has been involved in have safely departed Afghanistan, and she shared the story of visiting one of those families overseas to share a hug – and some excellent Afghan cooking.
Amy also talked about the expansion of her disaster reliefefforts into other countries where urgent evacuations were required. Having seen what can go wrong for Americans living abroad or traveling abroad, even in seemingly safe countries, Amy shared advice that can help travelers think outside the box in case of emergency, and make the necessary preparations to thrive in adverse circumstances.
About Amy Sins and Fill the Needs:
Follow Fill the Needs on Instagram @filltheneedsorg or visit their website, http://www.filltheneeds.org.Find Amy on Instagram @chefamysins or Twitter @chefamysins.
Episode 2 of TAPP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRUMpvOmjkM&t=4s
About the hosts:
Beth W. Bailey worked in support of Afghanistanoperations 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 his Instagram @Mikaelcook89.
For listeners in Afghanistan:
If you would like to have your story considered for a futureepisode, please send us a letter about your experiences to our show e-mail address, [email protected]. Please include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
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Welcome to Episode 51 of The Afghanistan Project Podcast. Today’s guest, Mike No Go Zones, is a YouTuber and independent journalist who takes his viewers to the places around the country and world that we’re often urged to avoid.
In March 2021, Mike traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan, capturing some of the last moments of relative freedom the inhabitants of the city experienced before the country came under Taliban rule just five months later.
Mike and I talk about his trip, getting into some of thecorruption and dysfunction he witnessed that he was not able to show on camera, and talking about families and individuals he met who have been deeply impacted by the country’s return to Taliban rule. We juxtapose a lot of the realities he witnessed, versus the realities of today.
Mike and I also talk about the other YouTubers who havetraveled to Kabul since August 2021, and who in so doing have effectively shilled for the Talib by portraying the view the new rulers allow them to see: a “safe” country with boundless beauty. Unfortunately, these travelers never mention the realities of life under the Taliban that the average Afghan faces – particularly the hell that Afghan women have been cast into since losing access to education, the ability to appear in public without an escort, and often work, among a plethora of other heinous human rights violations they have faced.
Mentioned in the episode:
Mike No Go Zones visits Kabul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkaPDTtT5UQ
ASEEL App, where listeners can send aid to Afghans: https://aseelapp.com/do-good
About Mike No Go Zones:
Follow Mike on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mikenogozones
on X: https://www.twitter.com/mnogozonesor on his website: https://www.mikenogozones.com/
About the hosts:
Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operationsas 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 onInstagram or X @Mikaelcook89.
For Afghan listeners:
If you would like to have your story considered for a futureepisode, please send us a letter about your experiences to our show e-mail address, [email protected] include as much detail as possible, and let us know if you would like us to give you a pseudonym to protect your identity.
- Visa fler
