Leaving Afghanistan

Gideon Rachman speaks to historian and author Simon Sebag Montefiore about his new book, The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East. They discuss the forces that shaped the region, from the Ottoman Empire and Ataturk to the ongoing tensions between the US, Israel and Iran ...  Show more

Gideon talks to Vali Nasr, author of Iran’s Grand Strategy and professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, about how the balance of power in the Middle East is changing. After six months of on-off hostilities, Nasr argues, Iran’s core aims are unchanged ...  Show more

On April 14th President Biden announced that American Troops will be leaving Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, formally ending US military engagement after twenty years of war. What contributed to this decision? What impact will it have on internal dynamics in Afghanistan and ...

The chaotic evacuation operation still underway at Kabul airport has put a harsh spotlight on two decades of US and NATO military commitment in Afghanistan. It looks and feels like a strategic defeat, but what does it tell us about the wider geopolitical balance of power? Stephen ...  Show more

Gideon Rachman discusses the crisis in Britain's relations with the US following the unscheduled departure of Kim Darroch as ambassador to Washington, with Ed Luce and Geoff Dyer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. 

The United States and the Taliban say they have made significant progress towards ending the war in Afghanistan, with the deal expected to include a withdrawal of foreign forces. In return, the Taliban would agree not to shelter terrorists. But what will that mean for Afghan soci ...  Show more