Untitled Document

[00:00:00] And now for our main segment. The United [00:00:03] States is the world leader in regime [00:00:05] change, toppling 35 uh governments over [00:00:08] the past 120 years by one reckoning. [00:00:11] It's a record built on a dangerous [00:00:13] combination of unparalleled military [00:00:14] might, which is fading. A large group of [00:00:17] perceived enemies and a sunny [00:00:19] self-confidence that has repeatedly been [00:00:22] proven to be incorrect and fundamentally [00:00:24] flawed. Now Washington is leading a [00:00:26] growing military and covert campaign [00:00:29] targeting President Nicholas Maduro of [00:00:31] Venezuela after already striking Iran, [00:00:33] Yemen, issuing other like vagger threats [00:00:36] against Nigeria on the pretext of a [00:00:38] Christian genocide which we talked about [00:00:40] which isn't happening. It's more about [00:00:42] like um land ownership and uh climate [00:00:46] displacement and ecological uh events [00:00:48] happening right there and a lot of other [00:00:50] stuff. But yeah, uh Mexico, uh Panama, [00:00:53] even Denmark, remember the whole like [00:00:55] we're taking Greenland thing and Canada, [00:00:58] which was supposed to be uh become a US [00:01:00] state. So regime, I mean, all of that is [00:01:03] pretty unserious, but when it comes to [00:01:05] Venezuela and actually the main topic of [00:01:07] this, uh of our discussion, Afghanistan, [00:01:10] these are a lot more likely than, of [00:01:12] course, Greenland. So regime change and [00:01:15] other strong armed interventions rarely [00:01:17] go as planned. Pretty much never, right? [00:01:20] past failures should remind us Americans [00:01:23] how catastrophic the consequences of [00:01:25] this kind of hubris can be both on like [00:01:28] an individual human scale and a national [00:01:31] one like how many people we kill [00:01:33] overseas, how many people are go further [00:01:36] and further into poverty um on the alter [00:01:38] of these forever wars uh that we wage in [00:01:41] the working class here in America. you [00:01:43] know, um, you know, take the US [00:01:45] orchestrated regime change in Iraq. Like [00:01:47] three years after the United States [00:01:49] forced out Saddam Hussein based on false [00:01:52] claims about weapons of mass [00:01:54] destruction, there was no sign of the [00:01:55] wave of democratization that President [00:01:58] George W. Bush's team had promised would [00:02:00] follow in the in the Middle East or more [00:02:02] properly, West Asia. Long after the [00:02:04] consequences are still cascading for [00:02:06] ordinary Iraqis and ordinary Americans. [00:02:09] And this brings us to Afghanistan, which [00:02:11] has re-entered public discourse in [00:02:13] September when Trump said this. [00:02:16] >> We were going to keep Bram, the big air [00:02:18] base that one of the biggest air bases [00:02:20] in the world. We gave it to them for [00:02:21] nothing. We're trying to get it back, by [00:02:23] the way. Okay, that could be a little [00:02:25] breaking news. We're trying to get it [00:02:27] back because they need things from us. [00:02:29] We want that base back. But one of the [00:02:32] reasons we want the base is, as you [00:02:34] know, it's an hour away from where China [00:02:35] makes its nuclear weapons. So, a lot of [00:02:38] things are happening. [00:02:41] >> Yeah, that was from um that that clip [00:02:43] was taken by our colleagues over at [00:02:45] Breakthrough News. But the US withdrawal [00:02:47] from Afghanistan opened the mineralrich [00:02:51] nation to China and has enabled Beijing [00:02:54] to expand its belt and road initiative [00:02:56] into a country that was it was [00:02:58] previously unable to tap, which was one [00:03:00] of the reasons why we were in [00:03:02] Afghanistan in the first place. One of [00:03:04] the many reasons. Uh, China, the first [00:03:06] country to appoint an ambassador to the [00:03:08] Taliban run government or the Taliban or [00:03:11] the what is now the Afghan government, [00:03:13] sent its foreign minister Wang Yi in [00:03:16] August to Kabul to hold talks in [00:03:18] Afghanistan's acting uh with a [00:03:20] Afghanistan's acting foreign minister [00:03:22] Amir Khan Mutaki. You know, according to [00:03:24] the government, China expressed an [00:03:25] interest not only in Afghanistan's [00:03:27] mining opportunities where minerals like [00:03:29] lithium, copper, iron, gold, and uranium [00:03:31] are abundant, but Beijing also said it [00:03:33] was open to expand trade. You know, [00:03:35] Trump claimed that the deal formed with [00:03:37] the Taliban in 2020 in Doha, Qatar, [00:03:40] which outlined uh the US withdrawal from [00:03:42] Afghanistan by May 2021, did not include [00:03:46] Bagram Airbase. But we're going to keep [00:03:47] it as he just said. Uh but the original [00:03:51] deal did not include a stipulation [00:03:53] allowing the US to maintain forces at [00:03:55] the base 30 mi north of Kabul. This is [00:03:58] of course all about strategic dominance [00:04:00] and currently the US has no power [00:04:02] projection in Central Asia wherein lies [00:04:05] the Russia, China, Iran energy access. [00:04:08] So we can expect escalation in [00:04:10] Afghanistan in the coming years. in last [00:04:12] week's attack on National Guard soldiers [00:04:14] in Washington DC by a CIA linked Afghan [00:04:17] national to serve as part of a clumsy [00:04:19] cautious belly for jinning up another [00:04:22] war. Uh but remember the global war on [00:04:24] terror was always the perfect pretext [00:04:27] for expanding the national security [00:04:28] state and rising authoritarianism here [00:04:31] on the home front. See Pam Bondi in the [00:04:34] wake of this attack. [00:04:36] are bringing in our National Guard to [00:04:39] every city we possibly can who needs our [00:04:42] help. And that's a lot of them. We're [00:04:44] tied up, as you know, in a lot of court [00:04:46] hearings right now. These young men and [00:04:48] women in the guard, they want to help [00:04:50] our country. They want to be here. They [00:04:53] are patriots. Yet they will not be [00:04:56] attacked by a radical Islamic terrorist [00:04:59] who screams by reports Ali Akbar before [00:05:02] shooting two of our guard members and [00:05:05] almost killing Moore. [00:05:06] >> Wait, did she just say Ali Akbar? Yeah, [00:05:09] I heard Ali Akbar was a totally chilled [00:05:11] out dude. So anyways, to discuss this [00:05:15] attack, the blowback from the global war [00:05:17] on terror, how this narrative is [00:05:19] affecting the Afghan-American commun uh [00:05:21] community and what comes next for the [00:05:23] region, we are joined by, let me just [00:05:25] bring him up real quick. Um yeah, we are [00:05:29] joined by the executive director for [00:05:30] Afghans for a better tomorrow. Um Arash [00:05:33] Azizada is an Afghan-American immigrant [00:05:35] and community organizer based in [00:05:37] Brooklyn, New York. After a career in [00:05:39] video journalism, his work shifted [00:05:40] towards ending America's involvement in [00:05:43] Afghanistan as peace talks and [00:05:45] reconciliation efforts took shape during [00:05:47] the first Trump administration. Ahead of [00:05:49] the United States withdrawal from [00:05:50] Afghanistan, he co-founded Afghans for a [00:05:52] better tomorrow, spearheading the [00:05:54] evacuation and rapid response [00:05:56] coordination efforts uh during the [00:05:58] withdrawal. Today, he leads the [00:06:00] organization's operations as its [00:06:01] executive director to ensure Afghan [00:06:03] newcomers can find dignified lives [00:06:06] through his work at the AFBT. He [00:06:08] supports hundreds of vulnerable Afghans [00:06:10] in New York and beyond. And of course, [00:06:11] his work has been featured in the New [00:06:13] York Times, Vice News, The Washington [00:06:15] Post, NPR, and featured on Netflix's [00:06:19] Unknown Robots. Thanks so much for [00:06:21] coming on. [00:06:22] >> Thanks for having me on, Greg. Still [00:06:24] laughing at your Ali Akbar joke. I mean, [00:06:27] like [00:06:28] there was this I don't know. I think I [00:06:30] saw this post a while ago like if you if [00:06:32] you pronounce I Iraq Iraq like ey [00:06:39] like West Asian politics, but uh yeah, [00:06:42] it's kind of like that. But when we [00:06:43] spoke on the phone, um, yeah, we we [00:06:46] talked about how the global war on [00:06:47] terror actually was directly contributed [00:06:50] to the rise of authoritarianism here at [00:06:51] home, which we will definitely get into. [00:06:53] But I'd like to ground the conversation [00:06:56] in a lot of the reporting about um this [00:07:00] uh Afghan national who, according to Pam [00:07:02] Bondi, went on a terrorist rampage. Um, [00:07:06] no, you know, no history, no prior [00:07:08] history of him working with US forces, [00:07:11] just another radical Muslim screaming [00:07:13] Ali Akbar and about how that's affecting [00:07:16] not only your community but you know the [00:07:18] entire political atmosphere going [00:07:20] forward. So generally what we like to do [00:07:22] is watch a really problematic piece of [00:07:25] like the legacy media and then respond [00:07:27] to it. So this is the New York Post. [00:07:30] Yay. Barrett killing in the nation's [00:07:32] capital which left one National Guard [00:07:34] soldier critically wounded and another [00:07:36] dead. Who is Ramanulo Lockenwal? The [00:07:39] suspected Afghan killer [music] who [00:07:41] allegedly terrorized Washington DC on [00:07:44] Wednesday. Here's everything you need to [00:07:45] know. Near Faragut Square Park on [00:07:48] November 26, gunshots rang out when a [00:07:50] shooter ambushed two National Service [00:07:52] Guard members. [00:07:53] >> For for the record, I promise you the [00:07:55] New York Post is not going to tell you [00:07:57] everything you need to know. The gunman, [00:07:59] later identified as 29-year-old Ramanula [00:08:01] Lockenwal, allegedly trained the sights [00:08:03] of a 357 Magnum caliber Smith and Wesson [00:08:06] revolver at two armed National Guard [00:08:09] members, Sarah Beckm, 20, and Andrew [00:08:12] Wolf, 24. Beckramm was wounded in the [00:08:14] heinous attack and later died. [music] [00:08:16] Wolf was critically injured. A third [00:08:18] unarmed National Guard member rushed to [00:08:20] the scene, reportedly leaping towards [00:08:22] the suspect and stabbing him with a [00:08:24] pocketk knife. According to conservative [00:08:26] lawyer and strategist Mike Davis, a [00:08:29] fourth national guardsman later ran [00:08:30] toward the frey with a lock and wall and [00:08:32] his family were shooting at the suspect. [00:08:34] >> Sorry, I just have to skip through all [00:08:35] this like heroism stuff that doesn't [00:08:38] actually talk about anything. [00:08:39] >> A terrorist. [music] More troops were [00:08:40] event welcomed into the US four years [00:08:42] ago after he served in the CIA backed [00:08:45] elite NDS3 counterterrorism unit. [00:08:48] Because of his service to the US, [00:08:50] Lockinwall was let into America in 2021 [00:08:53] under Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden [00:08:56] administration program to help Afghans [00:08:58] who fought against the Taliban escape [00:09:00] the war torn country. Lockenwall will [00:09:02] now face a first-degree murder. [snorts] [00:09:05] >> Okay. Um, so basically, I guess what [00:09:10] what are your initial reactions to how [00:09:12] this is portrayed, how this reporting? [00:09:14] Is there anything like what do you want [00:09:16] like Americans to understand about what [00:09:19] happened and what's being framed right [00:09:20] now? Yeah, I think uh especially uh [00:09:23] Murdoch owned uh New York Post is uh [00:09:27] going to create the divisions that uh [00:09:30] President Trump specifically [00:09:32] uh has antagonized uh to reap and so [00:09:37] hatred division uh and and a fear of the [00:09:39] Afghan-American community, especially uh [00:09:41] the 200,000 newly arrived Afghans that [00:09:44] uh that kind of were mentioned there. [00:09:46] Um, and yeah, I think uh I'm actually [00:09:50] surprised uh at the mention of the fact [00:09:53] that uh the alleged shooter was part of [00:09:57] a CIA backed unit and you know, happy to [00:09:59] dive into the history of that. Uh [00:10:01] because there's a ton to be unpacked [00:10:03] there and a ton to be said about the [00:10:05] lack of coverage that happens uh when uh [00:10:09] we talk about war crimes committed [00:10:11] committed by the United States. uh [00:10:12] accountability around uh war crimes that [00:10:15] were supported that were committed by [00:10:17] local Afghans that United States uh [00:10:20] supported, financed, armed history that [00:10:23] goes back many many years. Uh and it's [00:10:25] only when a National Guard soldier [00:10:27] tragically is is or heard in a capital [00:10:30] city uh that the New York Post decides [00:10:32] to um yeah do what it does best, which [00:10:34] is reap that uh and reap and sew that [00:10:38] division and hatred towards the Afghan [00:10:39] community. Yeah. Yeah. And I can tell [00:10:41] you, you know, like I think our [00:10:44] community has been watching the genocide [00:10:45] in Gaza, the violence uh elsewhere, [00:10:48] dismayed by uh US militarism, not just [00:10:51] because of the 20 years war, but just [00:10:52] most like just what has happened been [00:10:54] happening these past few years. They've [00:10:56] been on the ground to support all these [00:10:58] folks who have come into our country on [00:11:00] an emergency basis. and to see um I [00:11:03] think folks have already been deeply [00:11:05] distrustful of the corporate media and [00:11:06] especially um yeah I think New York Post [00:11:09] is good at what it does which is to [00:11:10] antagonize um and so um happy to delve [00:11:14] into the real context of of the violence [00:11:18] that has happened all the other violence [00:11:19] that was committed by the United States [00:11:21] and yeah I think we're in a crisis [00:11:23] moment right now that's uh that's [00:11:24] certainly where we're at now into like [00:11:26] now six days um after that National [00:11:30] Guard shooting in Washington DC. [00:11:32] >> Yeah. No, I I definitely want to like [00:11:34] definitely give context to this like [00:11:36] because of the circumstances, the [00:11:38] timing, the fact that he was part of [00:11:40] these zero units that were stood up uh [00:11:42] in collaboration with the Central [00:11:44] Intelligence Agency and also deeply [00:11:47] embedded in like the narco state [00:11:49] politics of Afghanistan during the US [00:11:51] occupation. Um yeah, a lot of people are [00:11:55] like [00:11:56] they they've got their like false flag [00:11:58] conspiracy theory radars up. I'm not [00:12:00] discounting that. It's just the evidence [00:12:02] isn't there yet. But I think regardless [00:12:04] of however you take it, this is blowback [00:12:08] from like this is like by definition [00:12:10] blowback from the the wars and what like [00:12:13] what this guy went through in these NDS [00:12:15] units. So, let's start there. Like, cuz [00:12:18] I think it's like these zero units and [00:12:20] other stuff that CIA uh ground branch [00:12:23] was doing in Afghanistan, which was like [00:12:25] straight up like death squads [00:12:27] essentially, like cleared hot target, [00:12:29] everything. If it moves, shoot it. That [00:12:31] was happening um all the time or or at [00:12:35] least somewhat frequently. And uh yeah, [00:12:38] it's kind of like endemic of how the [00:12:40] entire war was waged. Uh so yeah, what [00:12:43] was the NDS and what were these uh zero [00:12:46] units? [00:12:48] >> Yeah, so the NDS for for folks that um [00:12:50] are unfamiliar with the deep entrenched [00:12:52] history of the United States and and [00:12:53] Afghanistan over the past 20 years uh [00:12:56] was uh an Afghan run intelligence agency [00:12:59] that closely worked with the US military [00:13:01] with the CIA, American intelligence [00:13:03] agencies [sighs and gasps] [00:13:05] and kind of cooperated on the war on [00:13:07] terror. Um now that eventually delved [00:13:09] into fighting al Qaeda like mission [00:13:12] creep kind of set in. Uh but what [00:13:14] eventually happened in beginning years [00:13:16] of the war uh is that um they realized [00:13:20] that there was in their eyes a need for [00:13:23] covert more covert uh work which a [00:13:25] covert agency like the CIA is always um [00:13:28] known to be be promoting. Uh but what [00:13:31] they eventually did is work in the east [00:13:33] and the south of Afghanistan [00:13:35] specifically where uh the Taliban and [00:13:37] the remnants of al-Qaeda supposedly uh [00:13:40] had gone in hiding where they probably [00:13:42] had maybe like local bases of support uh [00:13:44] where they traditionally had had [00:13:46] operated and they started recruiting [00:13:48] Afghans into these called um uh specific [00:13:51] units and yes 01 02 03 there were a few [00:13:55] of them um but they operated in the dark [00:13:59] in the shadows of the war. So there was [00:14:02] a war going on that was fought [00:14:03] eventually at first by the US military [00:14:06] that included air strikes that included [00:14:08] whatever branches of the United States [00:14:10] military. But then there was a shadow [00:14:11] war and that shadow war uh was operated [00:14:14] and directed by um Afghan and uh Afghan [00:14:19] intelligence and the CIA. But it [00:14:21] operated off the books. It operated [00:14:24] outside of the scope of the Afghan [00:14:26] government at that time. it was working [00:14:28] outside of the scope of uh the US [00:14:30] military and and really without any kind [00:14:34] of accountability. And so um you know [00:14:37] there's been reporting in the New York [00:14:39] Times uh in uh other press actually uh [00:14:43] about the notori the notorious work [00:14:45] which was human rights abuses killing of [00:14:48] Afghan civilians uh so-called bad [00:14:50] intelligence that resulted in the [00:14:52] killing of Afghan civilians. Um you know [00:14:54] sometimes in my work uh I would come [00:14:57] across somebody who would say hey um you [00:14:59] know like there was a raid on my uh [00:15:02] friends they were killed and turns out [00:15:04] these were NDS units or zero units uh [00:15:07] that had acted uh on their own um you [00:15:10] know with weapons and financing and [00:15:13] backing and recruiting done by the CIA [00:15:16] in in cooperation with uh Afghan [00:15:18] intelligence operating out of Kabul. uh [00:15:20] what what they would target is you know [00:15:23] what they deem terrorism but what they [00:15:25] eventually became uh known for is to to [00:15:28] be killers to to to kill Afghan [00:15:30] civilians um and many times uh or you [00:15:34] know I don't think we know a single case [00:15:36] of accountability around uh these zero [00:15:38] units now to quickly take folks forward [00:15:41] this this happened this happened in the [00:15:43] shadows there wasn't much publicity uh [00:15:45] there was focus on diplomacy that [00:15:47] happened and um you know political [00:15:49] agreements and outreach to the Taliban. [00:15:51] But by 2021, all these zero units then [00:15:55] were kind of seen as the most trusted [00:15:57] guys um uh to to US um military. And we [00:16:03] saw when the withdrawal started [00:16:04] happening that security was pretty harsh [00:16:08] uh and was pretty tight and it was [00:16:10] actually the US military working [00:16:12] specifically with the zero units to [00:16:14] cordon off Kabul airport in August of [00:16:16] 2021. Um and they eventually you know in [00:16:20] return for that promise was seen on a [00:16:22] plane and uh the last Afghans to be [00:16:25] evacuated to the United States as part [00:16:27] of that um evacuation during the Biden [00:16:29] era Biden administration was a zero unit [00:16:32] guys that them their families um and [00:16:35] they were resettled in the United [00:16:37] States. [00:16:38] >> Yeah. And and just to kind of I guess [00:16:40] like bring up how shady this entire [00:16:43] operation was. Um it took me a little [00:16:46] bit of research, but I did find you know [00:16:48] Firebase Gecko um where [00:16:53] uh these guys were stationed at least [00:16:55] the Kandahar strike force. Uh basically [00:16:58] this is this is important to the whole [00:16:59] story and the whole context. Uh it's [00:17:01] this massive compound just like north of [00:17:03] Kabool. Uh it be it belonged to um uh [00:17:08] Mulla Omar. I forget who was the head of [00:17:10] the Taliban. I'm mind blanking right [00:17:12] now. [00:17:13] >> Yeah. For formerly it was Mila Omar who [00:17:15] died. Yeah. Probably around 2015 2016. [00:17:18] >> Yeah. So this was his like massive [00:17:20] compound. It turned out to be a J uh [00:17:21] Jacock and CIA black site. Um and yeah, [00:17:25] it's just a massive piece of property, [00:17:28] right? So how did we come by this [00:17:31] property? Well, funny you should ask. So [00:17:33] first of all just to really define terms [00:17:35] the national directorate of security [00:17:38] which is Afghan intelligence essentially [00:17:40] for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan [00:17:42] from 2002 to 2021 was established with [00:17:46] support from the CIA. Its primary role [00:17:48] was, you know, of course, like everyone [00:17:50] else, to collect intelligence and [00:17:51] counter national security threats. And [00:17:53] it reported directly to the president's [00:17:55] office, Hamid Carzac, um, and his [00:17:57] successor. And it immediately started [00:18:00] off sketchy as hell because what did the [00:18:02] CIA do when they first came into [00:18:03] Afghanistan? Hey, all of these uh [00:18:06] warlords who were like narco traffickers [00:18:09] before the Taliban uh took control, [00:18:11] let's just pay them a lot of money and [00:18:13] get their like goon squads to also help [00:18:16] us fight the Taliban because like [00:18:18] there's a lot of like leadup in 2002 to [00:18:22] an actual military invasion. It was [00:18:23] mostly just special operations and [00:18:25] largely largely CIA paramilitary forces. [00:18:28] And those like a lot of the northern [00:18:31] alliance guys were actually like narot [00:18:33] traffickers as well uh because they had [00:18:36] to go flee up to the north when the [00:18:37] Taliban will coales most of their power [00:18:40] in the south and the east. So that's who [00:18:41] the CIA linked up with first and then [00:18:44] after the Taliban was expelled they [00:18:46] basically set up their own little narco [00:18:48] and it was like the world's largest [00:18:50] narco state and that's like I just [00:18:52] remember like 21 just in in Helmond just [00:18:56] seeing like poppy fields from like like [00:18:59] all the way to the horizon and just be [00:19:01] like why don't we just like burn them [00:19:03] down if this is like where all the [00:19:04] heroins coming into the United States [00:19:06] from and it's just like no no crash the [00:19:08] local economy and we're on a nation [00:19:10] building exercise. Absolute [ __ ] [00:19:13] right? U because you know the president [00:19:17] like Hammed Carzi's brother Ahmed Wally [00:19:19] Carzi was a major trafficker of opium [00:19:22] was paid by the CIA from 2001 until his [00:19:25] assassination by a police official and [00:19:27] longtime confidant in 2011. I was [00:19:29] actually in Kandahar when that happened. [00:19:31] It was like a huge deal within the [00:19:33] command echelon. They're like, "Oh crap, [00:19:34] there's now a massive power vacuum in [00:19:37] Kandahar." And that what that deployment [00:19:39] was crazy. So the CIA paid Carzai for [00:19:42] information and influence and he [00:19:44] identified Taliban fightersh for attack [00:19:47] by American forces, recruited Afghan men [00:19:50] for NATO allied the Kandahar strike [00:19:53] force which sometimes worked with you [00:19:55] know US forces but also sometimes just [00:19:57] took out his political enemies and even [00:20:00] rented space to the agency in the city [00:20:01] which is where they got firebased gecko. [00:20:03] So the death you know of Mr. Karzi who [00:20:06] effectively ruled much of the country's [00:20:07] southern region from Kanakar sent spasms [00:20:10] through the political establishment and [00:20:12] you know uh turns out [00:20:15] you know it didn't really work out [00:20:17] because you know that that's not just a [00:20:19] basis on how to construct a government [00:20:21] like I I don't recall being over there [00:20:24] and like met an Afghan like outside of [00:20:26] Kabool who was like hell yes I love this [00:20:29] government even if they hated the [00:20:30] Taliban um you know because obviously [00:20:34] there's a lot of different e ethnicities [00:20:36] and tribal politics and a lot of [00:20:38] complicated stuff going on in [00:20:39] Afghanistan. But even if they hated the [00:20:41] Taliban, I didn't meet a single one [00:20:43] person who thought that the government [00:20:44] was actually not completely corrupt at [00:20:47] all. And according to internal emails [00:20:49] from the US private security form uh [00:20:51] Stratfor in 2007, the DEA was [00:20:53] investigating Ahmed Carzi for being a [00:20:56] major narcotics trafficker. And you [00:20:58] know, the CIA essentially told him to [00:21:00] back off. And you know, the DEA saw a [00:21:02] direct nexus between terrorism and [00:21:04] narcotics in Afghanistan with narcotic [00:21:06] sales being used to fund jihadist [00:21:08] operations and, you know, going in that [00:21:11] same opium going into the United States [00:21:13] to bloat our prison system. So, this is [00:21:16] all connected and I kind of just wish [00:21:19] like Americans would be more plugged [00:21:21] into like foreign policy and how it [00:21:23] affects us. So, like I mean a as as an [00:21:26] Afghan um American like you're obviously [00:21:29] dialed into uh US foreign policy and [00:21:32] like how is this like affecting your [00:21:33] community right now? [00:21:35] >> Yeah. I mean, you know, you mentioned [00:21:37] all that history and the fact that, you [00:21:39] know, uh publicly the United States [00:21:42] would say we're we're nation building [00:21:43] and uh we are trying to get rid of [00:21:45] endemic corruption. Uh we are trying to [00:21:48] get rid of uh opium. That's that's a bad [00:21:50] thing. you know people farmers shouldn't [00:21:52] be uh growing opium that that's then [00:21:55] funds uh violence committed by other [00:21:57] players like the Taliban or al-Qaeda and [00:22:00] then you know covertly what we saw is [00:22:02] you know uh feeding endemic corruption [00:22:04] feeding people with um interest in in in [00:22:08] in selling drugs uh that harmed Afghans. [00:22:12] Um, and I think, you know, the way your [00:22:14] community impacted this now is now is [00:22:17] like, you know, I I think we saw [00:22:18] President Biden say, "We're ending the [00:22:20] war." President Trump, he started that [00:22:23] process. President Biden ended it. I [00:22:24] think we can kind of reinforce that this [00:22:27] project of empire was bipartisan. It was [00:22:29] two parties and was not [00:22:32] >> always is and always has been. And um I [00:22:35] think um our community has recognized [00:22:38] that uh and has felt betrayed and [00:22:40] abandoned because the US did stand by [00:22:43] and tell many of the people has worked [00:22:45] alongside with um you know me people on [00:22:47] the lower ranks of government civil [00:22:49] society when you stand by us we'll stand [00:22:51] by you and I think our community a right [00:22:54] now feels two things they feel that [00:22:55] abandonment and betrayal again after [00:22:58] 2021 that chaotic awful withdrawal where [00:23:01] people got hurt and people weren't able [00:23:03] to [00:23:04] make it to safety. And then the second [00:23:06] sense is that we're under attack, right? [00:23:08] Like we see this like visceral, very [00:23:10] forwardleaning racism, bigotry, Afghan [00:23:14] anti-hatred now that's being stoked, [00:23:15] right? Like every few weeks it's another [00:23:17] community's turmo uh another immigrant [00:23:20] uh community's turn to kind of be on the [00:23:23] um receiving end of President Trump's uh [00:23:25] hatred. Um but but the reality is that [00:23:28] the motion that and the process of how [00:23:32] we got here today was set in motion in [00:23:35] 2001 and in 2002 and 2003. every uh bad [00:23:40] person, every warlord, every um CIA uh [00:23:45] payment to somebody who was sending his [00:23:48] goons to kill, not the terrorist, quote [00:23:51] unquote, but his political opponents, [00:23:53] his tribal opponents, people he had [00:23:55] feuds with. [00:23:57] all those mistakes, you know, is really [00:23:59] it's death by a thousand paper cuts or a [00:24:01] million paper cuts or 2.3 trillion paper [00:24:04] cuts because that's how much money we [00:24:06] spent in Afghanistan. And our community [00:24:08] is now under receiving end of that. I've [00:24:10] been feeling calls today from people are [00:24:12] getting picked up by ICE. ICE and CBP [00:24:14] and immigration enforcement is a [00:24:16] continuation [00:24:18] and uh a a total um you know extension [00:24:23] of the the the military work that [00:24:25] happened in places like Avanistan. Man, [00:24:28] you know, if you go on, if you Google [00:24:29] ICE veterans, you know, it just shows [00:24:32] you how often and how quickly and how [00:24:34] strongly they are recruiting for folks [00:24:35] who have served uh to be able to uh work [00:24:38] for them to do the work that they event [00:24:40] first did in Kandahar and Kabul and [00:24:43] Mazar Sharif and are now doing in [00:24:45] Washington DC and New York. And so I'm [00:24:46] feeling calls and uh folks crying [00:24:48] earlier just before we got on here [00:24:50] saying, you know, ICE came to my work [00:24:52] site, they detained my brother, what am [00:24:54] I supposed to do? Um because Biden and [00:24:57] Trump said the war ended, but for us the [00:24:59] war has never ended, that trauma is [00:25:01] continuing. Uh and um yeah, even I think [00:25:04] folks who who were friendly to the US, [00:25:06] many of the evacuated Afghans, I think [00:25:08] have a pro- US uh they they felt like [00:25:11] the United States stood by them despite [00:25:12] that betrayal are now feeling and [00:25:14] realizing just how awful this machinery [00:25:18] has been. And when it turns against us [00:25:20] and community and our community, Yeah. [00:25:23] it feels very visceral. It feels very [00:25:25] painful. Um, yeah. And you turn on Fox [00:25:28] News and it's it's about us and how [00:25:30] we're awful people and nothing further [00:25:32] can be uh from the truth or there's no [00:25:35] discussion. There's no discussion of how [00:25:37] the US uh seeded this hatred, seeded [00:25:40] this pain, seeded this suffering. [00:25:43] >> Yeah, I know. Um, it kind of reminds me, [00:25:46] I mean, there's direct parallels to like [00:25:48] Palestinians having to be the perfect [00:25:50] victim and we're seeing that with y'all [00:25:52] now. Um when we first when we talked [00:25:54] yesterday about this uh you mentioned [00:25:57] you know having to kind of like thread [00:25:59] like a needle you know some Afghans were [00:26:01] like this is not us we don't we're not [00:26:03] like this but like [00:26:05] should you be in a position to apologize [00:26:07] because like ne never never is there any [00:26:10] accountability for you know US action [00:26:13] overseas. [00:26:14] >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean I think um I I [00:26:18] was an I was an Afghan who also grew up [00:26:20] in the post 911 era. You know, my family [00:26:22] actually moved to the US in 2001 and uh [00:26:25] you know, as soon as I entered the [00:26:27] country, 911 happened and I saw what [00:26:29] folks did, what our elders did in our [00:26:31] community, what our mosques did. They [00:26:33] cooperated with DHS. They cooperated [00:26:36] with enforce law enforcement. They [00:26:38] apologized and condemned the actions. [00:26:40] And what did it get us? Absolutely [00:26:41] nothing actually. You know, it has just [00:26:43] meant surveillance of our communities. [00:26:45] It has meant detention of our [00:26:46] communities. said it meant [00:26:47] criminalization of our communities, [00:26:50] informants at the mosque that I used to [00:26:52] go to. And so that's the that's the post [00:26:54] 911 world. And I think, you know, [00:26:56] falling into the pitfalls again today, [00:26:59] why should I, as an Afghan apologize for [00:27:00] the violence of somebody who was [00:27:02] actually funded and trained and [00:27:04] recruited as a child, maybe at 14, 15 [00:27:07] roughly by the CIA, you know, and so I [00:27:09] think um they're trying to implicate our [00:27:12] culture, our people. I think that's easy [00:27:13] to do. There's tropes in Hollywood and [00:27:15] elsewhere about Afghans are violent, af [00:27:17] Afghans are warriors, Rambo 3, all these [00:27:20] movies that um you know people always [00:27:23] ask me what movies should I watch about [00:27:24] Afghanistan. I'm like yeah it's between [00:27:27] Rambo 3 and Charlie Wilson's War. So [00:27:29] those tropes are really easy to enforce [00:27:31] but the culture of impunity of violence [00:27:33] started in Langley with the CIA and [00:27:35] that's not a discussion we're having [00:27:36] right now. New York Post piece that you [00:27:38] showed didn't I wasn't talking about [00:27:39] that. No, I just mentioned that, you [00:27:41] know, you know, oh, you know, just like [00:27:43] the most they'll do is like, oh, mental [00:27:45] health issues. [00:27:47] >> Well, yeah, you know, where did those [00:27:48] come from? You know, being being a child [00:27:51] soldier is probably not great for one's [00:27:53] like mental or emotional state. I mean, [00:27:56] when as this is happening, I I just kind [00:27:58] of want to get a sense or at least your [00:28:00] kind of personal gauge of do people in [00:28:04] the community and the diaspora kind of [00:28:06] like really understand why the US wants [00:28:08] to go back into Afghanistan? [00:28:11] >> I think there's that fear, you know, I [00:28:14] think uh there's an understanding that [00:28:17] um I think yeah, the Gaza and Palestine [00:28:19] has been an awakening for folks. I think [00:28:21] the withdrawal was an awakening. I think [00:28:23] um if you're a little bit older than me [00:28:25] uh just studying the history of US [00:28:27] interventions during the Cold War, [00:28:29] reading about uh America's role in the [00:28:32] Cold War in Afghanistan, you know, Greg, [00:28:34] I mentioned to you that in this in the [00:28:36] 70s and 80s, USAD funded $51 million at [00:28:40] the University of Nebraska at the time [00:28:44] to produce textbooks in Farsy and [00:28:46] Pashto, you know, our native two native [00:28:48] languages that said J stands for jihad. [00:28:52] That's how they they would teach the [00:28:54] alphabet to kids. Uh these are three [00:28:56] bullets. Teaching Afghan refugee kids in [00:28:59] Pakistan and Afghanistan, US produced [00:29:02] textbooks, you know. So like we're [00:29:04] having this conversation about the [00:29:05] history, you know. So our community is [00:29:07] familiar with that history that dates [00:29:09] back 50 years now. Um and that the roots [00:29:12] of the violence didn't start actually on [00:29:13] 911 or 2001. History doesn't start on [00:29:16] specific dates just because somebody on [00:29:17] the opposing side says it did. It's not [00:29:19] October 7th. It's not September 11th. It [00:29:22] goes way back. And I think yeah, there's [00:29:24] there's always a fear that the United [00:29:25] States wants to [00:29:27] >> uh control the skies over Afghanistan. [00:29:30] And like um yeah and I think we feel [00:29:33] stuck in this in this odd place you know [00:29:35] like I think we are welcoming community [00:29:38] members who are fleeing the Taliban's [00:29:39] repressive rule and then once they come [00:29:41] here we're supporting people who are now [00:29:44] fleeing or like in deep fear of American [00:29:48] immigration enforcement and that brutal [00:29:49] and cruel rule uh that is that is [00:29:52] bigoted that is racist that is obviously [00:29:54] targeting like today targeting Afghans [00:29:56] simply because they are Afghan and or [00:29:58] Muslim and they'll work alongside a US [00:30:01] service person or a veteran. They might [00:30:03] have saved a US military member's life. [00:30:06] You know, they might have fought [00:30:06] alongside you and others, Greg. And it [00:30:09] doesn't matter. It's because the color [00:30:11] of their skin, their nationality, their [00:30:13] background that they're being detained. [00:30:14] >> You know, I always talk about like [00:30:15] whiteness and specifically white [00:30:17] supremacy as like a construct because it [00:30:20] expands and it contract it expands when [00:30:22] it's not in power. So be like, "Okay, [00:30:24] yeah, the CubanAmericans, come on. you [00:30:26] hate you hate communism, you know, [00:30:28] you're with us, you're MAGA, you know, [00:30:30] and now now that now that the power is [00:30:33] being consolidated, this conception of [00:30:34] like whiteness or being white adjacent [00:30:36] is contracting and it's contracting and [00:30:38] it's contracting and it contracts for [00:30:40] political reasons, you know, [00:30:42] >> so basically the only good Latin [00:30:45] American people are people in the like [00:30:47] business class and the political lobby [00:30:49] class who live in Florida are at Mara [00:30:53] Lago all the time and are like, you [00:30:54] know, we need to crush socialism through [00:30:57] in any sort of left-wing uh movement [00:30:59] throughout, you know, Latin America. And [00:31:01] now because we want to re-engage with [00:31:03] Afghanistan, we need to jin up consent [00:31:05] to be there. And I mean, it's all deeply [00:31:08] colonial. I think what was been striking [00:31:10] for me as someone who like studied like [00:31:12] postcolonial theory in college, I still [00:31:15] had this sense before like even after, [00:31:18] you know, I became like an [00:31:19] anti-imperialist activist. I forgot the [00:31:21] military and stuff that there like this [00:31:23] level of like bald-face like violence [00:31:26] and interventionism like existed in the [00:31:29] history books, you know, like British [00:31:32] Raj, you know, which collapsed in, you [00:31:34] know, 1947, you know, and um it's it's [00:31:38] just wild seeing it like they're not [00:31:39] even putting up the pretense anymore. [00:31:44] >> Yeah. Yeah. I think I mean we're uh at [00:31:47] least what is useful for people who are [00:31:50] um liberals trying to become leftist, [00:31:52] progressives trying to become leftist or [00:31:53] like leftists trying to become [00:31:54] anti-imperialist. This is a mask off [00:31:56] moment for folks and for our community [00:31:58] for example, you know, uh we actually [00:32:00] put out a post about two weeks ago on [00:32:02] our Instagram. It was like, you know, [00:32:04] actually the the the the pathway [00:32:07] for fascism and um all this the the [00:32:12] extreme farright movements that are [00:32:14] happening across the world which you [00:32:16] know everyone looks at the US and some [00:32:19] of that history or a significant chunk [00:32:21] of that history was started was a [00:32:24] training the training ground for that [00:32:26] was Afghanistan. It was uh camp gecko. [00:32:29] It was the the battlefields in the [00:32:32] south. uh Helman province or uh you know [00:32:36] the fights that happened in the east of [00:32:37] Afghanistan where you know also like you [00:32:40] know the media US media would be present [00:32:41] in places like uh Kabul and and some of [00:32:44] the safer cities but the violence was [00:32:46] raging uh led by the United States by [00:32:49] drone strikes by elite units of special [00:32:53] operators or Afghans who you know we are [00:32:58] trying to thread this like careful [00:33:00] needle but it's becoming [00:33:02] clearer and clearer now that like yeah [00:33:04] this these this is imperial boomerang of [00:33:07] the war that lasted 20 years, right? [00:33:09] Like every uh tour that you or others [00:33:13] served meant another Afghan that they [00:33:16] had to recruit, not just cooks but [00:33:18] translators, people who had to fight [00:33:20] their war for. So like just think of [00:33:21] that. Just think of how many people af [00:33:24] how how many Afghans were recruited into [00:33:26] this war who simply either were looking [00:33:28] for a job who didn't really have a [00:33:30] choice who just happened to live near a [00:33:32] base um and were placed into this war. [00:33:35] And yeah, I think like one thing that [00:33:38] has become uh clear now that like the [00:33:40] CIA cannot deny that this person was [00:33:43] employed was that they were running this [00:33:45] guy for 15 plus uh for 10 plus years and [00:33:49] then they evacuated him to United [00:33:51] States. And I think another thing I [00:33:52] would say, you know, like if you're [00:33:55] going to bring somebody over here with [00:33:56] that kind of history, um, and we [00:33:59] advocate uh for Afghans to be evacuated [00:34:02] to United States as a form of [00:34:03] reparations, a way to uh repair the harm [00:34:06] that you talked about, the history that [00:34:08] you mentioned that I mentioned. Um, one [00:34:11] way to like repair that is to give [00:34:13] people a chance at a new life. But just [00:34:15] evacuating here is not enough, right? [00:34:18] Like we need mental health support for [00:34:19] our community. we need uh services, we [00:34:22] need housing. And if you don't do any of [00:34:24] that, you know, you're putting people in [00:34:26] a really precarious and and and and [00:34:28] honestly messed up situation, you know, [00:34:30] and um I think like what is has become [00:34:33] clear is this mask off moment like this [00:34:35] is the CIA's violence, not ours. [00:34:37] >> No. And you Yeah. I mean, existing in [00:34:41] the veteran community, um, you know, we [00:34:44] have, especially with combat veterans, a [00:34:46] hugely disproportionate amount of mass [00:34:48] shooters come from our demographic, you [00:34:50] know, so why wouldn't this happen with [00:34:52] like expatriated like US trained Afghan [00:34:55] soldiers coming and being repatriated [00:34:57] over here? But of course, you know, [00:34:59] because the whole white supremacy thing, [00:35:00] you know, those are just troubled [00:35:02] individuals. You know, they served and [00:35:04] he didn't get the help he needed from [00:35:05] the VA. But of course, there's no [00:35:07] support for that. And of course, like [00:35:09] when one guy pops off, they try to paint [00:35:11] the whole community like that. And I [00:35:14] think it just really goes to show you [00:35:15] that like that that infamous Kissinger [00:35:18] quote, you know, it's, you know, [00:35:20] dangerous to be uh America's enemy, but [00:35:22] deadly to be its friends. And I think [00:35:27] when it comes to you mentioning like [00:35:28] mission creep and the mask off moment, I [00:35:30] actually did prep this one video for uh [00:35:33] you to comment on the audience. Uh [00:35:35] Stephanie Miller, former um [00:35:40] former head of the uh Jerusalem uh the [00:35:43] the Tel Aviv desk for the CIA, just went [00:35:45] on three days ago and just said, you [00:35:47] know, now we work with ISIS and the [00:35:49] Islamic State. the al ISIS and al-Qaeda [00:35:52] to go back against uh Iran [00:35:56] [music] [00:35:58] would allow us to go and actually have [00:36:00] meetings and talk to the quote unquote [00:36:02] enemies to try to bring things down as [00:36:05] CIA officers. [00:36:06] >> Everyone, most of the world has a [00:36:09] problem with al-Qaeda and ISIS dash. [00:36:11] >> Right. Right. [00:36:12] >> You have less of a problem because the [00:36:13] CIA worked with ISIS des and al-Qaeda. [00:36:16] If we worked with them, we would know [00:36:20] what they were doing better, that's for [00:36:23] sure, and understand it. If the plan is [00:36:26] for us to work with them to work on a [00:36:30] security agreement, which we have done [00:36:32] with enemies before, um, and we've [00:36:34] played that part as long as well as [00:36:36] sideby side with the diplomats, [00:36:38] honestly, and, um, whatever other [00:36:40] countries are involved, and so I [00:36:43] wouldn't be surprised if that was [00:36:45] happening. And I would call it possibly [00:36:47] hopeful. [00:36:48] >> In fact, that's why the newspapers once [00:36:51] in the United States celebrated [00:36:52] Kasamsulmani. Uh the as a fighter with [00:36:56] the American troops against [music] [00:36:58] ISIS and al-Qaeda. [00:37:00] >> He was and now it's switched. Now we [00:37:02] have to go to al ISIS and al-Qaeda to go [00:37:05] back against Iran. [00:37:08] >> It's just, you know, I'm calling this [00:37:11] the global war on terror 2.0. Uh the the [00:37:15] one thing I do appreciate about it is [00:37:17] one, the US has far less power [00:37:19] projection. You know, the glob the the [00:37:21] 20-year engagement in Iraq, Afghanistan, [00:37:23] and like five other countries really [00:37:24] just crippled our defense industrial [00:37:27] base. So, you know, because it was all [00:37:29] about like counterinsurgency, sweet like [00:37:31] sleek, precisiong guided weapons instead [00:37:33] of like what you actually need to fight [00:37:35] at high intensity conflict. That's one. [00:37:37] And two, the lies are gone. It's like, [00:37:39] yeah, we're working with al-Qaeda, Iran, [00:37:42] duh. You know, it's also why um you know [00:37:46] that we're conducting anti-ISIS raids in [00:37:49] Somalia right now. Uh because apparently [00:37:51] we have to re-engage there. Not to [00:37:54] mention, we just signed a five base [00:37:56] contract with the Somali government to [00:37:58] create five military bases on the Red [00:38:00] Sea to do what? to counter the uh the [00:38:03] influence of the Houthis and other axis [00:38:06] of resistance players uh in the Gulf [00:38:08] States. So yeah, it's kind of like just [00:38:12] just the old the old playbook. Um and [00:38:16] it's it's really not changing. I guess [00:38:19] one thing that we we definitely want to [00:38:21] preach is like, you know, it's not just [00:38:23] like everyone's community will get used. [00:38:26] The Somali, you know, Haitians, Afghans, [00:38:29] Palestinians. So, um, do you I know [00:38:34] amongst like I I've talked to a lot of [00:38:36] like Iranian journalists and there's [00:38:38] kind of like a division and this was uh [00:38:40] like over the Palestine issue, you know, [00:38:43] there's a lot of like monarchists in the [00:38:45] Iranian di diaspora that are like [00:38:47] support Israel and stuff, but like I I I [00:38:50] assume like there isn't that same thread [00:38:54] with you. [00:38:55] >> No. Yeah. I I don't think so. I mean [00:38:57] like I think what's interesting is that [00:39:00] um actually we've seen cooperation [00:39:02] between the Trump administration and the [00:39:04] Taliban a little bit under the Biden [00:39:05] administration too. um you know because [00:39:08] now the common enemy is ISIS K you know [00:39:10] and so I think I think that's uh kind of [00:39:14] struck a a wrong chord with our [00:39:16] community because like generally our [00:39:18] community has fled violence by whoever [00:39:21] you know it first was the Soviet Union [00:39:23] was part of the cold war then it was a [00:39:25] civil war uh then it was the Taliban [00:39:27] then it was US and now it's the Taliban [00:39:29] again right like it's just cycle after [00:39:30] cycle we're talking about a really long [00:39:32] history of people um and why people are [00:39:34] displaced different people but the same [00:39:36] same reason, right? Um, and I think [00:39:39] yeah, even and even in that clip, she [00:39:41] kind of talks about the diplomatic [00:39:43] angle, right? Like maybe um like [00:39:45] imperialism alone is not through fought [00:39:47] through uh zero units and and drone [00:39:50] strikes. It's also done through [00:39:51] diplomacy. Um and that betrayal of our [00:39:54] people and that using of our community [00:39:56] unfortunately also happens through u [00:39:59] yeah diplomatic means. Um, and I think [00:40:03] the reality is that the history of [00:40:05] Afghanistan is that like the Taliban now [00:40:09] is an is a byproduct of America's [00:40:11] imperialism, right? Like it had a cold [00:40:13] war policy and the end result was the [00:40:15] Taliban and you know the blowback first [00:40:18] blowback was September 11th because the [00:40:21] common enemy at the time were were the [00:40:23] Soviets and the Soviet soldiers. So we [00:40:25] made common ground with holy warrior [00:40:29] fighters uh that that eventually led to [00:40:32] a disaster. The Soviet Union withdraws [00:40:33] in 1989 by 2001. Uh we have the [00:40:36] September 11th attacks and um you know [00:40:39] the war in Avanistan that the US thinks [00:40:42] ended on its terms. All right. like they [00:40:45] withdraw from this conflict uh [00:40:47] eventually [00:40:49] placing a pretty egregious group uh and [00:40:51] an awful group in power you know at the [00:40:55] like they just hand them the keys to to [00:40:57] the country and to to the capital city [00:40:59] and then they start to they start to do [00:41:01] cooperation so I think like you know um [00:41:04] always deeply suspicious even if it's [00:41:06] diplomacy you know people try to speak [00:41:08] about diplomacy over war and I I will [00:41:11] say neither uh US-led diplomacy or war [00:41:14] will will lead to liberation for our [00:41:17] people and not specifically for the [00:41:18] Afghan people. I think we've been [00:41:20] betrayed too many times to to to kind of [00:41:22] believe that. [00:41:23] >> Yeah. [snorts and sighs] Well, I guess [00:41:25] we'll definitely see what happens and be [00:41:27] monitoring the the situation. Of course, [00:41:29] you're now with Trump's proclamations [00:41:32] basically like on the because you know [00:41:35] their their target lists are completely [00:41:37] racialized um you know on on the top [00:41:40] now. So, I guess we're kind of we kind [00:41:42] of like to do like activist journalism [00:41:44] around here. Is there any call to action [00:41:46] that you would like to to put out? [00:41:49] >> Uh, yeah. I mean, if if folks want to [00:41:51] follow Afghans for Better Tomorrow on [00:41:53] our our socials, uh, we're going to have [00:41:55] um at least um we're going to be do some [00:41:57] community le defense work specifically [00:42:00] in New York City, maybe other parts of [00:42:01] the country. Uh, so if you want to do uh [00:42:04] ICE watch, uh we welcome that. Um, you [00:42:07] know, you can also do mutual aid for our [00:42:09] impacted community members. That is the [00:42:11] crisis that's impacting our community [00:42:13] members. Um, because, you know, we [00:42:14] talked about this history, um, and and [00:42:17] these individuals and these units, but [00:42:19] right now they are targeting random [00:42:21] people just because they are Afghan. And [00:42:24] so, um, yeah, I would say come visit our [00:42:26] website, our social media, Afghans for [00:42:28] better tomorrow on Instagram. We [00:42:30] areafffans.org is our website. And we'll [00:42:32] have our, um, call to actions, uh, up [00:42:35] top for people. So, um, yeah, whatever. [00:42:37] And it's Giving Tuesday, so if folks are [00:42:40] able to have spare a few dollars, we'd, [00:42:41] uh, more than welcome that. [00:42:43] >> All right, y'all. That, uh, was Arash [00:42:46] Azizada, uh, the executive director of [00:42:48] Afghans for a better tomorrow. Thanks [00:42:50] for, um, coming on here and giving us, [00:42:52] uh, your perspective on this issue. [00:42:54] really appreciate it.