In 2011, the US killed Osama bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan. As part of that effort, the CIA had used a vaccination campaign as a front to identify where bin Laden was. Pakistani authorities then started cracking down on international NGOs which they suddenly eyed with a lot of suspicion. Some organizations were expelled; others left because they couldn't do their work. And so by the time these floods came, this massive infrastructure had been gutted.
A few weeks into this year’s monsoon season in Pakistan, it became clear that the rains were unlike anything the country had experienced in a long time.
The resulting once-in-a-generation flood has marooned entire villages and killed 1,500 people, leaving a trail of destruction, starvation and disease.
Guest: Christina Goldbaum, an Afghanistan and Pakistan correspondent for The New York Times.
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