The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Archive: Introducing Allies: A Podcast Series from Lawfare and Goat Rodeo
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Dec 14, 2025 Matthew Akins, a journalist who reported from Afghanistan since 2008, shares gripping insights on the chaotic Kabul evacuation in August 2021. He highlights how Afghan interpreters became tragic targets and the crucial role they played for U.S. military operations. The lack of regional expertise before 9/11 and the subsequent reliance on local partners is discussed, revealing the profound implications of the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program failures. Listeners gain a deeper understanding of the complex relationships that shaped U.S. actions in Afghanistan.
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Interpreters Waiting As Kabul Fell
- Matthew Akins describes interpreters waiting years for SIVs while the Taliban closed in and realizing they might be left behind.
- He recounts being at lunch when Kabul fell and seeing Taliban fighters enter the city, illustrating sudden collapse.
Chaos On The Kabul Airport Tarmac
- Crowds flooded the Kabul airport tarmac and people clung to planes, producing chaotic, deadly scenes including people crushed under a C-17.
- Matthew Akins recalls watching Taliban celebrate and hearing intense aircraft noise before the last flight departed.
Bureaucracy Turned Rescue Into Bottleneck
- The SIV program was meant to protect interpreters but bureaucracy turned it into a bottleneck that failed many at the evacuation's climax.
- The Kabul airport chaos was the culmination of two decades of reliance and repeated administrative failures.
