Welcome to AFGHAN DISPATCHES 05 with Professor Sir HEW STRACHAN, School of International Relations, UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS (https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/international-relations/people/shfas) and ChromeRadio's CATRIONA OLIPHANT (https://chromemedia.co.uk/). In this episode, HEW STRACHAN reflects on the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in August 2021, why the West should have seen it coming, and the implications of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan for NATO’s European allies. US foreign policy is now focused mainly on China and the threat in the Asia Pacific. European allies of NATO will need to decide where their own interests lie. A decision which the simmering stand-off with Russia on Ukraine’s borders has brought into sharp focus. MUSIC | National Anthem of Afghanistan (www.navyband.navy.mil/national_anthems.html) PRODUCTION | Producer/Presenter - Catriona Oliphant for ChromeRadio | Post-production - Catriona Oliphant & Chris Sharp.