Post Reports The Afghanistan Papers, revisited
Aug 20, 2021
Craig Whitlock, an investigative reporter for The Washington Post and author of "The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War," dives deep into the concealed truths of the Afghan conflict. He discusses how revealing interviews with U.S. officials exposed the real failures of the war. The conversation touches on the complex withdrawals, the discrepancies between official narratives and ground realities, and the troubling accountability issues that arose during America's military presence. Whitlock also compares these findings to the Vietnam War's Pentagon Papers.
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Turning the Corner
- Craig Whitlock, having covered the Pentagon, noticed a recurring pattern in Afghanistan.
- Generals consistently claimed progress, using phrases like "turning the corner", despite the war's length.
Unraveling the Narrative
- Secret recordings reveal a stark contrast between public statements and private admissions about the war.
- Officials like Michael Flynn privately acknowledged the war's failures, contradicting the official narrative.
Lessons Learned Project
- The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) initiated a "Lessons Learned" project.
- This aimed to document experiences for future war and reconstruction efforts, involving interviews with key figures.
