Afghanistan with Roh Yakobi

Sir Rodric Braithwaite is a former British diplomat and author who served as ambassador to the Soviet Union. He has written extensively on Russia and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, including in his acclaimed book Afgantsy. In this interview, he offers a rare insight into how Soviet leaders came to the decision to invade Afghanistan, why the country became strategically significant, the role o...

Sir Rodric Braithwaite is a former British diplomat and author who served as ambassador to the Soviet Union. He has written extensively on Russia and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, including in his acclaimed book, Afgantsy. In this interview, he offers a rare insight into how Soviet leaders came to the decision to invade Afghanistan, why the country became strategically significant, the role...

Steve MacBeth is a former soldier in the Canadian Army and the author of ' No Names, No Packdrill - An Oral History of Canadians at War in Afghanistan '. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan, and in this interview, takes us inside Canada's mission in Afghanistan, talks about his book, and shares his personal reflections and stories. 📺 Watch/Subscribe on YouTube Producer | Host: Roh Yakobi Assi...

General Joseph Votel is a retired U.S. Army four-star general and was the Commander of U.S. Central Command from 2016 to 2019. He led multiple operations in Afghanistan, beginning shortly after the 9/11 attacks. In this second part, he talks about his arrival in the country, how he found the people, their values, and their culture. He also offers a personal reflection on the country’s future, the...

General Joseph Votel is a retired U.S. Army four-star general and Commander of U.S. Central Command from 2016 t0 2019. He led multiple operations in Afghanistan, beginning shortly after the 9/11 attacks. In this first part of the interview, he analyses recent developments in the Middle East, including the role of Iran, the geopolitical situation in South and Central Asia, and assesses the factors...

Dr Jonathan L. Lee is a social and cultural historian and a leading authority on the history of Afghanistan. He lived in Afghanistan and travelled widely across the country for many years. He is the author of The Journals of Edward Stirling in Persia and Afghanistan, 1828-1829, The Ancient Supremacy: Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1731-1901, Amazing Wonders of Afghanistan, and Afgh...

Dr Jonathan L. Lee is a social and cultural historian and a leading authority on the history of Afghanistan. He lived in Afghanistan and travelled widely across the country for many years. He is the author of The Journals of Edward Stirling in Persia and Afghanistan, 1828-1829, The Ancient Supremacy: Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1731-1901, Amazing Wonders of Afghanistan, and Afgh...

Dr Jonathan L. Lee is a social and cultural historian and a leading authority on the history of Afghanistan. He lived in Afghanistan and travelled widely across the country for many years. He is the author of The Journals of Edward Stirling in Persia and Afghanistan, 1828-1829, The Ancient Supremacy: Bukhara, Afghanistan and the Battle for Balkh, 1731-1901, Amazing Wonders of Afghanistan, and Afgh...

Toby Harnden is an award-winning journalist and author of 'Dead Men Risen' and 'First Casualty'. In this second part of the interview, we continue the story of the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif on 9th November 2001. In the days that followed, over 400 captured Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters revolted at Qala-i-Jangi, where they were being held, killing Mike Spann, and Hazara and Uzbek guards. The uprising...

Toby Harnden is an award-winning journalist and author of  Dead Men Risen  and  First Casualty . In this first part of the interview, he shares his story of Afghanistan and the inside story of Team Alpha—a group of eight CIA operatives who landed in the mountains of northern Afghanistan to join the forces of General Abdul Rashid Dostum and begin the war to avenge the 9/11 attacks. T...

رضا سرور یکی از دانش‌آموختگان برنامه‌ی تحصیلی فولبرایت و مدیر پیشین پذیرش در دانشگاه آمریکایی افغانستان و در حال حاضر، دانشجوی دکترای دانشگاه Texas A&M ایالت تگزاس آمریکاست. او تجربه‌ی گسترده‌ در کمک به دانشجویان برای درخواست و دریافت بورسیه‌های تحصیلی در خارج از افغانستان دارد. در این گفت‌وگو، او داستان شخصی خود را به اشتراک می‌گذارد و یک راهنمای جامع برای دستیابی به بورسیه‌های تحصیلی ارائه م...

Shaharzad Akbar is the Executive Director of Rawadari and the former Chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. In this interview, she reflects on and reviews 2024, shares her analysis of the current situation, discusses what the future may hold for Afghanistan in the year ahead, and her expresses hopes for the country, particularly women and girls. 📺 Watch on YouTube Producer:...

Saad Mohseni is the Chairman and CEO of Moby Group, and the author of ' Radio Free Afghanistan '. Born in London, raised in Kabul, Tokyo and Melbourne, Saad Mohseni has been one of the most influential figures in Afghanistan's recent history, transforming Afghanistan and its culture by revolutionising the country's media landscape. In this interview, he shares his remarkable story, how he brought...

General H.R. McMaster served as Donald Trump's National Security Advisor for 14 months during his first term and he formulated America's South Asia Strategy, which Trump abandoned after McMaster's departure. In this interview, he discusses the implications of the second Trump presidency for the world, looks back at the failure in Afghanistan and whether the country will feature in the new administ...

Sune Engel Rasmussen is a Danish journalist and author who lived in Afghanistan, reporting extensively for several international outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian . In this interview, we discuss his book Twenty Years , which offers an unique intimate insight into two decades of Western involvement in Afghanistan, told through the stories and struggles of young men and wom...

Andrew North is an award-winning British journalist and former BBC correspondent in Afghanistan, Iraq, India, and the United States. He lived and reported from Afghanistan throughout two decades of international involvement and visited the country three times after the Taliban’s return, with his last visit resulting in his kidnapping by the group’s intelligence agents. His recently published book,...

Rahmatullah Nabil is an Afghan politician and former intelligence chief. Having lost his father at the age of one, he was raised by his mother, who dedicated her life to him. Nabil left school and joined one of the Mujahideen factions as a teenager. An ambush on Soviet forces, during which he was injured, and the discovery of a handwritten letter belonging to a Soviet soldier, changed his life. Th...

Rahmatullah Nabil is an Afghan politician and former intelligence chief. Having lost his father at the age of one, he was raised by his mother, who dedicated her life to him. Nabil left school and joined one of the Mujahideen factions as a teenager. An ambush on Soviet forces, during which he was injured, and the discovery of a handwritten letter belonging to a Soviet soldier, changed his life. Th...

Sir William Patey is a retired British diplomat with extensive experience in Middle Eastern and South Asian geopolitics. He served as the UK Ambassador to Kabul from 2010 to 2012, following earlier roles as Ambassador to Sudan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. In this interview, he shares his insights and analysis on Afghanistan—discussing what went wrong, what the future may hold, and recounting stories f...

Sir Laurie Bristow, the UK's last ambassador in Kabul, witnessed the disintegration of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul into the hands of the Taliban in August 2021. He is the author of  Kabul: Final Call , which provides an insider's view of the events as they unfolded. In this interview, we discuss the book, Sir Laurie’s reflections on his experiences, and his thoug...

Professor Thomas Barfield is one of the preeminent experts on Afghanistan, having spent over five decades studying and writing on the country. He is the author of 'Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History' and 'Shadow Empires,' among many others.  In this interview, he talks about traveling around Afghanistan for the first time in 1971 and the impact it had on him, his fieldwork in north...

Professor Thomas Barfield is one of the preeminent experts on Afghanistan, having spent over five decades studying and writing on the country. He is the author of 'Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History' and 'Shadow Empires,' among many others.  In this interview, he talks about traveling around Afghanistan for the first time in 1971 and the impact it had on him, his fie...

Artemis Akbary is an LGBTIQ rights activist and the co-founder and Executive Director of the Afghan LGBT Organization (ALO), and a producer/presenter at Radio Ranginkaman. They have spoken and campaigned at various international gatherings about the plight of the LGBTIQ community in Afghanistan. In this moving interview, Artemis shares their personal story, and their harrowing experience of growin...

Thomas Ruttig is a co-founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. He has worked on and in Afghanistan since he graduated in Afghan Studies from Humboldt University, Berlin in 1985: as an East German (GDR) diplomat, including at the GDR Embassy in Kabul (1985-89), as political affairs officer for two United Nations missions in Afghanistan (2000-2003, including as UNSMA head of office Kabul, advise...

Thomas Ruttig is a co-founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. He has worked on and in Afghanistan since he graduated in Afghan Studies from Humboldt University, Berlin in 1985: as an East German (GDR) diplomat, including at the GDR Embassy in Kabul (1985-89), as political affairs officer for two United Nations missions in Afghanistan (2000-2003, including as UNSMA head of office Kabul, advise...