AfPak File: Unpacking The Afghanistan Papers

This week, the Washington Post released a series of documents about the history of the war in Afghanistan, America’s longest-ever foreign war.

It features interviews with many former senior U.S. officials—originally meant to be off the record—chronicling the struggles and failures of the U.S. war effort.

What is the significance of the Afghanistan Papers, and what are the implications for Kabul, Washington, and the Afghan and American people?

The latest episode of The AfPak File addresses these questions and more. It features Christopher Kolenda, a U.S. war veteran who commanded paratroopers in Afghanistan and is a former senior advisor to the Department of Defense; Adam Weinstein, a South Asia analyst who also served as an enlisted soldier in Afghanistan; Sami Mahdi, Kabul bureau chief for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Afghanistan service, locally known as Radio Azadi; and Michael Kugelman, senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center.

Muhammad Tahir, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Media manager moderated the discussion.

This podcast was originally posted at RFE/RL.