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Downloaded from
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YTS.MX
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Okay. Okay.
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Okay, everybody, smile.
It's okay.
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Ladies and gentlemen,
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the President
of the United States.
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How do you prove
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that someone's
not telling the truth?
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So, uh, how's it feel
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being out here in Afghanistan?
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We're making good progress.
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There is progress.
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The progress that Afghanistan
is making is remarkable.
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Progress across all lines
of effort.
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We are making progress.
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We are seeing
significant progress.
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Indisputable progress.
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We're making real progress.
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If the news was good,
we're really making progress.
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If the news was bad, it's like,
well, we had a setback,
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but we're still making progress.
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Progress with the roads
being built,
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so farmers can get product
to market. That's progress.
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Look, I'll be
very real with you.
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There are times when you get
in front of a camera.
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It's not that you're lying,
but you're gonna--
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you're gonna paint
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a pretty good picture
on the pig.
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I remember somebody
who was far wiser than me
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once telling me this.
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The only thing that's classified
in this town is bad news.
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You know, I heard a four-star
in Afghanistan say one time
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it's not about winning,
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it's about the perception
of winning.
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And I thought, what bullshit.
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We are winning.
We are winning.
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We can and will accomplish
this mission.
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Across the board,
we are winning.
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I sincerely believe
we're winning.
I do, too.
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We're on track.
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Every single day, we're making
progress. We're winning.
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The conditions are set
for winning this war.
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Everything changed with a tip
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we had gotten about an interview
that Michael Flynn had given
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to the Special Inspector General
for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
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It wasn't classified,
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but the government
didn't want it getting out.
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Is it all right if we record?
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This is off the record.
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So, if we're doing
such a great job,
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why does it feel like
we're losing?
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You know,
every measurable activity
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is failing.
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The narrative
was completely at odds
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with what the public
had been told.
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We basically know
what we're doing out here.
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We're basically fighting
the wrong way.
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We had to go to court,
and we found out
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there were hundreds
of other interviews like this.
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There were people
who served in uniform,
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diplomats, aid workers,
Afghans, NATO allies.
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There were people who--
If they really speak the truth,
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they'll never get a job
in this town.
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But we could offer
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the protection of giving
anonymity.
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So, it allowed these witnesses
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to actually speak
with a lot more candor.
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You might
not have thought
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things were as bad as they are.
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No, I always
thought they were bad.
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Well, at least it looks good.
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Probably will never work.
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We were never going to succeed.
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Yeah.
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People were basically saying,
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yeah, I was there in 2008,
I was there in 2010.
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And it was a total disaster.
And we told the people.
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But as it went up
the chain,
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all the bad stuff
had been taken out
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or watered down.
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It was like they were talking
about a completely different war
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in a completely
different country.
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No,
that's all we got left.
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That's all we got left?
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Welcome to Afghanistan.
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I'm gonna ask a lot of you
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over the next few weeks
and the next few months,
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and I know you can do it.
I know you're ready.
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Down four, five.
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Run.
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That's the building
they took off out of,
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running that way,
that tree line.
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Split this way.
Hey, get that soldier.
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Don't go any closer!
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No, you know, it became--
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We were there so long.
Let's be honest.
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And part of the reason
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we may be doing a documentary
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is that the American public
doesn't understand.
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A lot of them tuned it out,
you know.
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It was just another--
We had the Afg--
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We had Iraq shoved in there
for the X number of years.
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Um, so it became
sort of the background noise.
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It was a war that was going on.
And the, uh,
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you know, everyone wanted
to be there in '01, '02, '03.
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I like to say, uh,
I won the lottery
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or I got the, uh,
gold ring on the carousel
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when I was selected
to be the deputy of what became
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the Jawbreaker team,
the first team to go in.
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CIA had
a preexisting relationship
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with the Northern Alliance,
which was the...
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the non-Taliban
part of... of Afghanistan,
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a small sliver in the northeast
portion of the country
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that the Taliban
did not control.
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Tonight,
the United States of America
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makes the following demands
on the Taliban.
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Deliver to United States
authorities
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all the leaders of Al-Qaeda
who hide in your land.
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They will hand over
the terrorists...
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or they will share
in their fate.
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They wanted us
to bring bin Laden's head back
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in a hat box on dry ice.
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This is not about revenge.
It's not about retaliation.
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This is about self-defense.
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I don't agree with that.
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The American people
wanted revenge.
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I wanted revenge.
You probably wanted revenge.
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I don't think President Bush
had any other recourse
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to his own constituency
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than to say,
we know it emanated from here.
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There is no government
to deal with to say,
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"Hey, you fix this."
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There's no government
in Afghanistan.
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It's a civil war.
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The big thing we took in
with us was money.
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We took in three million dollars
in cash to help, um,
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get the Northern Alliance,
uh, onside, to work with assets,
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and enable them to prosecute
the campaign that we would need.
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Taliban, Taliban.
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I don't know how
we came up with three million.
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It was enough for the first,
uh, two weeks or so.
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And then we needed more.
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Where is the American Army?
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Where is the American Army?
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Yes.
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Kabul fell, I think,
early November.
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And that really
signaled the end.
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"The Taliban" were routed.
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They had either gone back
into the countryside, hiding,
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or they had retreated
across the border,
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their leadership, into Pakistan.
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On the streets
of an Afghan city,
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life appears to be returning
to normal
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following the fall
of the hardline Islamic regime.
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Yes,
the Taliban were routed.
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I had high hopes
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that Afghanistan would be
a safer place.
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But we had not gotten UBL yet
or Al-Qaeda's senior leadership.
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And I think until we got that,
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no one thought
the mission was over.
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I don't know that.
I don't think he's vanished--
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He's either dead in some tunnel,
or he's alive.
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And if he's alive,
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he's either in Afghanistan,
or he isn't.
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Local Afghan
militia commanders say
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they've overrun a cave
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where they suspect
Osama bin Laden himself
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may have been taking refuge.
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In what must surely be
the closing stages of at least
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the Afghan phase
of this conflict--
Get down!
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So, I got there in, like,
February of '02.
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We land in Kandahar,
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and we're standing
on the airfield.
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The aircraft takes off.
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And a 107 round comes flying
across the... the runway,
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and it hits a mosque
and explodes.
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And I remember my sergeant
major Dave Bruner saying,
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"Well, I guess the...
the Taliban didn't get the memo
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that the war is over."
And it was game on.
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The course
of this conflict is not known.
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Yet its outcome is certain.
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The question at that point
in the war was not,
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"Are we focused on Al-Qaeda?"
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It's,
"How much beyond Al-Qaeda?"
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And one of the first
and most obvious questions
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was this question
of the Taliban.
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There was a tendency
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to kind of aggregate
those two together.
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The Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
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Al-Qaeda
and their Taliban allies...
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Taliban
and its Al-Qaeda allies...
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Arguably, that was, uh,
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making the enemy larger
than it needed to be.
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Afghanistan needs to be
safe and secure...
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friendly to the West,
so that it can never again
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be used as a safe haven
for terrorists.
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I remember
being taken aback
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at how many valleys there were
in the East.
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00:11:09,636 --> 00:11:11,271
Looking out of the helicopter
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00:11:11,338 --> 00:11:14,274
and realizing that, you know,
for every valley we're in,
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00:11:14,708 --> 00:11:17,644
there's, like,
25 or more that we're not.
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They think
they might find safe haven.
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Not if we think they're there.
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That whole occupation
and war was based
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00:11:26,686 --> 00:11:29,322
upon this myth
of the safe haven.
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00:11:30,557 --> 00:11:32,893
How big of a space do you need
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to train and conduct
for a hijacking?
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00:11:39,099 --> 00:11:42,135
I think when I look
at any kind of campaign
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of that magnitude,
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I think you have to have
some foreign policy first.
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And then the foreign policy
drives strategy.
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And as a result of the strategy,
then you have plans.
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I'm not sure we really went
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00:11:54,581 --> 00:11:55,883
through that process.
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00:11:58,418 --> 00:11:59,719
There it goes.
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00:12:02,422 --> 00:12:05,492
Get a good picture of it?
Shit.
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00:12:09,729 --> 00:12:10,697
Duran Duran,
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00:12:10,798 --> 00:12:12,966
"Is There Something
I Should Know?"
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00:12:27,580 --> 00:12:29,416
This war will not be quick.
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00:12:30,417 --> 00:12:31,718
We know this from the history
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00:12:31,819 --> 00:12:33,954
of military conflict
in Afghanistan.
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00:12:35,155 --> 00:12:37,324
It's been one
of initial success...
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00:12:38,892 --> 00:12:41,795
followed by long years
of floundering...
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00:12:42,529 --> 00:12:44,064
and ultimate failure.
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00:12:45,799 --> 00:12:47,767
We're not going
to repeat that mistake.
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00:12:50,603 --> 00:12:54,707
In April of 2002,
Donald Rumsfeld
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dictates out a memo,
a snowflake.
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This was classified at the time,
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00:12:58,278 --> 00:13:00,680
and was later declassified,
saying,
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00:13:00,780 --> 00:13:03,250
"How are we gonna
get out of Afghanistan?"
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00:13:03,550 --> 00:13:06,219
And he ends it with one word,
"Help."
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00:13:06,286 --> 00:13:08,288
Exclamation point.
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00:13:10,123 --> 00:13:10,958
When I added it up,
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00:13:11,358 --> 00:13:13,126
I'm like, "Oh, my God, the date
on this memo he wrote...
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00:13:13,226 --> 00:13:16,263
...was the same day
that Bush gave that speech."
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00:13:17,297 --> 00:13:19,499
You're like, how can this be?
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I mean, it's just--
You couldn't come up
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00:13:21,168 --> 00:13:22,302
with a bigger contrast.
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00:13:23,236 --> 00:13:26,306
We're tough.
We're determined.
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00:13:27,007 --> 00:13:28,608
We're relentless.
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00:13:29,877 --> 00:13:32,379
Six months into the war,
Rumsfeld is saying,
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00:13:32,479 --> 00:13:33,847
"Help!
How do we get out of here?"
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00:13:34,147 --> 00:13:36,083
"We're never gonna get out."
And yet, in public,
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00:13:36,149 --> 00:13:39,819
he's making fun of reporters
who ask him about the quagmire.
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00:13:41,188 --> 00:13:44,925
No, that's, uh, someone else's
business quagmires.
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00:13:44,992 --> 00:13:48,828
I don't do quagmires. Um...
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Early in the war,
we had the upper hand.
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00:14:00,707 --> 00:14:05,412
And we had the opportunity
to leverage that upper hand
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00:14:05,512 --> 00:14:09,716
and that momentum
into some version of an outcome
250
00:14:10,117 --> 00:14:15,722
like a defeated Al-Qaeda
and a mostly surrendered Taliban
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00:14:15,822 --> 00:14:17,524
with some elements
of a political...
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00:14:18,525 --> 00:14:20,493
settlement with some conditions.
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00:14:24,497 --> 00:14:25,899
We rejected that deal.
254
00:14:26,033 --> 00:14:27,935
Nine five tango, over.
255
00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:02,970
So, now all of a sudden...
256
00:15:03,937 --> 00:15:07,440
we're gonna take
this destroyed status quo,
257
00:15:07,874 --> 00:15:09,542
this power vacuum,
258
00:15:09,642 --> 00:15:10,677
and we're gonna fill it
259
00:15:10,777 --> 00:15:13,346
with Western
styled institutions.
260
00:15:16,516 --> 00:15:19,652
The conflict is entering
a new phase. The president
261
00:15:19,752 --> 00:15:23,223
instructed USAID
to begin reconstruction work
262
00:15:23,290 --> 00:15:25,592
in stable and peaceful areas
of the country
263
00:15:25,692 --> 00:15:27,427
that are free of terrorists,
264
00:15:28,095 --> 00:15:30,563
reconstruction of wells,
of the irrigation system,
265
00:15:30,663 --> 00:15:32,332
of agriculture, of roads.
266
00:15:48,181 --> 00:15:50,750
We're gonna raise
an Afghan national army.
267
00:15:50,817 --> 00:15:52,119
We're gonna raise
a police force.
268
00:15:52,219 --> 00:15:54,921
We're gonna have
14-plus ministries.
269
00:15:54,988 --> 00:15:57,690
We're gonna have
federal government in Kabul.
270
00:15:57,790 --> 00:15:59,292
We're gonna have
provincial government.
271
00:15:59,392 --> 00:16:00,627
We're gonna have
local government.
272
00:16:00,727 --> 00:16:02,629
We're gonna have
a judicial system.
273
00:16:03,463 --> 00:16:05,432
We're gonna revamp
the prison system.
274
00:16:05,498 --> 00:16:07,134
We're gonna rebuild the police.
275
00:16:09,169 --> 00:16:11,504
Mr. President, you've said
on repeated occasions
276
00:16:11,638 --> 00:16:13,306
that you're not
into nation building.
277
00:16:13,406 --> 00:16:14,774
I don't think our troops
ought to be used
278
00:16:14,874 --> 00:16:16,343
for what's called
nation building.
279
00:16:16,443 --> 00:16:18,978
The so-called nation building,
I would call it
280
00:16:19,079 --> 00:16:21,181
the stabilization
of a future government.
281
00:16:22,649 --> 00:16:26,953
Uh, nation building
was kind of the pejorative term
282
00:16:27,054 --> 00:16:28,188
for the maximalist view
283
00:16:28,288 --> 00:16:30,157
of the counterinsurgency
campaign, right?
284
00:16:30,257 --> 00:16:35,795
That it was not enough to defeat
the Taliban militarily.
285
00:16:36,129 --> 00:16:37,664
You needed to build
286
00:16:37,764 --> 00:16:40,600
those civilian elements
of governance,
287
00:16:40,867 --> 00:16:42,902
those pieces
of infrastructure...
288
00:16:44,304 --> 00:16:47,674
so that the rest
of the Afghan citizens
289
00:16:48,141 --> 00:16:50,643
would find reason
to buy into that government.
290
00:16:50,743 --> 00:16:52,545
They would see
the services that it'd provide.
291
00:16:52,679 --> 00:16:54,147
Their life would get better.
292
00:16:56,416 --> 00:16:58,451
The United States
doesn't cut and run.
293
00:16:58,951 --> 00:17:00,887
We keep our commitments.
294
00:17:02,989 --> 00:17:04,757
It's in our national interest...
295
00:17:05,492 --> 00:17:07,227
that the work
you're doing here...
296
00:17:08,061 --> 00:17:10,797
the work of helping the Afghans
develop a democracy,
297
00:17:10,897 --> 00:17:12,865
it's in the interests
of your children
298
00:17:12,999 --> 00:17:14,701
and your grandchildren.
299
00:17:15,102 --> 00:17:16,603
Covering it,
you sort of get the sense
300
00:17:16,703 --> 00:17:18,605
that maybe there is debate
over what strategy
301
00:17:18,705 --> 00:17:20,073
or what they're hoping
to accomplish.
302
00:17:20,207 --> 00:17:22,875
But in these interviews,
they admit openly
303
00:17:23,009 --> 00:17:25,044
that they didn't have
a strategy.
304
00:17:25,712 --> 00:17:27,914
They couldn't agree
on a strategy.
305
00:17:28,815 --> 00:17:32,352
There was no consensus
on what the objectives were.
306
00:17:33,386 --> 00:17:34,721
We tried to establish,
307
00:17:34,821 --> 00:17:36,923
and I think
every commander over there
308
00:17:37,257 --> 00:17:39,392
has tried to establish metrics,
309
00:17:39,892 --> 00:17:42,995
measures of effectiveness
or measures of success.
310
00:17:43,596 --> 00:17:45,031
The experience
in Afghanistan
311
00:17:45,098 --> 00:17:46,833
has absolutely made it clear
that just putting up
312
00:17:46,933 --> 00:17:48,435
a bunch of schools
isn't going to do anything.
313
00:17:48,568 --> 00:17:49,902
Right.
So...
314
00:17:50,036 --> 00:17:53,106
How many schools were built
in the last 60 days?
315
00:17:54,907 --> 00:17:55,942
Interesting.
316
00:18:01,314 --> 00:18:04,717
You build the structure,
you build the thing.
317
00:18:04,784 --> 00:18:06,719
But if you don't have
the teachers,
318
00:18:06,819 --> 00:18:08,521
if you don't have the supplies,
319
00:18:08,955 --> 00:18:11,258
and, most importantly,
if you don't have the security
320
00:18:11,391 --> 00:18:13,025
of the locals that are willing
321
00:18:13,092 --> 00:18:14,794
to send their children
to that school...
322
00:18:15,595 --> 00:18:18,298
you have this thing
that you built.
323
00:18:20,099 --> 00:18:22,135
That's not what
the Afghan people want.
324
00:18:23,102 --> 00:18:24,070
People of Afghanistan,
325
00:18:24,137 --> 00:18:25,538
just take a look
at this building.
326
00:18:26,038 --> 00:18:29,876
It's a big, solid,
permanent structure.
327
00:18:31,344 --> 00:18:34,214
We thought
the more money we throw at it,
328
00:18:34,814 --> 00:18:35,815
the sooner we'll win.
329
00:18:35,948 --> 00:18:37,850
This was one
of the metrics even.
330
00:18:38,117 --> 00:18:40,353
How quickly can you spend money?
331
00:18:40,953 --> 00:18:42,289
We've been able to put in wells.
332
00:18:42,389 --> 00:18:44,123
We've been able
to build schools.
333
00:18:44,224 --> 00:18:45,858
We've been able
to put in new clinics.
334
00:18:45,958 --> 00:18:47,494
Five hundred
and twenty-five schools...
335
00:18:47,594 --> 00:18:48,961
Three thousand, four hundred
and six projects,
336
00:18:49,095 --> 00:18:51,831
reaching more
than two million people.
337
00:18:52,832 --> 00:18:55,202
Kids are in school.
They're learning right now.
338
00:18:55,302 --> 00:18:57,504
And you can see that
with your eyes.
339
00:18:57,637 --> 00:18:59,206
That's visible progress
right there.
340
00:19:01,508 --> 00:19:03,976
Building schools
resonates with Americans.
341
00:19:04,844 --> 00:19:06,579
Elections, women's rights,
342
00:19:06,679 --> 00:19:09,182
those all resonate
with Americans.
343
00:19:09,816 --> 00:19:11,818
You get-- Find political clout
344
00:19:11,951 --> 00:19:14,053
back in this country
to support that.
345
00:19:19,526 --> 00:19:22,795
The appropriations cycle
is based on success.
346
00:19:23,363 --> 00:19:25,432
Do you wanna be
the head of an agency
347
00:19:25,532 --> 00:19:26,599
that comes in and says,
348
00:19:26,699 --> 00:19:28,368
"Well, you know
that 100 million dollars,
349
00:19:28,468 --> 00:19:31,271
we wasted it all.
We didn't accomplish anything."
350
00:19:31,338 --> 00:19:33,340
You think you're gonna get
that appropriations?
351
00:19:36,075 --> 00:19:37,043
There were statistics
352
00:19:37,176 --> 00:19:40,480
about life expectancy
in Afghanistan.
353
00:19:41,113 --> 00:19:42,515
And we actually
couldn't believe it.
354
00:19:42,615 --> 00:19:44,851
So, we went over
and we talked to the CIA,
355
00:19:44,951 --> 00:19:45,952
who does a lot of analysis.
356
00:19:46,052 --> 00:19:49,121
They said
it is statistically impossible
357
00:19:49,222 --> 00:19:53,025
to increase the life expectancy
over that time frame.
358
00:19:53,460 --> 00:19:56,996
Which is hard to start
with anyway in Afghanistan,
359
00:19:57,096 --> 00:19:58,265
since they don't have a census!
360
00:19:58,365 --> 00:20:00,867
They don't know
how many Afghans are alive!
361
00:20:02,168 --> 00:20:04,103
You know, what's the old saying?
362
00:20:04,371 --> 00:20:07,274
Statistics don't lie,
but liars use statistics.
363
00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:09,876
We're also working
to educate people,
364
00:20:10,209 --> 00:20:13,012
build roads,
provide good health care.
365
00:20:14,581 --> 00:20:16,849
They literally couldn't
think of enough projects
366
00:20:16,916 --> 00:20:18,585
to spend the money on.
367
00:20:19,286 --> 00:20:21,288
We bought half a billion dollars
368
00:20:21,388 --> 00:20:23,189
worth of airplanes
from the Italians
369
00:20:23,290 --> 00:20:24,891
that couldn't fly,
370
00:20:25,558 --> 00:20:29,996
uniforms for the Afghan military
to use in forest lands.
371
00:20:30,096 --> 00:20:31,931
Well, you've been
to Afghanistan.
372
00:20:32,031 --> 00:20:33,600
It's mostly a desert.
373
00:20:34,100 --> 00:20:36,669
They were gonna create
a soy industry!
374
00:20:37,236 --> 00:20:38,505
They don't eat soy...
375
00:20:38,571 --> 00:20:41,073
...but we're trying
to create an industry.
376
00:20:42,609 --> 00:20:45,512
Sexy Italian goats,
they put on a plane,
377
00:20:45,578 --> 00:20:48,615
fly them to Afghanistan
to have sex
378
00:20:48,748 --> 00:20:52,485
with probably
less sexy Afghan goats.
379
00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:54,554
There was no success,
380
00:20:54,654 --> 00:20:57,256
other than they spent
a billion dollars.
381
00:20:59,058 --> 00:21:02,228
It was very uncomfortable
getting to Afghanistan
382
00:21:02,295 --> 00:21:06,599
and looking at these, uh,
half complete projects,
383
00:21:07,300 --> 00:21:10,670
just knowing
this isn't gonna work.
384
00:21:11,904 --> 00:21:13,973
U.S. government spending
so much money
385
00:21:14,073 --> 00:21:16,343
on certain sweetheart contracts.
386
00:21:17,176 --> 00:21:18,745
You had generals
who then go to work
387
00:21:18,811 --> 00:21:21,681
for contractors
after they leave the military.
388
00:21:24,317 --> 00:21:26,986
The joke, of course,
is that it's not a joke,
389
00:21:27,086 --> 00:21:28,555
it's pretty tragic.
390
00:21:29,422 --> 00:21:30,222
The saying, though,
391
00:21:30,523 --> 00:21:33,092
is that reconstruction
was unsuccessful in Iraq,
392
00:21:33,159 --> 00:21:35,094
and it was unsuccessful
in Afghanistan,
393
00:21:35,161 --> 00:21:37,163
but it was very successful
in Northern Virginia,
394
00:21:37,263 --> 00:21:38,965
and very successful in Maryland.
395
00:21:39,065 --> 00:21:42,068
And anyone who knows that area
knows what I'm talking about.
396
00:21:42,669 --> 00:21:45,738
The growth of the defense
and weapons industries,
397
00:21:45,805 --> 00:21:47,807
and then everything
that's ancillary to that,
398
00:21:47,907 --> 00:21:50,743
all the hotels, the banks,
the apartment complexes.
399
00:21:51,544 --> 00:21:53,279
We're spending
300 million dollars
400
00:21:53,380 --> 00:21:54,714
a day for 20 years.
401
00:21:56,383 --> 00:21:57,650
So, all of these things
402
00:21:58,117 --> 00:22:01,588
create this incredibly
horrific condition
403
00:22:01,821 --> 00:22:06,025
for endless war
where everyone is benefiting.
404
00:22:44,697 --> 00:22:48,367
I would say what told me
that we weren't winning
405
00:22:48,468 --> 00:22:50,537
it was that the security
in the country
406
00:22:50,637 --> 00:22:52,038
was not getting any better.
407
00:22:52,805 --> 00:22:55,975
From the time in 2002
to the evacuation,
408
00:22:56,075 --> 00:22:57,810
I think I was
in Afghanistan every year.
409
00:22:58,210 --> 00:23:00,312
And each time I went back,
the security situation
410
00:23:00,379 --> 00:23:03,049
didn't seem as good as it was
the last time I was there.
411
00:23:03,783 --> 00:23:06,018
I said, not really sure
we're doing the right thing.
412
00:23:06,085 --> 00:23:07,554
I'm...
413
00:23:08,287 --> 00:23:09,388
pleased with the progress
414
00:23:09,489 --> 00:23:11,057
that we're making
in Afghanistan.
415
00:23:11,190 --> 00:23:13,626
I mean, there is no such thing
as a Taliban.
416
00:23:14,594 --> 00:23:17,029
We have liberated,
literally liberated,
417
00:23:17,096 --> 00:23:18,197
village after village.
418
00:23:18,965 --> 00:23:21,768
It's bullshit.
We've built more schools.
419
00:23:21,901 --> 00:23:23,770
We've got more cars on the road.
420
00:23:24,170 --> 00:23:25,104
You know, really?
421
00:23:25,538 --> 00:23:28,841
Afghanistan is really
better today than it was?
422
00:23:30,477 --> 00:23:35,482
So many senior people,
as well as mid-level people,
423
00:23:35,948 --> 00:23:37,817
basically said...
424
00:23:38,985 --> 00:23:40,319
we're losing.
425
00:23:40,887 --> 00:23:45,057
I kind of wish some of them
had said it, you know, publicly.
426
00:23:45,124 --> 00:23:47,960
Uh, but I understand
why they didn't,
427
00:23:48,495 --> 00:23:50,663
because they would've
lost their job.
428
00:23:50,997 --> 00:23:52,665
We are not losing it,
429
00:23:53,332 --> 00:23:56,503
and, uh, the enemy cannot win.
430
00:23:57,069 --> 00:23:58,237
You said you are not losing.
431
00:23:58,304 --> 00:24:00,206
Are you saying
that you are winning?
432
00:24:04,477 --> 00:24:05,745
You hear that time and again
433
00:24:05,812 --> 00:24:08,414
that everybody says in public
we're winning the war.
434
00:24:08,481 --> 00:24:10,717
But over there,
it's clear we're not winning.
435
00:24:10,817 --> 00:24:14,420
You know, that at the low level,
it's all bad news.
436
00:24:14,521 --> 00:24:16,188
And by the time
it comes out the top,
437
00:24:16,322 --> 00:24:17,790
at the Pentagon
or the White House,
438
00:24:17,890 --> 00:24:19,058
it's all rosy.
439
00:24:19,158 --> 00:24:20,527
Out of the despe--
Out of the kind
440
00:24:20,660 --> 00:24:21,561
of the desperate straits
441
00:24:21,894 --> 00:24:24,296
that the Afghan people
found themselves, is now, uh...
442
00:24:24,631 --> 00:24:25,865
...a, you know,
443
00:24:25,998 --> 00:24:28,835
a welcoming society
beginning to grow.
444
00:24:29,335 --> 00:24:31,538
How exciting. I mean, it's...
445
00:24:31,638 --> 00:24:33,673
it's something good
that we're here,
446
00:24:33,773 --> 00:24:35,241
or it's bad that we're here,
or what?
447
00:24:35,341 --> 00:24:38,678
No, it's good.
It's a good friend.
448
00:24:39,378 --> 00:24:41,413
We used to call it
kites and balloons.
449
00:24:41,681 --> 00:24:44,350
Anytime we saw a report
that showed a picture of a kid
450
00:24:44,450 --> 00:24:45,618
with a kite or a balloon,
451
00:24:45,685 --> 00:24:47,587
we knew it was gonna be
a BS report.
452
00:24:47,687 --> 00:24:49,822
It was just going
to be happy talk.
453
00:24:49,889 --> 00:24:51,591
Boys flying kites again.
454
00:24:54,561 --> 00:24:57,229
The Taliban no longer has its,
455
00:24:57,363 --> 00:25:00,032
uh, totalitarian grip
on this country.
456
00:25:00,667 --> 00:25:03,335
Um, we are winning this war.
457
00:25:04,270 --> 00:25:06,372
There are a lot of places
where I will tell you
458
00:25:06,472 --> 00:25:07,907
we did make it a better place.
459
00:25:08,407 --> 00:25:10,577
I mean,
you go to the big cities,
460
00:25:11,077 --> 00:25:13,012
you saw open bazaars.
461
00:25:13,112 --> 00:25:14,881
You saw people making money.
462
00:25:15,314 --> 00:25:17,750
And the Afghans
I knew were really happy.
463
00:25:21,020 --> 00:25:24,090
But it never, ever came
out of my lips, saying,
464
00:25:24,223 --> 00:25:25,792
"Hey, we're winning this thing,
465
00:25:26,292 --> 00:25:28,494
or I can see the light
at the end of the tunnel."
466
00:25:28,595 --> 00:25:30,863
I never did see the light
at the end of the tunnel.
467
00:25:30,963 --> 00:25:32,198
Over there!
468
00:25:32,298 --> 00:25:34,133
Where... where?
Tell me, sir. Tell me.
469
00:25:40,773 --> 00:25:44,276
The Pentagon would talk
about the number of attacks,
470
00:25:44,376 --> 00:25:47,213
enemy attacks.
And for a while, you'd think,
471
00:25:47,313 --> 00:25:49,749
"Okay, fewer enemy attacks,
the better, right?"
472
00:25:49,849 --> 00:25:52,418
The roadside bomb attacks
doubling last year.
473
00:25:52,719 --> 00:25:54,954
Suicide attacks
quintupled last year.
474
00:25:55,054 --> 00:25:57,590
No, no, no, that shows
the war is going well
475
00:25:57,724 --> 00:25:59,792
because we're taking
the fight to the enemy
476
00:25:59,892 --> 00:26:01,527
so they're firing
more shots at us.
477
00:26:01,594 --> 00:26:05,097
I think the Haqqani network is
getting a little bit desperate.
478
00:26:05,197 --> 00:26:06,132
They've, uh, stooped down
479
00:26:06,265 --> 00:26:08,100
to use females
as suicide bombers.
480
00:26:08,601 --> 00:26:09,535
The staggering rate
481
00:26:09,636 --> 00:26:11,537
of civilian casualties
is proof to us
482
00:26:11,871 --> 00:26:13,439
of the callous
and indiscriminate
483
00:26:13,539 --> 00:26:15,642
nature of the Taliban
terrorists.
484
00:26:16,275 --> 00:26:18,444
You know, without a question,
485
00:26:18,544 --> 00:26:21,247
that what the public is going
to be exposed to
486
00:26:21,580 --> 00:26:24,917
is going to be necessarily
biased in the positive.
487
00:26:25,284 --> 00:26:27,119
There's no other way
to go into war.
488
00:26:27,654 --> 00:26:30,857
No nation is going to allow
the narrative
489
00:26:31,490 --> 00:26:33,159
to be completely transparent,
490
00:26:33,292 --> 00:26:35,561
particularly when things
are going in the negative...
491
00:26:35,895 --> 00:26:38,530
because the second
you do that...
492
00:26:39,565 --> 00:26:41,167
you surrender to the enemy.
493
00:26:41,300 --> 00:26:43,970
You authorized to smile in here?
494
00:26:44,070 --> 00:26:45,571
Um...
495
00:26:45,838 --> 00:26:49,041
Are there times
you... you say to yourself,
496
00:26:49,375 --> 00:26:50,409
"Maybe I was a little bit
497
00:26:50,476 --> 00:26:53,780
too upbeat
about that assessment?" Sure.
498
00:26:55,547 --> 00:26:58,150
But if I say
we are making progress
499
00:26:58,284 --> 00:27:00,953
on growing
the Afghan National Army,
500
00:27:01,654 --> 00:27:03,723
and here are some indicators...
501
00:27:05,624 --> 00:27:08,828
but I know in my mind
we got a long way to go.
502
00:27:09,962 --> 00:27:11,097
That's not lying.
503
00:27:12,398 --> 00:27:13,933
I don't feel that's lying.
504
00:27:14,366 --> 00:27:15,802
The glass is half full.
505
00:27:15,902 --> 00:27:19,038
There is progress
in many areas of Afghanistan.
506
00:27:19,872 --> 00:27:23,042
I think I understood
why we as a headquarters
507
00:27:23,175 --> 00:27:26,478
and myself were doing that to...
508
00:27:28,247 --> 00:27:31,951
uh, get the resource support
that we thought we needed.
509
00:27:32,484 --> 00:27:34,453
General McKiernan
is briefing me on...
510
00:27:35,387 --> 00:27:37,389
the situation in Afghanistan...
511
00:27:38,590 --> 00:27:39,926
what he's gonna need
to make sure
512
00:27:40,026 --> 00:27:43,896
that we continue helping
this young democracy succeed.
513
00:27:44,797 --> 00:27:47,099
When you're in a country
that has a literacy rate
514
00:27:47,599 --> 00:27:49,601
of maybe 30 percent...
515
00:27:50,569 --> 00:27:52,304
when the average life span is--
516
00:27:52,371 --> 00:27:54,941
When I get there,
it's 43 years old.
517
00:27:56,075 --> 00:27:59,145
When 75 percent of the people
that live in Afghanistan
518
00:27:59,245 --> 00:28:01,748
have been at war
their entire life,
519
00:28:02,348 --> 00:28:05,351
when there is no
government structure...
520
00:28:07,019 --> 00:28:10,923
how do you-- how do you think
you're going to win
521
00:28:11,390 --> 00:28:13,793
or create success
522
00:28:14,226 --> 00:28:18,464
short of generational, uh,
measurements? I mean...
523
00:28:19,165 --> 00:28:21,100
Ultimately,
the solution in Afghanistan
524
00:28:21,233 --> 00:28:22,769
is going to be
a political solution,
525
00:28:22,902 --> 00:28:24,303
not a military solution.
526
00:28:24,403 --> 00:28:26,672
Uh, we're not gonna run
out of bad guys there
527
00:28:26,739 --> 00:28:28,941
that want to do bad things
in Afghanistan.
528
00:28:29,441 --> 00:28:30,743
Coming up! Coming up!
529
00:28:30,843 --> 00:28:32,912
Come on, come on, come on,
come on, come on!
530
00:28:33,245 --> 00:28:35,081
Right there.
Let's go!
531
00:28:38,818 --> 00:28:41,520
Coming up, coming up!
Come on, come on!
532
00:28:42,121 --> 00:28:43,622
Officials were under pressure
533
00:28:43,722 --> 00:28:45,157
to report only good news...
534
00:28:45,992 --> 00:28:49,295
so you would look
on the latest assessment report,
535
00:28:49,595 --> 00:28:50,963
and you'd see, well,
that district,
536
00:28:51,097 --> 00:28:52,832
it's colored that we control it.
537
00:28:54,967 --> 00:28:58,037
But you go out to these
small little outposts...
538
00:29:00,706 --> 00:29:02,074
and there'd being a lieutenant,
you know,
539
00:29:02,174 --> 00:29:04,777
so a kid who's 23, 24,
25 years old,
540
00:29:04,877 --> 00:29:07,613
and he'd have 30
or 40 American troops,
541
00:29:07,713 --> 00:29:09,949
maybe about the same amount
of number of Afghan troops,
542
00:29:10,049 --> 00:29:12,952
maybe less.
543
00:29:13,419 --> 00:29:14,854
And you'd ask them,
544
00:29:14,954 --> 00:29:16,823
what part of this district
do you control?
545
00:29:18,925 --> 00:29:21,260
And they'd say,
I can control what's in the line
546
00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:23,863
of sight of my machine guns.
You know? That'd be it.
547
00:29:23,963 --> 00:29:25,998
And you'd hear that over
and over and over again.
548
00:29:28,100 --> 00:29:31,337
And you saw
the impossibility of the task
549
00:29:31,470 --> 00:29:34,673
put to the U.S. and NATO troops.
550
00:29:36,108 --> 00:29:37,643
Go in, win hearts and minds.
551
00:29:37,776 --> 00:29:40,813
And, you know, I...
Use tons and tons of troops.
552
00:29:41,180 --> 00:29:42,849
you know, I mean,
I think that...
553
00:29:43,682 --> 00:29:45,617
it's sort of willfully naive.
554
00:29:46,252 --> 00:29:48,387
So, if it's not
sustainable, should we do it?
555
00:29:51,223 --> 00:29:53,025
I love it.
I like helping the people out.
556
00:29:53,459 --> 00:29:56,028
They need our help, so I'm here
to pull security for them.
557
00:29:59,298 --> 00:30:01,467
There was this one
oral history interview
558
00:30:01,567 --> 00:30:03,169
with an Army soldier.
559
00:30:03,269 --> 00:30:05,637
And he said, you know,
think about it.
560
00:30:06,138 --> 00:30:07,373
We come into their province
561
00:30:07,473 --> 00:30:08,941
where they've never
seen foreigners.
562
00:30:09,041 --> 00:30:12,144
They don't have airports.
We come in, and we look like
563
00:30:12,244 --> 00:30:15,514
stormtroopers in Star Wars,
right? We're all kitted out.
564
00:30:15,647 --> 00:30:17,616
We've got sunglasses,
and helmets,
565
00:30:17,683 --> 00:30:19,251
and radio antennae
566
00:30:19,351 --> 00:30:21,220
sticking out of our head,
and guns.
567
00:30:21,353 --> 00:30:24,456
You know, no wonder
there was this hostility.
568
00:30:32,631 --> 00:30:33,432
Like, there were nice guys.
569
00:30:33,532 --> 00:30:34,867
Like, you joke, like,
it's collegial.
570
00:30:34,967 --> 00:30:36,002
And kind when, like,
571
00:30:36,102 --> 00:30:37,636
the village comes together
and shit. But I...
572
00:30:37,736 --> 00:30:39,505
I wasn't a part of their life,
and they weren't a part of mine.
573
00:30:39,571 --> 00:30:40,672
I was wearing body armor,
574
00:30:40,739 --> 00:30:42,541
and a big fucking rifle
and sunglasses.
575
00:30:42,741 --> 00:30:45,211
And, you know,
they were harvesting poppy.
576
00:30:45,844 --> 00:30:48,514
It's just different worlds.
I don't know who the enemy is,
577
00:30:48,614 --> 00:30:49,548
and I certainly didn't
at the time.
578
00:30:49,681 --> 00:30:50,883
I need you guys to tell me
579
00:30:50,983 --> 00:30:52,952
when people bring these
into your village.
580
00:30:57,924 --> 00:31:02,128
Shame on you if you follow
foreign... foreign leaders
581
00:31:02,228 --> 00:31:04,030
that come here and talk you
582
00:31:04,130 --> 00:31:06,065
into fighting
against your own country,
583
00:31:06,198 --> 00:31:07,934
and they do nothing for you.
584
00:31:09,868 --> 00:31:12,171
I would go out, like,
hoping to be shot at.
585
00:31:13,172 --> 00:31:15,541
If we had snipers out
and hide somewhere,
586
00:31:15,607 --> 00:31:18,010
we would be told to patrol
in certain areas
587
00:31:18,077 --> 00:31:19,778
where it was likely
that we would get shot at,
588
00:31:19,878 --> 00:31:21,413
so that these guys
could get them.
589
00:31:21,547 --> 00:31:23,482
It's like, well,
we're creating the conditions
590
00:31:23,916 --> 00:31:25,417
under which
this is gonna happen.
591
00:31:26,318 --> 00:31:27,987
This is the exact spot
that we were...
592
00:31:28,087 --> 00:31:29,956
...when we got hit
last time so...
593
00:31:33,025 --> 00:31:34,426
When you do these
presence patrols,
594
00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:36,395
we sometimes call them,
like, bait patrols,
595
00:31:36,495 --> 00:31:37,696
recon patrols,
all those types of things,
596
00:31:37,763 --> 00:31:38,897
you're not moving
towards something.
597
00:31:39,098 --> 00:31:41,133
You don't have an objective
or the enemy is here, right?
598
00:31:44,036 --> 00:31:45,104
It's not like they were
trying to, like,
599
00:31:45,204 --> 00:31:46,605
punch a hole in the line.
600
00:31:49,308 --> 00:31:52,544
You're walking around, like,
kind of hoping to get shot at.
601
00:31:56,082 --> 00:31:58,584
And they were shooting us
because we were walking around.
602
00:31:58,684 --> 00:32:00,386
Yeah, he's right fucking there!
603
00:32:00,719 --> 00:32:02,454
Hey, he's still in there!
604
00:32:06,925 --> 00:32:08,894
The counterinsurgency
principle was,
605
00:32:09,328 --> 00:32:11,397
of course, you're gonna put
these troops...
606
00:32:11,998 --> 00:32:14,633
into these areas, and they'll be
met with resistance,
607
00:32:14,733 --> 00:32:16,335
and we'll take casualties.
608
00:32:17,003 --> 00:32:19,138
At some point,
you're supposed to degrade
609
00:32:19,238 --> 00:32:21,507
the Taliban's ability
to conduct operations.
610
00:32:22,174 --> 00:32:25,077
At some point, our casualties
start to come down.
611
00:32:25,177 --> 00:32:27,679
And all we ever saw
was the opposite.
612
00:32:32,351 --> 00:32:33,685
I got him!
613
00:32:33,785 --> 00:32:36,022
Line three, Doc.
Bravo, Charlie.
614
00:32:58,810 --> 00:33:01,613
We'd been shot at
since we got there.
615
00:33:03,049 --> 00:33:04,550
And we saw them well before it,
616
00:33:04,683 --> 00:33:06,118
so we got to start
maneuvering on them.
617
00:33:06,385 --> 00:33:08,920
It took about three hours
of kind of shadow dancing.
618
00:33:09,355 --> 00:33:11,823
Eventually we kind of
outmaneuvered them
619
00:33:11,923 --> 00:33:13,125
and trapped them
against the river.
620
00:33:13,425 --> 00:33:15,527
And enough of the townspeople,
we thought,
621
00:33:15,627 --> 00:33:17,729
had gotten out of the way, um,
622
00:33:18,064 --> 00:33:19,898
that we were able to get
some air on station.
623
00:33:20,232 --> 00:33:22,401
Big higher-up sent us down
two A10s,
624
00:33:22,501 --> 00:33:23,502
so we could kill these dudes.
625
00:33:23,569 --> 00:33:24,670
And the...
626
00:33:25,371 --> 00:33:27,906
A10s come in the first time,
it's fucking amazing.
627
00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:29,441
It's the coolest thing
you've seen.
628
00:33:34,580 --> 00:33:37,816
After that first run,
they ended up doing six total.
629
00:33:37,916 --> 00:33:40,186
But after that first one,
after the ground explodes,
630
00:33:40,519 --> 00:33:41,753
we thought everybody
had gotten out.
631
00:33:41,887 --> 00:33:43,021
And like,
a million fucking people pop out
632
00:33:43,089 --> 00:33:44,523
from behind this little berm
where they are
633
00:33:44,590 --> 00:33:46,358
and start fucking sprinting, right?
634
00:33:47,726 --> 00:33:49,228
The guy behind me
who's in charge of me
635
00:33:49,328 --> 00:33:52,898
kind of said, "Hey, see that guy
in white, fucking..." you know.
636
00:33:52,998 --> 00:33:54,200
I said, yeah.
Then he disappears.
637
00:33:54,266 --> 00:33:56,602
Then, hey, he pops up again,
fucking kill that dude.
638
00:33:56,935 --> 00:33:58,904
Fuck, here we go.
This is-- this is it.
639
00:33:59,004 --> 00:34:00,206
This is my chance
to do the thing.
640
00:34:00,272 --> 00:34:02,308
I was getting ready, like,
this is the perfect moment.
641
00:34:02,408 --> 00:34:05,111
I dreamed about killing people
for, you know, three years.
642
00:34:05,211 --> 00:34:06,578
I had prepared for it.
643
00:34:06,678 --> 00:34:10,149
So, anyway, he popped up again,
and I'm tracking him,
644
00:34:10,249 --> 00:34:11,983
but I'm looking for a gun
in his hands.
645
00:34:12,251 --> 00:34:14,052
I really wanted to, like
before I pull the trigger,
646
00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:15,287
I just wanna make sure
that this was, like,
647
00:34:15,387 --> 00:34:17,123
one of the fighters
that we were doing.
648
00:34:17,223 --> 00:34:19,425
And at 440, even with
a high-powered scope, like,
649
00:34:19,558 --> 00:34:21,793
you know,
you see colors and blobs.
650
00:34:22,794 --> 00:34:23,929
So I go, fuck, man, like,
651
00:34:24,029 --> 00:34:25,297
"Does he have
a fucking gun or not?"
652
00:34:25,431 --> 00:34:27,133
And he disappears again.
I'm like, fuck.
653
00:34:27,233 --> 00:34:28,600
Like, I just missed this chance
to kill this dude.
654
00:34:28,734 --> 00:34:30,436
Like, what if I don't
have that chance again?
655
00:34:30,536 --> 00:34:31,903
Well, he fucking said
to kill him,
656
00:34:31,970 --> 00:34:33,472
so I've got an order.
So, like, regardless,
657
00:34:33,605 --> 00:34:34,873
and we're in this fucking
combat scenario,
658
00:34:34,973 --> 00:34:37,008
so it's all good. Um...
659
00:34:38,977 --> 00:34:41,213
he pops up again,
and he's like...
660
00:34:42,181 --> 00:34:45,083
covering his, like... It--
Like, what I--
661
00:34:45,151 --> 00:34:46,985
In my head,
it's his wife and kid,
662
00:34:47,085 --> 00:34:48,287
I don't know.
It looked like a woman
663
00:34:48,387 --> 00:34:49,255
and a fucking small child.
664
00:34:49,355 --> 00:34:51,257
And it's just a guy
who lived around there.
665
00:34:51,357 --> 00:34:54,793
Um, and he was just upset that,
you know, or scared
666
00:34:54,893 --> 00:34:56,128
because these fucking
big-ass planes
667
00:34:56,228 --> 00:34:59,265
had just dropped a bunch
of 30 mike-mike into his world,
668
00:34:59,365 --> 00:35:02,168
um, on a weird fucking,
whatever, Friday afternoon.
669
00:35:02,668 --> 00:35:03,835
Um...
670
00:35:04,803 --> 00:35:06,372
so that was this moment of,
like...
671
00:35:07,339 --> 00:35:09,107
personal reflection,
because the truth is, like,
672
00:35:09,208 --> 00:35:10,342
I could've fucking popped
the guy
673
00:35:10,442 --> 00:35:12,110
the first time I had him, right?
674
00:35:12,211 --> 00:35:13,812
And was I really looking
for a gun,
675
00:35:13,912 --> 00:35:15,481
or was I just not sure enough
676
00:35:15,581 --> 00:35:16,615
that I was actually
gonna kill him
677
00:35:16,682 --> 00:35:17,949
and then I needed, like,
a breath?
678
00:35:18,049 --> 00:35:19,285
I was like, I'll get him again.
679
00:35:19,351 --> 00:35:20,952
But what if that hesitation
had been something else?
680
00:35:21,019 --> 00:35:23,088
And what if that guy
had actually been Taliban
681
00:35:23,189 --> 00:35:24,856
and had been one of the people
that planted one of the bombs
682
00:35:24,990 --> 00:35:26,358
that ended up, like,
killing my friends later, right?
683
00:35:26,458 --> 00:35:27,926
I just let a guy off the hook.
684
00:35:28,660 --> 00:35:29,561
And I got to be around
685
00:35:29,661 --> 00:35:30,629
all the other people
afterwards, too.
686
00:35:30,962 --> 00:35:33,098
And everybody asks, like,
"Hey, Lucy, did you fucking--
687
00:35:33,199 --> 00:35:34,700
Did you shoot during the time?"
688
00:35:34,966 --> 00:35:37,336
On the report, like,
"Did you expend any rounds?"
689
00:35:37,436 --> 00:35:38,704
Like, actually, like,
"No, I didn't."
690
00:35:38,837 --> 00:35:40,606
"Well, why not?
Did you not see anybody?"
691
00:35:40,839 --> 00:35:42,140
You know, how do you, like,
tell that story
692
00:35:42,241 --> 00:35:43,475
around these other people?
You don't want me
693
00:35:43,575 --> 00:35:45,211
to think you're a coward. So...
694
00:35:45,844 --> 00:35:46,878
I started questioning myself.
695
00:35:46,978 --> 00:35:48,414
And then you start
to question the war and shit.
696
00:35:48,514 --> 00:35:49,681
You're like, "Wait," or like,
697
00:35:49,781 --> 00:35:51,049
"Why am I in situations
like this?" "And why is it hard
698
00:35:51,183 --> 00:35:53,252
to distinguish between
these people?"
699
00:36:00,292 --> 00:36:02,127
Well,
this is a new kind of, uh,
700
00:36:02,194 --> 00:36:03,595
new kind of evil.
701
00:36:04,196 --> 00:36:07,399
Now, this... this crusade...
702
00:36:09,167 --> 00:36:11,570
this war on terrorism...
703
00:36:12,904 --> 00:36:15,207
uh, is gonna take a while.
704
00:36:22,414 --> 00:36:26,285
We will rid
the world of the evil doers.
705
00:36:53,011 --> 00:36:54,380
Tell him,
turn around. Turn around.
706
00:36:55,747 --> 00:36:57,816
All right. He's good.
707
00:36:57,916 --> 00:37:00,051
Show me where
they're at. Hurry up, hurry up.
708
00:37:00,118 --> 00:37:02,588
Trying to figure out
who the enemy was,
709
00:37:02,954 --> 00:37:04,656
was a real problem.
710
00:37:08,327 --> 00:37:11,663
There was an Afghan
special forces advisor,
711
00:37:11,763 --> 00:37:12,998
and he said
the American troops
712
00:37:13,098 --> 00:37:15,801
would always ask him,
"But where are the bad guys?"
713
00:37:15,901 --> 00:37:17,736
"Show me where
the bad guys are in the map."
714
00:37:17,803 --> 00:37:19,605
"Who are we fighting?"
715
00:37:21,540 --> 00:37:23,475
Okay, here's...
here's the thing.
716
00:37:23,575 --> 00:37:26,177
I'm gonna ask this question
one more time, one more time.
717
00:37:26,812 --> 00:37:29,180
Who was digging?
718
00:37:32,250 --> 00:37:33,652
If you don't know
who's who,
719
00:37:33,785 --> 00:37:35,086
you can't speak the language,
720
00:37:35,153 --> 00:37:36,655
you don't know
the tribal history,
721
00:37:36,755 --> 00:37:38,490
you don't know the culture.
722
00:37:41,092 --> 00:37:43,995
Some of the Afghans
figured out from the get-go,
723
00:37:44,129 --> 00:37:46,998
the way to get the Americans
to rub out your rival
724
00:37:47,132 --> 00:37:48,667
is to just call them Taliban.
725
00:37:51,637 --> 00:37:54,606
Afghan commandos
and US special operations forces
726
00:37:54,706 --> 00:37:57,075
launched a raid
to capture Mullah Sadiq,
727
00:37:57,142 --> 00:37:59,545
a high-ranking Taliban leader.
728
00:37:59,645 --> 00:38:03,549
Sadiq and 30 Taliban fighters
were killed in the operation.
729
00:38:05,216 --> 00:38:09,721
That night, I got a call
730
00:38:10,288 --> 00:38:13,592
from the head of
the Afghan intelligence service,
731
00:38:13,692 --> 00:38:14,626
and he says...
732
00:38:15,394 --> 00:38:18,897
"Do you know
your special ops guys
733
00:38:18,997 --> 00:38:20,366
have just killed...
734
00:38:20,966 --> 00:38:24,035
60 innocent villagers
out in Azizabad?"
735
00:38:24,970 --> 00:38:26,505
Immediately, I said,
736
00:38:26,638 --> 00:38:28,073
"Okay, let me--
Let me check on this."
737
00:38:28,173 --> 00:38:32,210
And I call our...
our special forces commander.
738
00:38:32,644 --> 00:38:37,349
And this person,
to remain nameless...
739
00:38:37,683 --> 00:38:39,017
um...
740
00:38:39,951 --> 00:38:43,221
said the Afghans had exaggerated
the civilian casualties.
741
00:38:43,321 --> 00:38:46,024
It was really only a half dozen.
742
00:38:46,425 --> 00:38:48,126
The Taliban and their supporters
are running
743
00:38:48,193 --> 00:38:50,962
a very effective
propaganda campaign
744
00:38:51,229 --> 00:38:53,064
to discredit coalition efforts.
745
00:38:53,399 --> 00:38:56,802
Exaggerated claims of damage
often result in demands
746
00:38:56,902 --> 00:38:58,904
for more money in compensation.
747
00:38:59,371 --> 00:39:01,172
Chris Jackson and I
were embedded
748
00:39:01,239 --> 00:39:03,141
with the troops
conducting the raid.
749
00:39:03,208 --> 00:39:06,912
Neither he nor I saw
any noncombatants killed.
750
00:39:07,312 --> 00:39:10,516
Never in history
have military forces
751
00:39:10,582 --> 00:39:15,220
tried to exercise such care
to avoid civilian casualties.
752
00:39:16,922 --> 00:39:18,590
The next day...
753
00:39:19,491 --> 00:39:23,429
the UN ambassador had me over
to his compound,
754
00:39:23,995 --> 00:39:26,765
ostensibly to have breakfast
and talk about things.
755
00:39:26,898 --> 00:39:27,966
And he said,
756
00:39:28,066 --> 00:39:30,569
"Come up to my office.
I want to show you a video."
757
00:39:32,971 --> 00:39:34,172
We killed...
758
00:39:35,273 --> 00:39:37,643
civilians in that raid,
759
00:39:38,276 --> 00:39:40,278
more than should have happened
760
00:39:40,378 --> 00:39:42,981
even with a minimum
collateral damage.
761
00:39:44,550 --> 00:39:46,084
It was a bad target.
762
00:40:13,078 --> 00:40:15,514
I sent
one of my own guys out there...
763
00:40:16,381 --> 00:40:19,117
to start an investigation.
And, uh...
764
00:40:20,085 --> 00:40:21,286
the truth was not
765
00:40:21,386 --> 00:40:23,221
what the special ops commander
told me.
766
00:40:24,956 --> 00:40:29,127
He either lied unknowingly,
or he lied knowingly.
767
00:42:23,742 --> 00:42:28,413
I don't know, 'cause the target,
uh, Mullah Sadiq,
768
00:42:28,814 --> 00:42:31,416
I don't think was killed
or captured that night.
769
00:42:40,391 --> 00:42:42,761
This was probably
sort of a revenge
770
00:42:42,861 --> 00:42:45,296
between private
security contractors.
771
00:42:45,631 --> 00:42:48,133
And one might've ratted out
the other one
772
00:42:48,266 --> 00:42:50,201
and had a target put on them.
773
00:42:59,645 --> 00:43:02,881
The investigation revealed
ArmorGroup relied
774
00:43:02,981 --> 00:43:04,783
on a series of warlords
775
00:43:04,916 --> 00:43:06,985
to provide men
for its guard force
776
00:43:07,318 --> 00:43:08,954
at Shindand Air Base.
777
00:43:09,621 --> 00:43:12,658
The company called
those warlords
778
00:43:12,791 --> 00:43:15,360
Mr. Pink, Mr. White.
779
00:43:15,694 --> 00:43:16,695
Those names, by the way,
780
00:43:16,795 --> 00:43:19,264
were drawn
from Quentin Tarantino movie
781
00:43:19,330 --> 00:43:21,032
called Reservoir Dogs.
782
00:43:21,900 --> 00:43:22,768
Fuck you, White.
783
00:43:22,834 --> 00:43:24,736
That's when I first heard
about ArmorGroup
784
00:43:24,836 --> 00:43:27,138
and Mr. White and Mr. Pink,
and all that.
785
00:43:29,274 --> 00:43:31,309
They were being
fed intelligence
786
00:43:31,643 --> 00:43:35,647
by people with conflicting
motives and allegiances.
787
00:43:36,114 --> 00:43:38,583
But if you admit
there was a mistake,
788
00:43:38,917 --> 00:43:42,553
you're putting people's careers
on the line.
789
00:43:42,654 --> 00:43:44,155
Somebody might get
court martialed.
790
00:43:44,255 --> 00:43:45,791
Somebody might get hauled
before Congress
791
00:43:45,891 --> 00:43:48,860
to answer for it.
So, they only made the report,
792
00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:51,697
the full report public,
ten years later,
793
00:43:51,830 --> 00:43:54,332
after USA Today
sued them in federal court.
794
00:43:57,268 --> 00:43:59,738
And in the end,
in Afghanistan,
795
00:43:59,838 --> 00:44:02,173
the backlash
was so much stronger
796
00:44:02,273 --> 00:44:05,711
because of this unwillingness
to admit mistakes.
797
00:44:18,857 --> 00:44:23,962
We have two wars going on,
and we have more contractors,
798
00:44:24,229 --> 00:44:26,264
more contractors than...
799
00:44:26,364 --> 00:44:29,667
than Defense Department people
in those wars.
800
00:44:30,301 --> 00:44:32,971
Well, I mean, you know,
if you contract with somebody,
801
00:44:33,071 --> 00:44:35,540
and you don't know who
you're contracting with...
802
00:44:35,640 --> 00:44:36,975
...it's an accountability issue.
803
00:44:37,042 --> 00:44:40,078
We don't have the organic,
in-house capability
804
00:44:40,211 --> 00:44:42,047
to provide security.
Correct.
805
00:44:42,147 --> 00:44:46,184
The defense contracts
were just this enormous amount
806
00:44:46,251 --> 00:44:48,686
of cash flowing
into the war zone,
807
00:44:48,754 --> 00:44:51,823
with Afghan contractors,
U.S. contractors,
808
00:44:51,923 --> 00:44:53,391
other foreign companies.
809
00:44:53,524 --> 00:44:54,893
So, the light bulb
finally went on.
810
00:44:54,993 --> 00:44:57,796
Maybe we need to stop this
or get our arms around it.
811
00:44:59,197 --> 00:45:01,032
The Pentagon called and said,
812
00:45:01,532 --> 00:45:04,202
"We need to find out
who these subcontractors are,
813
00:45:04,269 --> 00:45:07,672
who the shadows are
that are receiving all our money
814
00:45:07,773 --> 00:45:10,241
and stealing it from us.
Can you do that?"
815
00:45:11,777 --> 00:45:15,046
Being a forensic accountant,
this was like the Super Bowl.
816
00:45:15,380 --> 00:45:17,082
This... this was the...
817
00:45:17,215 --> 00:45:18,817
the granddaddy of them all.
818
00:45:20,618 --> 00:45:22,087
The mission was
to get visibility
819
00:45:22,187 --> 00:45:25,423
on where all the money
is flowing to, who's benefiting.
820
00:45:25,924 --> 00:45:28,559
So, I said,
"I need financial records."
821
00:45:28,626 --> 00:45:30,028
"Oh, we got
all the financial records."
822
00:45:30,128 --> 00:45:31,362
They didn't have any.
823
00:45:31,897 --> 00:45:33,731
Money's coming in
from U.S. Treasury.
824
00:45:33,832 --> 00:45:36,768
It's going
to the implementing partners,
825
00:45:36,868 --> 00:45:39,137
and it's supposed to be used
for roads,
826
00:45:39,470 --> 00:45:41,773
schools, power grids.
827
00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:45,143
But what was it,
ten years later?
828
00:45:45,877 --> 00:45:48,246
And they didn't have
any financial records.
829
00:45:48,313 --> 00:45:49,714
So, it's kind of like,
830
00:45:49,815 --> 00:45:51,783
what do we do,
just stare at the screen?
831
00:45:51,883 --> 00:45:54,152
And nothing magical
is gonna pop up.
832
00:45:54,652 --> 00:45:55,653
I'd say, well, how's it coming?
833
00:45:55,787 --> 00:45:57,422
You know,
how's... how is the road?
834
00:45:57,488 --> 00:45:58,656
He goes, we don't know.
835
00:45:58,756 --> 00:46:00,625
We've to rely on them
telling us,
836
00:46:00,758 --> 00:46:03,061
'cause we can't go out there,
it's not safe.
837
00:46:04,462 --> 00:46:05,931
So, eventually we started...
838
00:46:05,997 --> 00:46:09,234
I started going off base
to central banks.
839
00:46:10,635 --> 00:46:14,639
I got to a point
where I became so ingrained
840
00:46:14,772 --> 00:46:17,275
into the central bank guys
that we were playing volleyball
841
00:46:17,342 --> 00:46:18,944
every afternoon
at three o'clock.
842
00:46:19,577 --> 00:46:21,813
I mean, it's just--
We became friends.
843
00:46:22,447 --> 00:46:24,816
They hated corruption.
They hated the suicide bombing.
844
00:46:24,916 --> 00:46:27,118
They hated the killings
as much as we did.
845
00:46:27,752 --> 00:46:29,387
And I was mentoring them.
846
00:46:29,487 --> 00:46:31,957
I mean, they would call me
and say, "Tom, Tom."
847
00:46:32,057 --> 00:46:34,292
"I got a million dollars flowing
through this account."
848
00:46:34,359 --> 00:46:35,326
"Is that a red flag?"
849
00:46:35,827 --> 00:46:38,596
"Hell, yes. Don't do anything.
I'm coming right down."
850
00:46:39,030 --> 00:46:42,000
The fuel contracts,
the food contracts,
851
00:46:42,100 --> 00:46:43,701
the weapons contracts.
852
00:46:43,801 --> 00:46:46,037
I mean,
that's where the money was.
853
00:46:50,508 --> 00:46:54,612
The Taliban would extort
the contractors.
854
00:46:54,980 --> 00:46:56,114
You either pay me,
855
00:46:56,214 --> 00:46:59,317
and I'll make sure your supplies
are shipped safely,
856
00:46:59,650 --> 00:47:03,221
or don't pay me, and who knows
what's going to happen?
857
00:47:07,692 --> 00:47:09,527
They would talk
about this bridge
858
00:47:09,627 --> 00:47:11,196
that kept getting blown up.
859
00:47:11,296 --> 00:47:14,465
And they would pay
this local district official
860
00:47:14,565 --> 00:47:16,001
to rebuild the bridge.
861
00:47:16,101 --> 00:47:18,536
He had a brother
who was in the Taliban.
862
00:47:18,636 --> 00:47:19,871
So, he'd build the bridge,
863
00:47:19,971 --> 00:47:21,839
and he'd tell his brother
in the Taliban,
864
00:47:21,940 --> 00:47:23,341
"Okay, now you can blow it up."
865
00:47:25,243 --> 00:47:26,811
And it didn't dawn
on the Americans
866
00:47:26,878 --> 00:47:28,813
that this was why
they kept having to rebuild
867
00:47:28,914 --> 00:47:30,548
the same damn bridge
all the time.
868
00:47:30,982 --> 00:47:33,518
The U.S. military
has often stated
869
00:47:33,584 --> 00:47:36,687
that money is a weapons system.
870
00:47:37,222 --> 00:47:38,489
We came up with a rule of thumb.
871
00:47:38,556 --> 00:47:39,991
Twenty-five percent
is being stolen,
872
00:47:40,325 --> 00:47:43,261
and it's ending up
in the hands of Taliban
873
00:47:43,394 --> 00:47:45,763
or the insurgents or Al-Qaeda.
874
00:47:46,731 --> 00:47:48,934
Six frag grenades on him.
875
00:47:49,034 --> 00:47:51,269
Now six AK47 mags on him.
876
00:47:51,369 --> 00:47:53,538
He had 10,000 U.S. dollars.
877
00:47:54,572 --> 00:47:56,474
We'd have those gu--
"Who's stealing the money?"
878
00:47:56,574 --> 00:47:58,276
"Who's funding the bad guys?"
879
00:47:58,409 --> 00:48:00,278
"You tell me."
"We'll do night raids."
880
00:48:05,917 --> 00:48:07,718
Tell all the people
that live here
881
00:48:07,785 --> 00:48:09,254
to step back over there.
882
00:48:13,224 --> 00:48:14,993
Are those all kids?
Yeah.
883
00:48:15,326 --> 00:48:17,428
I always got
a kick out of they asked,
884
00:48:17,929 --> 00:48:20,698
is it okay if we shoot someone
if we have to?
885
00:48:21,232 --> 00:48:23,301
They're asking me.
886
00:48:23,401 --> 00:48:26,137
It's-- That's why I said,
"Just don't shoot the computer."
887
00:48:27,305 --> 00:48:30,575
Corruption is endemic
to Afghanistan.
888
00:48:30,641 --> 00:48:32,377
Endemic corruption
and persistent
889
00:48:32,477 --> 00:48:33,811
qualitative deficiencies.
890
00:48:33,911 --> 00:48:38,183
The goodness and the generosity
of the American people...
891
00:48:39,884 --> 00:48:41,086
is being abused.
892
00:48:41,186 --> 00:48:43,154
There was a lessons learned
interview
893
00:48:43,288 --> 00:48:45,323
with a guy named Barnett Rubin,
894
00:48:45,456 --> 00:48:47,258
who was
a State Department advisor.
895
00:48:47,358 --> 00:48:49,360
And he says,
corruption's a problem.
896
00:48:49,460 --> 00:48:52,597
But there's one ingredient
you need for corruption,
897
00:48:52,697 --> 00:48:53,631
and that's money.
898
00:48:53,898 --> 00:48:55,533
And it's all our money
that we're giving to them.
899
00:48:55,633 --> 00:48:57,602
You know, we're the ones
that are enabling it.
900
00:48:58,269 --> 00:49:00,005
At every road checkpoint,
901
00:49:00,138 --> 00:49:01,806
the police are on the take.
902
00:49:01,939 --> 00:49:04,109
Today, this country
is a rising democracy.
903
00:49:04,209 --> 00:49:05,510
Families have to pay bribes
904
00:49:05,643 --> 00:49:09,347
to get their power switched on,
or their ID papers issued.
905
00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:11,282
The United States is here
906
00:49:11,349 --> 00:49:13,184
at the request
of an Afghan government
907
00:49:13,318 --> 00:49:14,452
elected by the people.
908
00:49:14,819 --> 00:49:19,124
The idea was, if we can prop up
this Afghan government,
909
00:49:19,190 --> 00:49:23,328
that'll win the war.
Then there won't be any support
910
00:49:23,428 --> 00:49:25,630
for the insurgency,
for the Taliban.
911
00:49:27,298 --> 00:49:28,966
We tried to import
912
00:49:29,034 --> 00:49:31,002
democratic elections
to Afghanistan.
913
00:49:31,102 --> 00:49:33,304
And at first,
it seemed like it worked.
914
00:49:33,404 --> 00:49:35,806
There was widespread support
for Hamid Karzai
915
00:49:36,207 --> 00:49:39,210
when he was elected president
in 2004.
916
00:49:39,510 --> 00:49:41,146
We have a presidential election,
917
00:49:41,212 --> 00:49:42,980
and I'm glad
it turned out to be good for me.
918
00:49:43,081 --> 00:49:45,583
I know how you feel.
919
00:49:46,451 --> 00:49:47,385
I end up
920
00:49:47,518 --> 00:49:49,187
on the Afghan Army base
at the elections,
921
00:49:49,287 --> 00:49:51,456
and I see them stuff
the ballot boxes.
922
00:49:52,090 --> 00:49:54,392
And when I report this
back up to Kabul,
923
00:49:54,792 --> 00:49:56,594
the embassy response was,
924
00:49:56,694 --> 00:49:57,895
"Well, since it was an illegal
925
00:49:57,995 --> 00:49:59,364
polling station,
it didn't exist."
926
00:49:59,464 --> 00:50:01,366
"So, we don't need
to get your report on it."
927
00:50:03,534 --> 00:50:05,370
Every election after that,
928
00:50:05,870 --> 00:50:07,372
with the help
of the United States,
929
00:50:07,472 --> 00:50:08,639
was rigged.
930
00:50:12,643 --> 00:50:16,414
Again, that kind of speculation
is not all that useful.
931
00:50:16,981 --> 00:50:20,051
We have American ideals
and expectations
932
00:50:20,151 --> 00:50:23,854
that we think
should be transplanted
933
00:50:24,355 --> 00:50:26,291
to a place like Afghanistan.
934
00:50:28,393 --> 00:50:31,696
We think
everybody wants to be like us...
935
00:50:32,597 --> 00:50:36,234
everybody wants the same
sort of societal structure
936
00:50:36,334 --> 00:50:39,437
that we have in this country,
and they don't.
937
00:50:39,537 --> 00:50:42,207
We're developing
really a rule of law, uh, group.
938
00:50:42,273 --> 00:50:43,741
This will be
the courthouse, basically.
939
00:50:43,841 --> 00:50:45,042
This will be the courthouse.
940
00:50:45,143 --> 00:50:47,044
We built a lot of courthouses,
941
00:50:47,112 --> 00:50:48,613
and we trained a lot of judges.
942
00:50:48,913 --> 00:50:50,915
The whole idea
was to create a justice system.
943
00:50:51,015 --> 00:50:52,450
But it was very corrupt
944
00:50:52,550 --> 00:50:54,852
'cause you had to pay people off
to get your case heard,
945
00:50:54,919 --> 00:50:56,221
or it would take months or years
946
00:50:56,287 --> 00:50:59,056
for the cases
to go through the Afghan courts.
947
00:50:59,590 --> 00:51:01,292
They want immediate justice.
948
00:51:01,926 --> 00:51:05,430
And believe it or not,
they had a judicial system.
949
00:51:05,530 --> 00:51:06,797
It just wasn't ours.
950
00:51:07,232 --> 00:51:08,099
You lose, you win,
951
00:51:08,233 --> 00:51:10,201
off with your hand,
you've got to pay this.
952
00:51:10,301 --> 00:51:12,970
I mean, it was brutal justice,
but it was swift.
953
00:51:13,238 --> 00:51:15,740
And it was
a very powerful message
954
00:51:15,806 --> 00:51:16,874
for the Taliban to say,
955
00:51:16,941 --> 00:51:20,478
"We're here fighting
for justice, and fairness,
956
00:51:20,611 --> 00:51:21,812
and Islam."
957
00:51:21,912 --> 00:51:23,281
"Those people are all crooks."
958
00:51:23,748 --> 00:51:26,917
What should be
the U.S. exit strategy?
959
00:51:28,953 --> 00:51:30,421
When and how do we--
960
00:51:30,521 --> 00:51:31,789
You're right.
...should the U.S. leave?
961
00:51:32,123 --> 00:51:34,425
Well,
we'll keep them prisoners there.
962
00:51:36,661 --> 00:51:38,196
There will be no exit.
963
00:51:40,131 --> 00:51:43,834
I used to fly from Kabul
to Dubai, sit in first-class,
964
00:51:44,335 --> 00:51:46,804
and just look for the guys
that have briefcases...
965
00:51:47,104 --> 00:51:50,275
...because they must
have cash in those briefcases.
966
00:51:50,341 --> 00:51:51,809
And they did.
967
00:51:52,677 --> 00:51:53,644
There was a lot of cash
968
00:51:53,778 --> 00:51:56,681
literally being flown
out of Afghanistan
969
00:51:56,814 --> 00:51:58,849
on an Afghan airline
970
00:51:58,983 --> 00:52:02,353
that was owned
by the chairman of Kabul Bank.
971
00:52:11,596 --> 00:52:14,332
♪ Kabul Bank ♪
972
00:52:14,432 --> 00:52:16,334
It was a private bank
973
00:52:16,467 --> 00:52:17,668
with a lot of connections
974
00:52:17,802 --> 00:52:20,471
to very prominent
public individuals.
975
00:52:22,507 --> 00:52:24,742
The Americans knew
that there were problems,
976
00:52:24,842 --> 00:52:27,612
and yet, really turned
a blind eye to this.
977
00:52:29,380 --> 00:52:31,716
The run on the bank
began last Wednesday
978
00:52:31,849 --> 00:52:34,685
after reports that tens
of millions of dollars
979
00:52:34,819 --> 00:52:36,153
had been given to allies
980
00:52:36,221 --> 00:52:38,155
of President
Hamid Karzai's government.
981
00:52:38,523 --> 00:52:40,958
This was a real test
for the Afghan government.
982
00:52:41,025 --> 00:52:43,294
Was the rule of law
going to come out ahead,
983
00:52:43,361 --> 00:52:45,596
or was corruption going
to come out ahead?
984
00:52:46,531 --> 00:52:48,866
Whoever has violated the law...
985
00:52:50,201 --> 00:52:52,069
if there is a violation
of the law,
986
00:52:52,703 --> 00:52:54,939
will be dealt with legally.
987
00:52:55,540 --> 00:52:58,843
I remember one guy saying,
"Yeah, Tom, this is all good,
988
00:52:58,943 --> 00:53:03,214
and we believe you, uh,
but it will never happen."
989
00:53:03,314 --> 00:53:04,815
"Karzai will shut
everything down."
990
00:53:04,882 --> 00:53:06,451
"He'll never let you proceed."
991
00:53:16,060 --> 00:53:17,995
This was a big debate
in the U.S. government.
992
00:53:18,062 --> 00:53:19,196
We should prosecute
those people.
993
00:53:19,264 --> 00:53:21,131
We shouldn't tolerate
the corruption.
994
00:53:21,466 --> 00:53:24,269
But they recognized
it was going in the pockets
995
00:53:24,369 --> 00:53:26,571
of our own allies
in the Afghan government.
996
00:53:26,904 --> 00:53:29,774
So, what were they going to do,
throw out the whole system?
997
00:53:29,907 --> 00:53:31,676
They just kind of put up
with it.
998
00:53:38,716 --> 00:53:41,319
We wanted to teach them
the Western culture.
999
00:53:41,419 --> 00:53:42,487
We did.
1000
00:53:43,721 --> 00:53:46,291
Corruption, bribery,
stealing, money...
1001
00:53:46,857 --> 00:53:48,459
It's the Wild West.
1002
00:53:49,226 --> 00:53:50,227
The corruption
1003
00:53:50,328 --> 00:53:52,297
was just so massive
1004
00:53:52,597 --> 00:53:55,866
that they basically turned
all the local population away
1005
00:53:55,933 --> 00:53:57,602
from the Karzai government.
1006
00:53:58,403 --> 00:54:01,672
Afghanistan will not allow
the international community
1007
00:54:01,772 --> 00:54:05,142
leave it before we are fully
on our feet,
1008
00:54:05,410 --> 00:54:07,412
before we are strong enough
to defend our country,
1009
00:54:07,512 --> 00:54:10,448
before we are powerful enough
to have a good economy,
1010
00:54:10,548 --> 00:54:12,783
and before we have taken
from President Bush,
1011
00:54:12,917 --> 00:54:14,184
and the next administration,
1012
00:54:14,285 --> 00:54:16,220
billions and billions
of more dollars.
1013
00:54:16,321 --> 00:54:18,456
No way that they can let you go.
1014
00:54:18,723 --> 00:54:20,458
Yeah,
you better hurry up in my case.
1015
00:54:23,561 --> 00:54:24,962
Thank you, sir.
Most welcome.
1016
00:54:25,062 --> 00:54:26,664
Thank you all. Thank you.
Take care.
1017
00:54:26,764 --> 00:54:29,166
Thank you very much.
Thank you. Pose together.
1018
00:54:31,001 --> 00:54:33,070
Anytime you're in a conflict
1019
00:54:33,137 --> 00:54:35,540
where you're asking
the question...
1020
00:54:37,074 --> 00:54:38,543
"Is it worth it?"
1021
00:54:41,912 --> 00:54:43,013
You're probably in a conflict
1022
00:54:43,147 --> 00:54:45,816
where you can guess
the answer to that.
1023
00:54:47,818 --> 00:54:51,689
My experience was
that there was a very natural...
1024
00:54:53,190 --> 00:54:56,226
cognitive bias at play.
1025
00:54:57,428 --> 00:54:58,429
Part of the reason I think
1026
00:54:58,496 --> 00:55:00,431
it's so important for us
to end the war in Iraq,
1027
00:55:00,498 --> 00:55:02,667
is to be able to get more troops
into Afghanistan,
1028
00:55:02,767 --> 00:55:04,335
put more pressure
on the Afghan government
1029
00:55:04,435 --> 00:55:05,836
to do what it needs to do.
1030
00:55:05,970 --> 00:55:08,939
Keep on pushing!
Keep on pushing!
1031
00:55:11,409 --> 00:55:15,079
There tends to be
a stronger bias to action
1032
00:55:15,546 --> 00:55:16,647
than to inaction.
1033
00:55:16,714 --> 00:55:20,184
You're going on the offense,
tired of playing defense.
1034
00:55:21,686 --> 00:55:23,388
Let's go!
They're hitting the target!
1035
00:55:24,822 --> 00:55:27,224
Fifty meters...
1036
00:55:27,358 --> 00:55:29,159
Seventy-five meters!
Fifty meters...
1037
00:55:29,259 --> 00:55:30,995
In the past seven years,
1038
00:55:31,061 --> 00:55:32,563
our efforts
have been undermanned,
1039
00:55:32,697 --> 00:55:35,199
under-resourced,
and underfunded.
1040
00:55:35,866 --> 00:55:38,135
This goal is achievable.
1041
00:55:39,303 --> 00:55:41,071
Stay down. Stay down.
1042
00:55:41,406 --> 00:55:42,807
Hey, I'm moving! Don't shoot me!
1043
00:55:44,809 --> 00:55:49,146
It's easy to believe
that we're just not there yet.
1044
00:55:49,747 --> 00:55:52,917
A little bit more resources,
a little bit more time,
1045
00:55:53,418 --> 00:55:55,586
and we'll turn the corner,
and something will change.
1046
00:55:55,886 --> 00:55:57,354
Since the surge was announced,
1047
00:55:57,455 --> 00:55:59,023
there has been
considerable progress made
1048
00:55:59,089 --> 00:56:00,190
throughout the country.
1049
00:56:00,257 --> 00:56:01,559
Up around that corner.
1050
00:56:01,692 --> 00:56:04,595
Keep them--
1051
00:56:08,098 --> 00:56:10,668
IED. We're good.
Keep going! Keep going!
1052
00:56:11,001 --> 00:56:12,437
The American public thinks
1053
00:56:12,537 --> 00:56:15,573
the term "surge"
is a military strategy.
1054
00:56:16,607 --> 00:56:21,211
Surge in Iraq and Afghanistan
was a sign of military failure.
1055
00:56:21,712 --> 00:56:23,080
We had to bring more forces.
1056
00:56:23,548 --> 00:56:26,316
President Obama
has committed nearly 52,000
1057
00:56:26,417 --> 00:56:28,419
additional troops
to Afghanistan.
1058
00:56:31,255 --> 00:56:33,223
Additional military forces
1059
00:56:33,290 --> 00:56:34,759
by themselves
1060
00:56:35,660 --> 00:56:39,797
will not guarantee victory
for the Afghan people.
1061
00:56:40,397 --> 00:56:43,734
Was I not as, um...
1062
00:56:45,235 --> 00:56:47,505
optimistic or... or...
1063
00:56:48,639 --> 00:56:52,142
flowing in praise of all
our efforts in Afghanistan?
1064
00:56:52,477 --> 00:56:55,846
Proba-- Yeah,
that probably played into it.
1065
00:56:56,346 --> 00:56:59,083
I'm a pragmatic person
by nature,
1066
00:56:59,149 --> 00:57:00,150
and I'm not...
1067
00:57:00,485 --> 00:57:04,121
I'm not going to sell something
that I don't believe in.
1068
00:57:05,055 --> 00:57:07,825
In large parts of Afghanistan,
we don't see progress.
1069
00:57:07,958 --> 00:57:10,628
I have consistently said
that, ultimately,
1070
00:57:10,728 --> 00:57:14,632
the outcome in Afghanistan
will not be a military outcome.
1071
00:57:14,932 --> 00:57:16,400
It will be a political outcome.
1072
00:57:16,634 --> 00:57:19,704
I wasn't positive enough
about "winning,"
1073
00:57:20,304 --> 00:57:22,707
whatever winning means,
in Afghanistan.
1074
00:57:24,341 --> 00:57:25,710
Let's get a new leader.
1075
00:57:26,811 --> 00:57:28,245
Defense Secretary Robert Gates
1076
00:57:28,345 --> 00:57:29,847
fired General David McKiernan.
1077
00:57:29,947 --> 00:57:30,948
McKiernan's replacement,
1078
00:57:31,381 --> 00:57:32,316
General Stanley McChrystal...
The first time
1079
00:57:32,416 --> 00:57:34,418
a commander in the middle
of a war
1080
00:57:34,485 --> 00:57:37,387
has been removed since 1951.
1081
00:57:37,722 --> 00:57:41,125
Today, we have a new policy
set by our new president.
1082
00:57:41,859 --> 00:57:43,961
I believe
that new military leadership
1083
00:57:44,028 --> 00:57:45,462
also is needed.
1084
00:57:45,796 --> 00:57:46,997
And I-- I think--
1085
00:57:47,097 --> 00:57:51,569
I mean, in some ways,
we're learning as we go here.
1086
00:57:52,770 --> 00:57:53,604
Quite honestly, I was told,
1087
00:57:53,904 --> 00:57:56,741
"Hey, you could just retire
in the summer of 2009."
1088
00:57:58,008 --> 00:57:59,644
I had told the Afghans
1089
00:57:59,744 --> 00:58:01,612
that I was going to be here
for at least a couple of years.
1090
00:58:01,712 --> 00:58:04,448
I was here for the long haul.
I told my family that.
1091
00:58:05,149 --> 00:58:08,152
Uh, I had a son serving
in Afghanistan at the same time.
1092
00:58:08,553 --> 00:58:10,187
I had a daughter at West Point.
1093
00:58:10,588 --> 00:58:12,923
So, if you want to replace me,
then fire me.
1094
00:58:14,224 --> 00:58:16,727
"Okay, we'll fire you.
No problem."
1095
00:58:20,097 --> 00:58:22,800
To fire a war commander
is unheard of.
1096
00:58:23,668 --> 00:58:24,669
The conclusion,
1097
00:58:25,002 --> 00:58:27,738
from the top down
through the military ranks
1098
00:58:28,405 --> 00:58:32,843
if you are too honest,
your career will be over.
1099
00:58:32,910 --> 00:58:36,246
So the spin only got worse
from there.
1100
00:58:36,346 --> 00:58:38,315
By the summer of 2011,
1101
00:58:38,616 --> 00:58:40,284
it will be clear
to the Afghan people
1102
00:58:40,384 --> 00:58:42,486
that the insurgency
will not win,
1103
00:58:42,820 --> 00:58:45,455
giving them the chance
to side with their government.
1104
00:58:46,256 --> 00:58:47,925
From that point forward,
1105
00:58:48,492 --> 00:58:50,227
while we plan
to have fewer combat forces
1106
00:58:50,327 --> 00:58:51,328
in harm's way--
1107
00:58:51,428 --> 00:58:53,263
The lady with the sign
1108
00:58:53,397 --> 00:58:56,266
will remove herself immediately.
1109
00:59:02,573 --> 00:59:05,576
They're shooting
from the left side of that wall!
1110
00:59:06,076 --> 00:59:08,112
You got to get
the machine gun there.
1111
00:59:09,446 --> 00:59:10,781
Pick up the suppression.
1112
00:59:12,950 --> 00:59:14,952
Hey, which one is it?
1113
00:59:16,721 --> 00:59:17,722
Get up!
1114
00:59:19,757 --> 00:59:21,692
Hey, get down,
get down, get down!
1115
00:59:21,759 --> 00:59:23,060
Down, down, down!
1116
00:59:30,601 --> 00:59:32,737
We got one dead ahead.
1117
00:59:32,803 --> 00:59:34,138
We got one fucking wounded.
1118
00:59:34,271 --> 00:59:36,206
One dead, one wounded.
1119
00:59:51,889 --> 00:59:53,523
They were saying that we were
doing well over there.
1120
00:59:53,624 --> 00:59:55,425
We weren't doing well
over there.
1121
00:59:55,525 --> 00:59:56,994
'Cause if we were doing well
over there,
1122
00:59:57,127 --> 00:59:58,128
then why the corruption?
1123
00:59:58,462 --> 00:59:59,563
Why the hidden shit?
1124
00:59:59,630 --> 01:00:02,532
Why all the moves
under the carpet?
1125
01:00:03,533 --> 01:00:05,402
Like, Camp Brown got
a lot of money
1126
01:00:05,502 --> 01:00:08,105
because of Special Forces.
1127
01:00:08,205 --> 01:00:10,507
I was out there
with the commander,
1128
01:00:10,641 --> 01:00:15,045
and there was a stack of TMRs
that was--
1129
01:00:15,145 --> 01:00:16,914
Or transportation
movement requests,
1130
01:00:18,015 --> 01:00:19,850
and he was signing them.
1131
01:00:21,318 --> 01:00:23,420
Those loads never happened.
1132
01:00:24,188 --> 01:00:26,223
I submitted those TMRs
at TOIFOR.
1133
01:00:26,323 --> 01:00:27,557
I submitted them.
1134
01:00:28,826 --> 01:00:31,796
And then they kicked them
over to Tuazu,
1135
01:00:31,896 --> 01:00:33,998
"Made it look like
those loads happened."
1136
01:00:34,732 --> 01:00:36,701
But the trucks
did not get loaded,
1137
01:00:36,801 --> 01:00:38,703
did not show up to Kandahar,
1138
01:00:38,836 --> 01:00:40,738
and did not get offloaded
at the site.
1139
01:00:42,372 --> 01:00:43,674
They were ghost trucks.
1140
01:00:45,009 --> 01:00:46,010
Yes, they were fake orders.
1141
01:00:46,143 --> 01:00:48,312
He explained to me
they were fake orders.
1142
01:00:48,979 --> 01:00:51,148
I'm not saying that all
of them wasn't real,
1143
01:00:51,215 --> 01:00:55,152
but there was definitely a lot
of trucks being paid for
1144
01:00:55,252 --> 01:00:56,586
that did not get moved.
1145
01:00:58,723 --> 01:01:00,657
So then he told me one day,
1146
01:01:00,758 --> 01:01:02,226
"I'm going
to show you something."
1147
01:01:02,559 --> 01:01:04,328
He's like,
"But you can't tell nobody."
1148
01:01:04,729 --> 01:01:05,529
I was like,
1149
01:01:05,629 --> 01:01:07,397
"What the fuck is going on?"
In my head.
1150
01:01:07,497 --> 01:01:09,499
In my head, I'm like,
"What the fuck is going on?"
1151
01:01:09,900 --> 01:01:13,070
And then, uh,
they brought in duffel bags.
1152
01:01:14,538 --> 01:01:17,107
Like, I'm talking duffel bags...
1153
01:01:18,208 --> 01:01:20,077
like that, of money.
1154
01:01:21,712 --> 01:01:23,047
I'd never seen that much money.
1155
01:01:23,147 --> 01:01:26,216
I mean, from where I grew up
to where I was at that moment,
1156
01:01:26,350 --> 01:01:28,052
I was like, "Oh, my God."
1157
01:01:28,618 --> 01:01:30,187
And, I mean, it was crisp money.
1158
01:01:30,287 --> 01:01:33,157
So it was just like...
like it just came off the press,
1159
01:01:33,590 --> 01:01:35,726
like the cash just fell
out of the sky.
1160
01:01:36,293 --> 01:01:38,195
Because it was...
it was U.S. currency,
1161
01:01:38,796 --> 01:01:41,298
and it was, um,
like a 100-dollar bill.
1162
01:01:41,398 --> 01:01:42,266
I mean, I seen it.
1163
01:01:42,599 --> 01:01:46,136
I'd seen the money,
brand-new, brand-new money.
1164
01:01:48,038 --> 01:01:49,106
I had to ask him, I said,
1165
01:01:49,239 --> 01:01:50,875
"Well, how do we plan
on getting that--"
1166
01:01:50,941 --> 01:01:53,410
"How do you plan
on getting that money
1167
01:01:53,510 --> 01:01:54,879
back to the United States?"
1168
01:01:55,145 --> 01:01:56,080
And he's like,
1169
01:01:56,213 --> 01:01:58,783
"Oh, we're going
to put it in VCRs,
1170
01:01:58,883 --> 01:02:00,717
or DVD players."
I was like, "What?"
1171
01:02:01,351 --> 01:02:02,853
He's like, "Yeah, we're going
to rip the guts out of it,
1172
01:02:02,920 --> 01:02:06,056
and put it in there."
I was like, "Oh, okay."
1173
01:02:09,226 --> 01:02:11,328
I had brought it up
to my chain of command,
1174
01:02:11,595 --> 01:02:12,797
letting them know
what was going on.
1175
01:02:12,897 --> 01:02:14,631
They told me
to keep it hush, hush.
1176
01:02:15,465 --> 01:02:17,534
Don't say anything.
Just leave it alone.
1177
01:02:17,601 --> 01:02:19,469
He's getting ready
to leave anyhow.
1178
01:02:21,038 --> 01:02:23,740
Steal money, spent TMRs,
getting kickbacks,
1179
01:02:23,808 --> 01:02:25,442
it was
a well-thought-out process,
1180
01:02:25,542 --> 01:02:26,710
well-oiled machine we'll say,
1181
01:02:26,944 --> 01:02:29,780
because it had to have been
in effect, it had to have--
1182
01:02:29,880 --> 01:02:31,315
I don't know
if it happened six months
1183
01:02:31,415 --> 01:02:32,449
before I got there,
1184
01:02:32,549 --> 01:02:33,750
or a year before I got there,
1185
01:02:33,851 --> 01:02:35,786
or when
the war itself kicked off.
1186
01:02:36,120 --> 01:02:39,924
They knew how to get that money
back to the United States.
1187
01:02:39,990 --> 01:02:42,793
It had to have been done
over and over and over again.
1188
01:02:49,433 --> 01:02:51,301
There was no accountability.
1189
01:02:52,202 --> 01:02:55,806
If anybody lost a promotion,
it's probably some buck private
1190
01:02:55,906 --> 01:02:58,142
who backed up a backhoe
into an airplane.
1191
01:02:58,242 --> 01:03:00,110
He's probably serving time
in Leavenworth.
1192
01:03:00,177 --> 01:03:03,313
But not the general
who wasted 36 million dollars,
1193
01:03:03,447 --> 01:03:06,016
you know, not the people
who lied to Congress.
1194
01:03:06,683 --> 01:03:07,985
They had me wear a wire,
1195
01:03:08,085 --> 01:03:10,420
told me they were going
to get everybody else.
1196
01:03:11,688 --> 01:03:13,257
And instead of charging
everybody else,
1197
01:03:13,323 --> 01:03:14,658
they charged me.
1198
01:03:16,193 --> 01:03:18,695
If I was the only one charged
on the case,
1199
01:03:18,963 --> 01:03:21,131
who did I--
Did I aid and abet myself?
1200
01:03:29,073 --> 01:03:32,309
I can remember
being on the embassy base
1201
01:03:32,409 --> 01:03:33,510
and saying,
1202
01:03:33,643 --> 01:03:36,113
"Okay, we're finding money
going to the wrong hands,"
1203
01:03:36,180 --> 01:03:39,783
and someone making the comment,
"Oh, don't go down that road."
1204
01:03:40,117 --> 01:03:41,118
"Then we got to do a report,
1205
01:03:41,185 --> 01:03:42,752
and we'll have to report it
to Congress."
1206
01:03:42,853 --> 01:03:46,223
"Don't go down that road"?
How about fixing the problem?
1207
01:03:46,690 --> 01:03:49,359
You know,
we issued over 700 reports.
1208
01:03:49,693 --> 01:03:52,796
I had doors slammed
in my face by generals.
1209
01:03:52,863 --> 01:03:55,365
There was this exaggeration
after exaggeration
1210
01:03:55,465 --> 01:03:57,101
of what we accomplished,
1211
01:03:57,201 --> 01:03:59,236
and it went all the way
up to the president.
1212
01:03:59,369 --> 01:04:01,538
I had people accusing me
of killing Marines
1213
01:04:01,638 --> 01:04:02,940
because we issued reports.
1214
01:04:03,040 --> 01:04:05,642
This report is not an attack
on our military.
1215
01:04:05,742 --> 01:04:08,212
It is not an attack
on our mission, sir.
1216
01:04:08,312 --> 01:04:10,714
It is trying to help
the mission.
1217
01:04:10,915 --> 01:04:13,550
I remember the first time
I went over to the Pentagon.
1218
01:04:13,650 --> 01:04:15,819
He took all of our audits,
1219
01:04:16,253 --> 01:04:19,523
shoved them across the table,
and said, "These are shit."
1220
01:04:20,224 --> 01:04:25,229
"And, you know,
I got your predecessor fired."
1221
01:04:25,795 --> 01:04:28,498
There is an odor of mendacity
1222
01:04:28,765 --> 01:04:31,868
throughout
the Afghanistan issue.
1223
01:04:32,102 --> 01:04:34,438
I mean, I'm sorry
to get upset about this,
1224
01:04:34,538 --> 01:04:36,606
but it's--
1225
01:04:36,941 --> 01:04:40,577
After 12 years of saying this,
1226
01:04:40,677 --> 01:04:44,748
and telling Congress,
and telling the American people,
1227
01:04:45,582 --> 01:04:47,117
I'm tired.
1228
01:04:48,385 --> 01:04:49,519
I am tired.
1229
01:04:56,493 --> 01:04:59,329
There was an interview
with Douglas Lute.
1230
01:04:59,997 --> 01:05:01,765
He was what they called
the "War Czar"
1231
01:05:01,865 --> 01:05:04,734
in both the Bush
and the Obama White House.
1232
01:05:05,069 --> 01:05:08,338
You know, he was very blunt
about this war.
1233
01:05:08,939 --> 01:05:10,640
"If the American people knew
1234
01:05:10,774 --> 01:05:13,410
the magnitude
of this dysfunction,
1235
01:05:13,710 --> 01:05:19,016
2,400 lives lost,
who will say this was in vain?"
1236
01:05:20,117 --> 01:05:24,588
For a three-star Army general
to even suggest
1237
01:05:24,955 --> 01:05:30,127
that 2,400 American troops
had lost their lives in vain,
1238
01:05:30,227 --> 01:05:34,198
I can't even adequately explain
how remarkable that is.
1239
01:05:44,641 --> 01:05:45,942
I start to think about it,
1240
01:05:46,043 --> 01:05:48,212
and then I say,
"What am I doing?"
1241
01:05:48,845 --> 01:05:49,980
Knowing what I know,
1242
01:05:50,114 --> 01:05:52,382
knowing where I believe
this is going to go,
1243
01:05:52,649 --> 01:05:53,917
how can I go home,
1244
01:05:53,984 --> 01:05:56,686
meet the family of some kid
killed over here
1245
01:05:56,786 --> 01:05:58,022
and tell them it was worth it?
1246
01:05:59,823 --> 01:06:02,359
Bob Herbert,
the New York Times columnist,
1247
01:06:02,492 --> 01:06:05,762
writes a very poignant column
1248
01:06:05,829 --> 01:06:08,465
on the occasion
of McNamara's death.
1249
01:06:08,532 --> 01:06:09,833
Robert McNamara
1250
01:06:09,933 --> 01:06:12,169
was the Secretary
of Defense all through Vietnam.
1251
01:06:12,269 --> 01:06:15,005
He gives a confession
towards the end of his life
1252
01:06:15,239 --> 01:06:18,142
admitting that they knew
the Vietnam War was a lie.
1253
01:06:18,242 --> 01:06:20,010
They misled the American public
1254
01:06:20,110 --> 01:06:22,846
over and over again
throughout the war.
1255
01:06:23,580 --> 01:06:24,648
Herbert says,
1256
01:06:24,714 --> 01:06:26,783
that's great
that McNamara did this.
1257
01:06:27,151 --> 01:06:28,485
But what does it matter?
1258
01:06:28,585 --> 01:06:30,720
It matters
what you do in the moment.
1259
01:06:31,688 --> 01:06:34,024
And that really started
a process going of,
1260
01:06:34,124 --> 01:06:35,892
who am I as an individual?
1261
01:06:35,992 --> 01:06:37,794
What am I going to do
with my life?
1262
01:06:38,162 --> 01:06:41,531
And I wrote a note
to my dad, uh...
1263
01:06:43,133 --> 01:06:44,534
And he wrote me a note back.
1264
01:06:45,735 --> 01:06:48,905
He said McNamara
was an evil man, uh...
1265
01:06:50,907 --> 01:06:53,310
And that he prayed
that our leaders in D.C.
1266
01:06:53,377 --> 01:06:55,179
were better than him,
but he doubted that.
1267
01:06:55,679 --> 01:06:58,282
And he wanted me to do
what was right for me.
1268
01:06:59,316 --> 01:07:01,785
That's what I needed
to hear to...
1269
01:07:02,319 --> 01:07:06,123
to have some degree of courage
to do the right thing.
1270
01:07:07,357 --> 01:07:11,061
I submitted a resignation.
I wrote up this letter.
1271
01:07:11,728 --> 01:07:13,063
The anger I had...
1272
01:07:13,563 --> 01:07:16,200
for the people
who knew what was occurring.
1273
01:07:16,866 --> 01:07:21,071
That the war was based on lies.
That the war could not be won.
1274
01:07:21,571 --> 01:07:25,475
And they chose willingly
to do what would not work.
1275
01:07:27,344 --> 01:07:30,046
On Monday morning,
I'm still in Zabul Province,
1276
01:07:30,147 --> 01:07:31,047
and I get a phone call
1277
01:07:31,115 --> 01:07:33,317
from the director
of Afghan operations.
1278
01:07:33,750 --> 01:07:36,052
And his first words to me are,
1279
01:07:36,153 --> 01:07:38,188
"Are you going to go public
with this?"
1280
01:07:38,622 --> 01:07:39,623
That upset me
1281
01:07:39,723 --> 01:07:41,925
because I had no intentions
of that.
1282
01:07:42,025 --> 01:07:43,993
But also, too,
it showed what they cared about.
1283
01:07:44,261 --> 01:07:46,730
They didn't care about what
the reality of this war was.
1284
01:07:46,796 --> 01:07:49,799
They didn't care about what
the escalation of war would do.
1285
01:07:49,933 --> 01:07:51,235
They cared about whether or not
1286
01:07:51,335 --> 01:07:52,669
their narrative
was going to be upset
1287
01:07:52,769 --> 01:07:54,238
by somebody speaking
to the press.
1288
01:07:54,338 --> 01:07:56,873
U.S. and U.K. forces
have made progress.
1289
01:07:56,973 --> 01:07:58,108
The sense of progress
1290
01:07:58,208 --> 01:08:00,910
among those closest
to the fight is palpable.
1291
01:08:01,010 --> 01:08:02,779
Our strategy is working.
1292
01:08:04,948 --> 01:08:07,784
Well, I think we...
we hadn't finished the mission
1293
01:08:08,452 --> 01:08:11,188
of getting bin Laden,
uh, bringing him to justice,
1294
01:08:11,288 --> 01:08:13,022
which almost certainly meant
killing him, right?
1295
01:08:13,123 --> 01:08:15,058
He wasn't going to be brought
to court.
1296
01:08:15,159 --> 01:08:16,760
I guess he could have been,
but that was not the way
1297
01:08:16,826 --> 01:08:17,894
it was going to go down.
1298
01:08:17,961 --> 01:08:19,396
You can argue
it was worth a trillion dollars.
1299
01:08:19,463 --> 01:08:22,966
It was worth
the casualties that we took,
1300
01:08:23,167 --> 01:08:26,303
uh, "The blood and treasure,"
as they say. Um...
1301
01:08:27,070 --> 01:08:28,905
You could argue that.
But if that's the purpose
1302
01:08:29,306 --> 01:08:31,007
was to kill
Al-Qaeda's senior leadership
1303
01:08:31,141 --> 01:08:32,609
and prevent
another homeland attack
1304
01:08:32,676 --> 01:08:33,877
we succeeded at that.
1305
01:08:35,945 --> 01:08:37,814
USA! USA!
1306
01:08:37,914 --> 01:08:39,115
Now the pitch,
1307
01:08:39,183 --> 01:08:41,651
and it's lined foul
into the seats.
1308
01:08:42,152 --> 01:08:45,255
Down the third base line
one ball, one strike.
1309
01:08:45,355 --> 01:08:47,090
And I'll tell you
what's going on.
1310
01:08:47,324 --> 01:08:50,327
The crowd is chanting "USA,"
1311
01:08:50,594 --> 01:08:51,661
and the reason for that
1312
01:08:51,795 --> 01:08:54,298
is that there
are reports circulating
1313
01:08:54,764 --> 01:08:57,167
that Osama bin Laden is dead.
1314
01:08:57,301 --> 01:08:58,935
Bin Laden is dead.
1315
01:08:59,035 --> 01:09:01,205
Can it be, ladies and gentlemen?
Could it be?
1316
01:09:01,305 --> 01:09:02,939
After all this heartache,
all this search,
1317
01:09:03,006 --> 01:09:04,140
all this failure.
1318
01:09:09,479 --> 01:09:10,480
Good evening.
1319
01:09:11,014 --> 01:09:13,983
Tonight, I can report
to the American people
1320
01:09:14,050 --> 01:09:15,151
and to the world
1321
01:09:15,552 --> 01:09:17,921
that the United States
has conducted an operation
1322
01:09:18,021 --> 01:09:21,525
that killed Osama bin Laden,
the leader of Al-Qaeda.
1323
01:09:21,625 --> 01:09:27,197
USA! USA! USA!
1324
01:09:27,631 --> 01:09:29,533
Justice has been done.
1325
01:09:39,476 --> 01:09:44,881
We defeated
that part of the threat,
1326
01:09:45,282 --> 01:09:48,252
and succeeded in that part
of the strategy.
1327
01:09:50,220 --> 01:09:53,523
Putting all that aside,
because it's a terrorist group,
1328
01:09:53,890 --> 01:09:56,993
and because they are trying
to provoke a reaction
1329
01:09:57,093 --> 01:09:59,696
that could be counterproductive
to our own interests,
1330
01:09:59,763 --> 01:10:01,265
we have an obligation...
1331
01:10:02,799 --> 01:10:03,867
to think about
1332
01:10:03,933 --> 01:10:06,069
whether or not we're playing
into the enemy's strategy
1333
01:10:06,202 --> 01:10:08,338
in how we react
to a terrorist attack.
1334
01:10:09,072 --> 01:10:11,241
Don't forget.
What we're trying to do
1335
01:10:11,341 --> 01:10:14,077
is prevent the reoccurrence
of 9/11.
1336
01:10:15,078 --> 01:10:17,647
And that's a really,
really hard objective
1337
01:10:17,747 --> 01:10:19,849
because you're never done
achieving it.
1338
01:10:21,451 --> 01:10:25,555
The tide has turned.
We broke the Taliban's momentum.
1339
01:10:26,323 --> 01:10:27,891
At that point,
you see this shift
1340
01:10:27,957 --> 01:10:30,093
in how the United States fights
its wars,
1341
01:10:30,193 --> 01:10:32,195
where we're just going
to use proxy forces.
1342
01:10:32,262 --> 01:10:35,432
We're going to use contractors
and CIA people, right?
1343
01:10:35,565 --> 01:10:36,866
We're going to use drones,
1344
01:10:36,966 --> 01:10:38,802
all these things
that can't be exposed,
1345
01:10:38,902 --> 01:10:40,404
all these things
that can't be known.
1346
01:10:40,470 --> 01:10:42,506
This morning,
I'm sure you may have seen
1347
01:10:42,606 --> 01:10:44,073
The Washington Post.
1348
01:10:44,541 --> 01:10:47,076
Indicates-- The headline
is on the front page,
1349
01:10:47,176 --> 01:10:48,812
quote, "Most in U.S. Say
1350
01:10:48,945 --> 01:10:51,648
Afghan War
Isn't Worth Fighting."
1351
01:10:51,748 --> 01:10:54,017
They didn't want there
to be coverage
1352
01:10:54,351 --> 01:10:58,087
of the War in Afghanistan
after 2013.
1353
01:10:58,588 --> 01:11:01,291
The U.S. military
really choked off access.
1354
01:11:01,558 --> 01:11:02,892
A lot of people
didn't even know.
1355
01:11:02,959 --> 01:11:04,894
They were like,
are we still at war there?
1356
01:11:04,961 --> 01:11:06,463
You know, 'cause President Obama
1357
01:11:06,563 --> 01:11:09,999
had promised back in 2014
that he would end the war.
1358
01:11:10,434 --> 01:11:11,301
In just a few days,
1359
01:11:11,401 --> 01:11:13,970
our combat mission
in Afghanistan will be over.
1360
01:11:14,304 --> 01:11:17,006
Our longest war
will come to a responsible end.
1361
01:11:17,407 --> 01:11:19,509
And that gives us
an opportunity to step back
1362
01:11:19,609 --> 01:11:20,577
and reflect upon all
1363
01:11:20,677 --> 01:11:22,145
that these families
have given us.
1364
01:11:22,479 --> 01:11:26,015
Today marks an end of an era
and the beginning of a new one.
1365
01:11:26,350 --> 01:11:28,985
Today NATO completes
its combat mission,
1366
01:11:29,653 --> 01:11:32,856
a 13-year endeavor filled
with significant achievements.
1367
01:11:41,498 --> 01:11:42,766
We've been at this for 13 years.
1368
01:11:42,832 --> 01:11:44,300
Fourteen years.
1369
01:11:44,368 --> 01:11:45,268
Fifteen years of war.
1370
01:11:45,369 --> 01:11:48,872
For 16 years,
we've been in the fight.
1371
01:11:49,473 --> 01:11:51,040
The longest war
in American history,
1372
01:11:51,140 --> 01:11:52,642
longer than Vietnam,
1373
01:11:52,976 --> 01:11:55,679
World War I,
World War II combined.
1374
01:11:55,779 --> 01:11:57,881
My successor
has a solid foundation
1375
01:11:58,014 --> 01:12:01,184
for continued progress
in Afghanistan.
1376
01:12:02,318 --> 01:12:04,120
America is winning again.
1377
01:12:04,220 --> 01:12:08,425
We are winning like
we have not won in a long time.
1378
01:12:10,627 --> 01:12:13,062
And if you can't level
to the American public,
1379
01:12:13,162 --> 01:12:14,531
why you're there?
1380
01:12:14,631 --> 01:12:16,099
For more than 18 years.
1381
01:12:16,199 --> 01:12:18,368
Nineteen years,
going on 20 years.
1382
01:12:18,502 --> 01:12:19,469
You're in trouble.
1383
01:12:19,536 --> 01:12:21,471
There is no part of our strategy
1384
01:12:21,538 --> 01:12:24,574
which intends to stay
in Afghanistan forever.
1385
01:12:29,746 --> 01:12:31,881
The way we left...
1386
01:12:32,949 --> 01:12:37,220
was not only
a national disgrace, in my mind.
1387
01:12:38,021 --> 01:12:41,090
Um, it was criminal.
1388
01:12:49,032 --> 01:12:52,201
We have taken a decisive step
toward peace,
1389
01:12:52,536 --> 01:12:54,771
real peace in Afghanistan.
1390
01:13:04,548 --> 01:13:07,250
We were fighting for over a year
1391
01:13:07,350 --> 01:13:11,120
to see
the withdrawal agreement signed
1392
01:13:11,220 --> 01:13:14,658
by the Trump Administration
and the Taliban.
1393
01:13:15,525 --> 01:13:17,594
The Taliban knew
what we were in it.
1394
01:13:18,027 --> 01:13:20,263
The Trump Administration knew
what was in it.
1395
01:13:20,396 --> 01:13:22,365
But the American people
never did.
1396
01:13:22,832 --> 01:13:25,935
The American people paid
for this damn war.
1397
01:13:26,035 --> 01:13:31,040
The American people gave
their kids to die in this war.
1398
01:13:31,107 --> 01:13:32,542
And the American people
don't know,
1399
01:13:32,642 --> 01:13:35,311
but the Taliban knows.
So, who are we protecting?
1400
01:13:35,812 --> 01:13:39,282
They are nothing but thugs,
and criminals, and predators,
1401
01:13:39,382 --> 01:13:42,552
and, that's right, losers.
1402
01:14:06,910 --> 01:14:09,746
We will not conduct
a hasty rush to the exit.
1403
01:14:10,246 --> 01:14:14,017
We'll do it responsibly,
deliberately, and safely.
1404
01:14:14,851 --> 01:14:18,822
The United States misses
that May 1st, 2021 deadline
1405
01:14:18,922 --> 01:14:21,257
to have all its troops out
of Afghanistan,
1406
01:14:21,324 --> 01:14:22,992
even though Joe Biden apologized
1407
01:14:23,092 --> 01:14:25,128
and said we'll get out
by September 11th.
1408
01:14:25,228 --> 01:14:26,229
The Taliban say, no.
1409
01:14:26,329 --> 01:14:28,364
And they launched
their campaign,
1410
01:14:28,498 --> 01:14:30,700
and within four months,
they had taken Kabul.
1411
01:14:33,069 --> 01:14:34,370
People throughout Afghanistan,
1412
01:14:34,504 --> 01:14:36,405
even though they don't support
the Taliban,
1413
01:14:37,106 --> 01:14:39,976
they didn't fight them.
They didn't join them.
1414
01:14:40,043 --> 01:14:41,477
They just got out of their way,
1415
01:14:41,545 --> 01:14:43,012
because the Taliban,
at that point,
1416
01:14:43,279 --> 01:14:46,215
were a better option
than the Afghan government.
1417
01:14:46,550 --> 01:14:48,818
And I think anyone
who looks at that can say,
1418
01:14:48,885 --> 01:14:52,355
"My God,
what did we do in Afghanistan
1419
01:14:52,455 --> 01:14:54,457
to make the Taliban
a better option
1420
01:14:54,558 --> 01:14:57,894
for the Afghan people
than the Afghan government was?"
1421
01:17:12,829 --> 01:17:15,164
There is a home for you
in the United States,
1422
01:17:15,431 --> 01:17:16,833
if you so choose,
1423
01:17:16,933 --> 01:17:20,169
and we will stand with you
just as you stood with us.
1424
01:18:17,727 --> 01:18:20,596
Every step of the way,
we fucked these people over.
1425
01:18:20,696 --> 01:18:21,865
We created a program
1426
01:18:21,931 --> 01:18:23,767
that made the illusion
of safety possible
1427
01:18:23,867 --> 01:18:25,234
if you did these requirements.
1428
01:18:25,334 --> 01:18:29,739
And then we made it damn near,
um, you know, impossible
1429
01:18:29,839 --> 01:18:31,741
to actually complete
those same requirements.
1430
01:18:32,108 --> 01:18:33,576
For me, since I was already
in law school
1431
01:18:33,676 --> 01:18:34,844
when all of this happened,
1432
01:18:34,944 --> 01:18:36,880
I wanted to take the thing
that I was already doing.
1433
01:18:37,413 --> 01:18:41,617
Um, yeah,
a bar card and being admitted
1434
01:18:41,717 --> 01:18:43,352
and having a license
to practice law
1435
01:18:43,452 --> 01:18:45,889
is sometimes
an incredibly powerful weapon.
1436
01:18:45,989 --> 01:18:49,425
We've got passports
for everybody, um...
1437
01:18:50,393 --> 01:18:51,394
How many Taliban...
1438
01:18:51,594 --> 01:18:55,431
kind of full-time security guys,
fighters, army Taliban guys
1439
01:18:55,564 --> 01:18:57,733
do you think are there
in Herat, right about?
1440
01:18:58,067 --> 01:18:59,869
A hundred? Five-hundred?
1441
01:19:02,305 --> 01:19:03,506
A thousand.
1442
01:19:04,107 --> 01:19:05,208
Right.
1443
01:19:11,747 --> 01:19:13,182
Yeah.
1444
01:19:26,329 --> 01:19:27,430
Fuck, man.
1445
01:19:27,496 --> 01:19:29,165
Dude,
that's scary as hell. Like...
1446
01:19:29,498 --> 01:19:31,000
Yeah, I'm just sorry, man.
1447
01:19:31,100 --> 01:19:32,802
I know there's a lot of guys
who are trying really hard.
1448
01:19:32,869 --> 01:19:34,603
So-- I mean,
I just want to say thanks
1449
01:19:34,703 --> 01:19:38,107
for supporting the troops
that were there for so long.
1450
01:19:38,207 --> 01:19:40,676
And, you know, I know
it's really hard right now
1451
01:19:40,810 --> 01:19:44,113
to go through this, and so,
I don't know, man.
1452
01:19:44,213 --> 01:19:46,649
We owe you, so I'm going to try.
1453
01:20:01,297 --> 01:20:02,365
Yeah.
1454
01:20:12,741 --> 01:20:15,811
Yeah, yeah, Jafar and Mohammed.
1455
01:20:17,680 --> 01:20:19,082
Yeah.
1456
01:20:31,760 --> 01:20:33,562
The way
that anything gets better
1457
01:20:33,662 --> 01:20:35,932
is we acknowledge truth.
1458
01:20:36,032 --> 01:20:37,166
We talk honestly
about what happened
1459
01:20:37,233 --> 01:20:38,634
in the last 20 years.
1460
01:20:39,235 --> 01:20:40,269
And what scares me the most
1461
01:20:40,403 --> 01:20:43,472
is that those conversations
still aren't happening.
1462
01:20:43,572 --> 01:20:45,408
Nobody's being honest.
1463
01:20:45,541 --> 01:20:46,775
There's a lot
of political narratives
1464
01:20:46,910 --> 01:20:49,946
about who was at fault, um,
or what should be done,
1465
01:20:50,046 --> 01:20:51,580
or who cares,
or who doesn't care.
1466
01:20:51,714 --> 01:20:53,416
What there isn't a lot is, um,
1467
01:20:53,749 --> 01:20:56,252
of people taking an honest look
at themselves,
1468
01:20:56,585 --> 01:20:58,521
the American public looking
at itself,
1469
01:20:58,754 --> 01:20:59,755
DOD looking at itself,
1470
01:20:59,855 --> 01:21:01,090
the government
and the State Department
1471
01:21:01,190 --> 01:21:02,625
looking at itself,
elected leaders
1472
01:21:02,758 --> 01:21:04,093
looking at themselves
and realizing,
1473
01:21:04,193 --> 01:21:05,995
every single one of us
had a part in this.
1474
01:21:12,235 --> 01:21:14,037
If you go back
to the very beginning
1475
01:21:14,137 --> 01:21:15,171
in the war,
1476
01:21:15,438 --> 01:21:16,439
Rumsfeld was asked
1477
01:21:16,572 --> 01:21:18,908
at one of his
first press conferences...
1478
01:21:30,653 --> 01:21:33,322
Um, of course, this conjures up
1479
01:21:33,422 --> 01:21:36,926
Winston Churchill's
famous phrase
1480
01:21:36,993 --> 01:21:40,463
when he said sometime
the-- Don't quote me on this.
1481
01:21:41,130 --> 01:21:42,265
Okay?
1482
01:21:42,365 --> 01:21:43,832
I don't want to be quoted
on this.
1483
01:21:43,933 --> 01:21:45,501
So, don't quote me.
1484
01:21:45,601 --> 01:21:48,071
Uh, he said, sometimes
the truth is so precious,
1485
01:21:48,137 --> 01:21:50,473
it must be accompanied
by a bodyguard of lies,
1486
01:21:50,573 --> 01:21:53,943
talking about the invasion date
and the invasion location.
1487
01:21:54,143 --> 01:21:57,580
Rumsfeld gave
this kind of circular answer.
1488
01:21:57,947 --> 01:21:59,515
He was talking
about World War II,
1489
01:21:59,648 --> 01:22:00,783
and Winston Churchill.
1490
01:22:00,849 --> 01:22:03,519
And then he circled back
and said,
1491
01:22:03,987 --> 01:22:05,354
"I'll always tell the truth."
1492
01:22:05,688 --> 01:22:07,623
There are dozens of ways
1493
01:22:07,690 --> 01:22:10,859
to avoid having to put yourself
in a position
1494
01:22:10,994 --> 01:22:14,530
where you're lying.
And I don't do it.
1495
01:22:14,630 --> 01:22:16,199
But then
the follow up question is,
1496
01:22:16,299 --> 01:22:18,501
"What about everybody else
at the department?"
1497
01:22:19,368 --> 01:22:20,536
You've got to be kidding.
1498
01:22:20,669 --> 01:22:22,371
Well, I'm just asking.
1499
01:22:22,471 --> 01:22:23,906
You know, and everybody laughed.
1500
01:22:24,007 --> 01:22:26,942
But, you know,
the clear subtext was,
1501
01:22:27,043 --> 01:22:29,178
"Of course we're not going
to tell you the truth."
1502
01:22:29,412 --> 01:22:32,281
You know, maybe we won't lie
to your face all the time,
1503
01:22:32,348 --> 01:22:36,285
but don't expect this whole
enormous Defense Department
1504
01:22:36,385 --> 01:22:39,055
to come clean either.
1505
01:22:40,423 --> 01:22:42,891
The lies weren't why we lost,
1506
01:22:42,992 --> 01:22:44,327
but they reflect
1507
01:22:44,427 --> 01:22:47,230
why the war lasted
as long as it did.
1508
01:22:48,497 --> 01:22:50,066
One of the problems
with accountability
1509
01:22:50,166 --> 01:22:52,001
this was the longest war
in American history,
1510
01:22:52,068 --> 01:22:53,569
so there's an awful lot
of people
1511
01:22:53,702 --> 01:22:55,638
who bear responsibility
for that.
1512
01:23:19,528 --> 01:23:22,898
When I was going in
for the sixth time,
1513
01:23:23,499 --> 01:23:26,302
I get this call that
there's a lady downstairs.
1514
01:23:26,635 --> 01:23:28,737
And she's a Gold Star Mom.
1515
01:23:29,105 --> 01:23:31,340
And would I like to speak
to her? I said, absolutely.
1516
01:23:32,075 --> 01:23:34,043
She says, "Hey, I understand
you're going back
1517
01:23:34,143 --> 01:23:36,479
to Afghanistan." I said, "I am."
1518
01:23:36,579 --> 01:23:38,081
She goes, my son was this guy.
1519
01:23:38,181 --> 01:23:40,015
I said,
"I remember your son very well."
1520
01:23:40,583 --> 01:23:42,918
She said, "I want to know
if my son died in vain or not."
1521
01:23:43,419 --> 01:23:46,955
And I said, "I can tell you
right now what my feelings are."
1522
01:23:47,090 --> 01:23:48,157
She goes,
"I don't want to know."
1523
01:23:48,257 --> 01:23:50,226
"Now, I want you to go
to Afghanistan for a year
1524
01:23:50,293 --> 01:23:53,296
and come back and tell me
my son didn't die in vain."
1525
01:23:55,064 --> 01:23:56,932
I took that lady's phone number,
1526
01:23:57,032 --> 01:23:59,702
and I had it on my desk
for 13 months.
1527
01:23:59,802 --> 01:24:02,105
I thought about that lady
every single day.
1528
01:24:03,106 --> 01:24:04,940
And I went out
to the Helmand Province
1529
01:24:05,040 --> 01:24:06,609
and found out the things he did.
1530
01:24:06,742 --> 01:24:08,944
He was delivering babies.
He was treating kids.
1531
01:24:09,044 --> 01:24:11,514
He was saving people's lives.
1532
01:24:12,181 --> 01:24:14,417
So, when I landed in Dulles
13 months later,
1533
01:24:14,517 --> 01:24:16,085
I picked up the phone,
and called her.
1534
01:24:16,185 --> 01:24:18,621
And I said,
"Your son did not die in vain,
1535
01:24:18,721 --> 01:24:19,955
and here's why."
1536
01:24:21,056 --> 01:24:22,591
I'd hate to have
that conversation
1537
01:24:22,691 --> 01:24:24,127
with her today.
1538
01:24:25,328 --> 01:24:26,295
I would.
1539
01:24:34,403 --> 01:24:37,340
Not that her son died in vain.
1540
01:24:39,308 --> 01:24:41,043
But how we left it.
1541
01:24:43,479 --> 01:24:45,514
All the people
that helped us
1542
01:24:46,081 --> 01:24:48,050
all the people
who fought with us...
1543
01:24:48,984 --> 01:24:52,655
there was a lot of men and women
that worked really hard,
1544
01:24:53,489 --> 01:24:54,857
and a lot of great Afghans
1545
01:24:54,990 --> 01:24:59,328
that really wanted peace
and prosperity in their country.
1546
01:25:03,031 --> 01:25:05,668
They weren't thinking about
the perception of winning.
1547
01:25:06,469 --> 01:25:08,070
They wanted to win this.
1548
01:25:16,212 --> 01:25:20,383
I am convinced
that there is a hubris,
1549
01:25:21,284 --> 01:25:24,253
an ideal driven hubris
in this country
1550
01:25:24,353 --> 01:25:27,690
that thinks if we intervene
somewhere in the world,
1551
01:25:28,191 --> 01:25:30,025
we're going to make it
kind of look like us
1552
01:25:30,125 --> 01:25:31,260
when we leave.
1553
01:25:32,228 --> 01:25:34,697
And that's not
an easy proposition.
1554
01:25:38,901 --> 01:25:40,403
There's no good war.
1555
01:25:41,170 --> 01:25:42,271
War is a--
1556
01:25:43,372 --> 01:25:47,410
Almost the most inhumane thing
that people can do.
1557
01:25:47,910 --> 01:25:49,878
There's no goodness in war.
1558
01:25:52,014 --> 01:25:53,916
But we had a chance.
1559
01:25:54,350 --> 01:25:56,018
We had a chance
to make things better
1560
01:25:56,084 --> 01:25:58,821
and leave Afghanistan better
than we found it.
1561
01:25:59,288 --> 01:26:01,089
And we screwed that up.
1562
01:26:03,226 --> 01:26:04,860
But it wasn't because
1563
01:26:05,361 --> 01:26:07,029
our American servicemen
and women
1564
01:26:07,129 --> 01:26:10,299
were not up to the task.
1565
01:26:29,084 --> 01:26:30,719
You can avoid history.
1566
01:26:31,387 --> 01:26:34,089
But history won't avoid you.
1567
01:26:36,191 --> 01:26:37,260
After Vietnam,
1568
01:26:37,360 --> 01:26:39,462
we said we're never going
to do it again.
1569
01:26:39,828 --> 01:26:40,763
After Iraq,
1570
01:26:40,863 --> 01:26:42,598
we said we're never going
to do it again.
1571
01:26:42,731 --> 01:26:44,166
After Afghanistan,
1572
01:26:44,267 --> 01:26:45,668
we say we're never going
to do it again.
1573
01:26:45,934 --> 01:26:47,169
They lie.
1574
01:26:47,970 --> 01:26:49,272
They're lying to you.
1575
01:26:49,372 --> 01:26:52,241
We are doing it again,
and we will do it again.
1576
01:26:52,575 --> 01:26:54,176
So let's learn some lessons
1577
01:26:54,443 --> 01:26:57,913
before we really screw it up
the next time around.