The Gist: Jack Fairweather on the history of U.S. intervention in Afghanistan.

A Close Call With Peace in Afghanistan

A Close Call With Peace in Afghanistan

A daily news and culture podcast with Mike Pesca.
Nov. 19 2014 6:39 PM

Afghanistan: 13 Years and Counting

When the war started going badly, Hamid Karzai’s stock plummeted from Gandhi-like to radioactive.

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Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld escorts Afghan President Hamid Karzai through an honor cordon and into the Pentagon on June 14, 2004.

Photo Illustration by Slate. Photo by Robert D. Ward/Wikimedia.

Listen to Episode 140 of Slate’s The Gist:

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When our feelings about Hamid Karzai cooled, did we miss out on the Afghan president's vision for his country? Today on The Gist, Middle East correspondent Jack Fairweather of Bloomberg News sketches a broad history of Afghanistan from his book The Good WarFor the Spiel, Mike fans the flames of a debate from last week’s Superfest East.

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Mike Pesca is the host of the Slate daily podcast The Gist. He also contributes reports and commentary to NPR.