Andrew Bacevich: The Taliban’s Triumph

Andrew Bacevich: The Taliban’s Triumph

Plus John Powers on Dick Gregory.

Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener
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Over almost 20 years in Afghanistan, the US lost 2,400 troops and personnel. Another 21,000 Americans have been wounded. The mission cost more than a trillion dollars—including $80 billion to train and arm the Afghan army. But that army didn’t resist the recent Taliban advance, and now the Taliban control the country and the last Americans are fleeing. Andrew Bacevich comments; his books include America’s War for the Greater Middle East.

Also: There’s a documentary out now about Dick Gregory, the Black stand-up comedian and political activist of the 1960s and after. It’s called The One and Only Dick Gregory, and it’s on Showtime. John Powers comments—he’s critic at large on NPR’s Fresh Air.

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Start Making Sense Start Making Sense is The Nation’s podcast, hosted by Jon Wiener and coproduced by the Los Angeles Review of Books. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts for new episodes each Thursday.  


Jon Wiener Jon Wiener is a contributing editor of The Nation and co-author (with Mike Davis) of Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties.


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