Show Notes
In this profoundly personal and powerful interview, the UK's Minister for the Armed Forces, Al Carns MP, tells his story of Afghanistan from the eyes of a soldier who fought there. Al recounts his first tour as a 26-year-old commando in the hellish frontline of Helmand, from the dust of Camp Bastion and countless relentless gun battles in different parts of the country.
He shares harrowing near-death experiences and the heavy responsibility of leading men in combat, offering a raw reflection on war, camaraderie, and the complex relationship soldiers form with a country of breathtaking beauty and brutal conflict. We discuss the mission's intent, the progress he witnessed, the painful 2021 collapse, and his unique perspective on whether it was all "worth it," and why Afghanistan is a place that "captures a bit of your soul."
👍🏼 Support the show: Leave stars, comments, share with friends
📺 Watch/Subscribe on YouTube Producer | Host: Roh Yakobi Assistant Producer/Researcher: Sa-aadat Yakobi Music ©: Dawood Sarkhosh Email: [email protected] Instagram: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi X: @TheAfgPod & @RohYakobi Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Afghanistan with Roh Yakobi
In Part 2 of this exclusive interview with acclaimed journalist and author Jon Lee Anderson, we investigate one of the most consequential assassinations in Afghanistan’s modern history: the killing of Ahmad Shah Massoud, just two days before the attacks of September 11, 2001.
In this episode, I sit down with acclaimed journalist and author Jon Lee Anderson to trace Afghanistan’s long road to 9/11 through the eyes of someone who witnessed or followed much of it firsthand.
On 9 September 2001, two al-Qaeda operatives posing as journalists assassinated Ahmad Shah Massoud, just two days before the 9/11 attacks. But how did they manage to get so close to him?
More than two decades after helping overthrow the Taliban and witnessing the birth of Afghanistan’s new government, Don Parnell looks back at what became of the country — and the people — he left behind.
As Hamid Karzai emerged as Afghanistan’s new interim leader, the Taliban’s first regime was collapsing. But behind the scenes, the final days of Taliban rule in their Pashtun heartland, were shaped as much by negotiations as by military force.