americans wanted mujahideen involvement. the soviets insisted the communist afghan government remain. the soviets insisted on supporting the afghan communists, which was then president najibullah, and then they would continue supporting with food and weapons. so the americans had turned around and said if you're going to do that we're going to continue supporting the afghan mujahideen. so, ok, you leave and the afghan mujahideen and the afghan communists will continue fighting each other, this was essentially it. so geneva didn't bring peace, i mean, there was no illusion about that. geneva was not going to bring peace. it was only a cover basically for the soviets to leave. on february 15, 1989, the last soviet troops left afghanistan. the soviets left behind them a country devastated. they had lost 15,000 men, but1 million afghans had been killed and over 4 million wounded. 5 million had fled the country as refugees. altogether, one quarter of the afghan population was displaced by the war. and the fighting still continued

americans wanted mujahideen involvement. the soviets insisted the communist afghan government remain. the soviets insisted on supporting the afghan communists, which was then president najibullah, and they said they would continue supporting with food and weapons. so the americans had turned around and said, if you're going to do that, we're going to continue supporting the afghan mujahideen. so, ok, you leave and the afghan mujahideen and the afghan communists will continue fighting each other, this was essentially it. so geneva didn't bring peace, there was no illusion about that. geneva was not going to bring peace. it was only a cover basically for the soviets to leave. on february 15th, 1989, the last soviet troops left afg ha nista n. the soviets left behind them a country devastated. they had lost 15,000 men, but one million afghans had been killed and over four million wounded. five million had fled the country as refugees. altogether, one quarter of the afghan population was displaced by the war. and the fighting st

mujahideen. supplying arms to the mu'ahideen. , :, :, mujahideen. our goals had not been, mujahideen. our goals had not been. really. _ mujahideen. our goals had not been, really, to _ mujahideen. our goals had not been, really, to build - mujahideen. our goals had not been, really, to build a - mujahideen. our goals had not been, really, to build a new. been, really, to build a new afghanistan and our own internal debate over what is the future of the soviet union affected our strategy towards the afghan resistance. we decided to abandon the afghan resistance. and to focus, really, on taking it out of the hands of possible future terrorist attacks.- hands of possible future terrorist attacks. with the us and soviets _ terrorist attacks. with the us and soviets gone, _ terrorist attacks. with the us and soviets gone, the - terrorist attacks. with the us and soviets gone, the field . terrorist attacks. with the us l and soviets gone, the field was open for others to exert their influence. open for others to exert their influence-— open for others t

americans wanted mujahideen involvement. the soviets insisted the communist afghan government remain. the soviets insisted on supporting the afghan communists, which was then president najibullah, and they said they would continue supporting with food and weapons. so the americans had turned around and said, if you're going to do that, we're going to continue supporting the afghan mujahideen. so, ok, you leave and the afghan mujahideen and the afghan communists will continue fighting each other, this was essentially it. so geneva didn't bring peace, i mean, there was no illusion about that. geneva was not going to bring peace. it was only a cover basically for the soviets to leave. on february 15, 1989, the last soviet troops left afghanistan. the soviets left behind them a country devastated. they had lost 15,000 men, but one million afghans had been killed and over four million wounded. five million had fled the country as refugees. altogether, one quarter of the afghan population was displaced by the war. and the fighting

americans wanted mujahideen involvement. the soviets insisted the communist afghan government remain. the soviets insisted on supporting the afghan communists, which was then president najibullah, and then they would continue supporting with food and weapons. so the americans had turned around and said if you're going to do that we're going to continue supporting the afghan mujahideen. so, ok, you leave and the afghan mujahideen and the afghan communists will continue fighting each other, this was essentially it. so geneva didn't bring peace, i mean, there was no illusion about that. geneva was not going to bring peace. it was only a cover basically for the soviets to leave. on february 15, 1989, the last soviet troops left afghanistan. the soviets left behind them a country devastated. they had lost 15,000 men, but1 million afghans had been killed and over 4 million wounded. 5 million had fled the country as refugees. altogether, one quarter of the afghan in 1991, a failed coup in moscow brought about the collapse of the so

americans wanted mujahideen involvement. the soviets insisted the communist afghan government remain. the soviets insisted on supporting the afghan communists, which was then president najibullah, and they said then they would continue supporting with food and weapons and money. so the americans had turned around and said if you're going to do that we're going to continue supporting the afghan mujahideen. so, ok, you leave, but the afghan mujahideen and the afghan communists will continue fighting each other, this was essentially it. so geneva didn't bring peace — i mean, there was no illusion about that — geneva was not going to bring peace. it was only a cover, basically, for the soviets to leave. on february 15, 1989, the last soviet troops left afghanistan. the soviets left behind them a country devastated. they had lost 15,000 men, but1 million afghans had been killed and over 4 million wounded. 5 million had fled the country as refugees. altogether, one quarter of the afghan population was displaced by the war. and

-backed mujahideen, to the u.s.-backed osama bin laden, and talk about what happened when the u.s. decided to fund the mujahideen in fighting against the soviet occupation of afghanistan, and then the mujahideen turning their, setting, literally, their gun sights, their u.s. weapons, on the united states, and how the taliban came out of that? spencer: yeah, it's important, because, like, an objection to this is always going to be that we, you know, portrayed, like, the 1980s afghan mujahideen as the taliban. they weren't the taliban. they were the precursors of the taliban. what happened in the 1980s is the soviet union invaded afghanistan, and the united states saw an opportunity. it saw an opportunity to inflict upon the soviet union, its great geopolitical adversary, a defeat as humiliating and as psychologically devastating as the one the united states suffered in vietnam for its own imperial hubris. over the course of the next 10 years, the united states, the pakistani isi and the saudi intelligence services fu

in bonn, and i got a visa from the mujahideen, a recognised organisation from germany. and it was not like that, i prayed in mosques in germany and that i know other muslims. this was a concerted war against young arabs and muslims from around the world. no, i have no doubt about it. and it's very shameful that the countries who committed most abuses are arabs in muslim countries, in this so—called war on terror. i'm not cutting them any slack, by the way. i want to stick with this idea of what happened in your head after this, as you put it, this torture over many, many months. you made a confession, but you also betrayed other individuals. you implicated others, and ijust wonder how guilty you feel about what you did at that point when you talked of others and their involvement. very, very, ifeel very bad about it. and stephen, i tell you, i think this was karma because when they came to me and they told me, the interrogator, the fbi, told me that ramzi al—shibh testified that i helped him go to afghanistan and i don't know the guy let alone helping him, and i was

in bonn, and i got a visa from the mujahideen, a recognised organisation from germany. and it was not like that, i prayed in mosques in germany and that i know other muslims. this was a concerted war against young arabs and muslims from around the world. no, i have no doubt about it. and it's very shameful that the countries who committed most abuses are arabs in muslim countries, in this so—called war on terror. i'm not cutting them any slack, by the way. i want to stick with this idea of what happened in your head after this, as you put it, this torture over many, many months. you made a confession, but you also betrayed other individuals. you implicated others and ijust wonder how guilty you feel about what you did at that point when you talked of others and their involvement. very, very, ifeel very bad about it. and stephen, i tell you, i think this was karma because when they came to me and they told me, the interrogator, the fbi, told me that ramzi al—shibh testified that i helped him go to afghanistan and i don't know the guy let alone helping him, and i was

hundreds of taliban were ousted by the mujahideen. now that situation of panjshir is... there is no medicines for the people. it is very, very bad and because the people who are living in panjshir, they are living in panjshir, they are facing a catastrophe. explained to us, what have the —— civilian population been doing while the fighting has been going on? the doing while the fighting has been going on?— been going on? the people livin: in been going on? the people living in panjshir _ been going on? the people living in panjshir have - been going on? the people i living in panjshir have escaped from their homes. they left their homes and they went to their homes and they went to the mountains. now the weather is very cold in panjshir, the mountains. but the people escape. they escaped their homes and are living in the mountains. if homes and are living in the mountains.— homes and are living in the mountains. . ., , mountains. if the taliban does aet full mountains. if the taliban does get full control _ mountains. if the taliban does get full control of _ mou

they were called the knew mujahideen. one, charlie wilson, he made sure his afghan freedom fighters were equipped with stinger missiles. and had all the money they needed. >> i'm on the defense sub committee of the appropriations committee, and i was able to aokay, i'll vote for another 50 tanks, but i want my 50 million bucks for the majority. >> support for the mujahideen went all the way to the white house. ? and as the resistance continues the fight, wian other responsible governments will stand by them. >> gary shrhone helped run the operation, code named "operation cyclone." >> they were good fighters. they welcomed the u.s. and foreign presence. because we supplied them with various sophisticated weapons. >> but among then was osama bin laden. cia officials insist they never paid or backed the saudi exile directly, but bin laden fought alongside many who were on the u.s. payroll. >> people back home on the afghan program knew who bin laden was, but he was considered a minor player who mostly was a financial facilit

it was the time of the mujahideen, the western—backed freedom fighters, as they were called back then, who were fighting against the soviet regime. my parents were threatened when they had to take refuge with my aunt in the province of helmand, which is also in the south of the country. i was seven when the taliban took over afghanistan, and it was then that i wasn't allowed to go to school, i had to go to three different underground schools in the five years that the taliban were in charge. then 9/11 happened. after 9/11, the international involvement happened. i went to my first official school in 2002, and i got a job with a local tv station in 2006. in 2007, ijoined the bbc and came to the uk. i was 18. you're bsed here with the bbc team that also has an operation in afghanistan. how do you go about covering what's happening in your country from afar? in the last 20 years, it has been very difficult to cover afghanistan because we've had instances of staff who were having to relocate to different parts of the country in order to tell the stories, the sort of qualityjournalism that

the mujahideen still have the same law. there hasn't been any change to it. obviously, people change but that hasn't changed. it's the law of allah. there is not going to be any change in it. >> our senior-international correspondent, arwa damon, has reported from afghanistan. she joins me now, live, from istanbul. arwa, that -- that police commander saying the law will basically be the same as 20 years ago does not go over well for the afghan people. it certainly doesn't suggest a more tolerant version of the taliban, does it? >> no, michael, it doesn't. and in fact, it's probably many afghans' worst fears being realized at this moment, especially if you are, you know, a young woman who is currently trying to complete her education. wanting to build a future for herself inside her own country. not to mention, you know, the impact that this could potentially have on young girls having access to an education, at all. and this has been one of the many issues over the last few weeks is that it does really seem as if the taliban does not yet have a coherent set o

ayman mohyeldin aman mujahideen >>> a few thoughts from that start your day with crest 3d white and from mochaccinos to merlot, your smile will always be brilliant. crest 3d white brilliance. 100% stain removal, 24 hour stain resistance to lock in your whitest smile. crest. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. (burke) i've seen this movie before. (woman) you have? (burke) sure, this is the part where all is lost and the hero searches for hope. then, a mysterious figure reminds her that she has the farmers home policy perk, guaranteed replacement cost. and that her home will be rebuilt, regardless of her limits or if the cost of materials has gone up. (woman) that's really something. (burke) get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. wait, i didn't ruin the ending, did i? (woman) yeah, y-you did. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ i became a sofi member because i needed to consolidate my credit card debt. i needed just one simple way to pay it all off. it was an easy decision to apply with sofi loans, just based on the interest rate and how much i would be sav

relations with al quaida and there's even language in the statement that thanks all the muslims and mujahideen. i think that was intended to the united states and the groups in the west, certainly al quaida and partner groups, but who are considered to have brought the taliban victory. so i think it a suggestion they're not planning to cut ties. >> woodruff: it's coming across as a group of individuals certainly to be feared. ahmed rashid, and finally to both of you, the naming of this as a caretaker government, suggesting it's temporary. how do you read that? >> well, they don't seem to be at the moment having any political plan for the future. thethey've already said we don't believe in elections, so that's out, but how are they going to put in place a permanent government without giving the public some kind of choice or some kind of ability to choose who they want. they won't allow political parties because that's against islam, according to them. their whole interpretation is going to be, i think, based on what you've seen -- how we've seen al quaida in the last few years and other organiz

going to up its support for those groups fighting the soviet union, particularly a group called the mujahideen, a group of islamic fighters fighting in afghanistan. we not only gave them money. we started giving them actually shoulder launched missiles they could use to shoot down soviet planes. one of the figures, prominent figure who received extensive american support because he was fighting the soviets was again a man most americans hasn't heard of at the time, but they would later, osama bin laden. a saudi citizen who went to fight the infidel invaders. from the soviet union. soon he would be fighting the invaders from the united states. reagan also emphasized human rights. exactly the topic of our podcast. he argued the united states most hold the soviet union accountable. don't pretend they're a normal state. tell it like it is. talk about their human rights violations. in 1982, his first full year of president, into his first full year, reagan refused to even meet with the soviet ambassador until they released a group of pentecostals, a group of religious dissidents who were seeking as

was the united states' tacit support which funded, people code at the mujahid in, —— called it the mujahideen, who became the taliban, they gave them ground to air missiles in order to fight the soviets and then of course they haunt all that weaponry after that and there was a terrible civil war and there was a terrible civil war and there was a terrible civil war and the taliban gained control of most if not all of the country, and most of the world just kind of turned off afghanistan. when i got to the foreign office injune of 2001, i don't think afghanistan had really featured in the briefs that were there awaiting me to read my way through into the subject. 50 that was... you can't say, yes, the world are one country, the us, uk, somebody else, should have done x in order to stop this, but we should have been more alert. it's also fair to say that the united states was on the search, on the hunt for al-qaeda because they had been the victims of so many previous terrible al-qaeda —based terrorist acts, including the bombings of the embassies in east africa, terrorism in the yemen and els