The Heat: Afghanistan Unrest

The Heat

According to the United Nations, the Taliban is now fighting for power in more areas in Afghanistan than has been seen since the U.S. invasion took place in 2001.

The fragile security situation is one of the reasons the United States says it will keep thousands of troops in the country into 2017 in support of the Afghan government.

In late September, Taliban fighters briefly took over the northern city of Kunduz before being driven out by Afghan security forces. The fall of Kunduz was a major victory for the Taliban insurgency in its attempt to expand beyond its rural strongholds. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says outside groups are to blame.

The Heat brought on:

  • Omar Samad, an Afghan diplomat and the Senior Advisor to Afghan Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah.
  • Hamid Arsalan, an Afghan analyst and a program officer at the National Endowment for Democracy.

For now the United States will keep nearly ten thousand troops in Afghanistan through 2016 to continue training Afghan forces and prevent the return of Al Qaeda. Great Britain will also extend its military presence in Afghanistan to confront the ongoing security challenges from the Taliban.

The Heat continued the discussion with:

  • Jamie Gaskarth, an Associate Professor in International Relations at Plymouth University.
  • Paul Kawika Martin, the Political Director with Peace Action.

CCTV’s Roxanna Shapour reports from Kabul about the decision by the United States to keep thousands of troops in Afghanistan and how China is helping Afghanistan in reconstruction efforts.