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Transcript/ScriptAfghanistan Withdrawal Anniversary TV
HEADLINE: A Year After US Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Some Frustration at Lack of Lessons Learned
TEASER: US State and Defense Departments are conducting ongoing internal after-action reports on the withdrawal, but timeline of release remains unclear
PUBLISHED AT: 08/11/2022 at 10:45p
BYLINE: Patsy Widakuswara
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Mia Bush, DJones, Jepsen
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, AFP, Skype
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:41
VID APPROVED BY: Jepsen
TYPE: TV
EDITOR NOTES: Radio track included. There is an accompanying web))
((INTRO: ))
[[Ahead of the anniversary of the chaotic American military withdrawal from Afghanistan, administration officials say the U.S. is on a stronger strategic footing by ending the war and point to the recent strike that killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri as proof of U.S. “over-the-horizon” counterterror capacity. But many are expressing frustration at what they see as the administration’s lack of effort to learn from the withdrawal and the 20-year conflict. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.]]
((Nats of gunshots))
((NARRATOR))
Mobs of Afghans descending on the Kabul airport, so desperate to leave the country that some fell from planes to their deaths.
((NARRATOR))
A suicide attack that killed 180 people including 13 American troops.
((NARRATOR))
U.S. military hardware turning into Taliban spoils of war.
These images are still haunting, nearly a year after the last American soldier left.
((Radio track: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre))
((Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary))
“Departments and agencies have begun their independent after-action reviews of the operations at the end of the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan.”
((credit: Rise to Peace))
((NARRATOR))
U.S. agencies reviewing the chaotic and bloody withdrawal
((end credit))
include the departments of State and Defense. But it’s unclear when the reports will be published and whether any parts will be unclassified.
((NARRATOR))
Administration officials say they will mark the anniversary by honoring “the service and sacrifice” of those who died, recognizing the lives saved, and focusing on how the U.S. is now on “a stronger strategic footing.”
Earlier this month, al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri
((AAMAJ NEWS ))
was killed in a drone strike,
((end credit)
ordered by President Joe Biden.
((President Joe Biden)) “Justice has been delivered and this terrorist leader is no more."
((NARRATOR))
((Mandatory Courtesy: SITE INTELLIGENCE GROUP))
Al-Zawahiri’s death is evidence of U.S. “over-the-horizon" counterterror capabilities.
((end credit))
((Radio strike: said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of South Asia program at the Wilson Center, via Skype.))
((Michael Kugelman, Wilson Center)) ((credit: Skype))
“The strike on Zawahiri will enable the administration to mark the one-year anniversary by making the very simple point that we’ve left, we’ve brought our troops home, we’ve removed them from harm's way, but we continue to do everything we can to protect Americans the world over from the threat of terrorism.”
((NARRATOR))
But observers say there’s a lack of effort to learn lessons from the war that killed more than 2,400 American troops and cost taxpayers $300 million every day for 20 years, spanning both Democratic and Republican administrations.
((Radio track: Jonathan Schroden, Director of Countering Threats and Challenges Program at the Center for Naval Analyses, via Skype))
((Jonathan Schroden, Center for Naval Analyses)) ((credit: Skype))
“There's a bipartisan failure here, which means there's not a huge incentive for one side or the other to drive any kind of lessons learned. // ((CUT TO)) This is a war we lost. And that stings. And it stings both sides of the political aisle pretty badly. And so some amount of time is likely required to pass before people who were directly involved in the war are no longer in positions of power and it becomes less sensitive to actually look back at what happened and examine it critically.”
((NARRATOR))
Meanwhile, humanitarian groups are drawing attention to the plight of the Afghan people facing poverty and desperation.
((NARRATOR))
Refugee groups are pushing the administration to speed up relocation of tens of thousands Afghan allies left in the country.
((Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News, Washington.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington D.C.
Embargo DateAugust 11, 2022 22:57 EDT
BylineWhite House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
