Foreign Affairs Focus on Books: Anand Gopal on Afghanistan and Iraq

Anand Gopal, a former Afghanistan correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, sits down with Justin Vogt, deputy managing editor of Foreign Affairs. Gopal, whose latest book was reviewedin the November/December 2014 issue, talks about interviewing Taliban commanders, the prospects for Afghanistan's new leadership, and why ISIS is gaining followers. A transcript is available below:

VOGT: Hi, I'm Justin Vogt, deputy manager editor of Foreign Affairs. We're joined today by Anand Gopal, a journalist and the author of No Good Men Among the Living: America, The Taliban, and The War through Afghan Eyes. And this book was a finalist for the National Book Award and is part of a review essay in the current issue of Foreign Affairs.

GOPAL: Well, you know, Afghans that I speak to are more hopeful today than I've ever heard them. And it's because of the breath of fresh air that Ghani brings to the presidential palace. Karzai was somebody who dealt with patronage. He was able to cultivate clients around the country. Ghani is a state-builder, and we already see in the first couple of months of his administration, he's attempting to clean up corruption and actually make a difference.

You know, with that being said, though, it's important to realize that in a place like Afghanistan, whoever is sitting in the presidential palace in Kabul only has limited power, and that's for one reason: in the countryside, the power is held by warlords and strong men and also because the government itself is beholden to the international community for aid. And so it's—you know, there's only so much somebody like Ghani can do.  Read More at Justin Vogt and Anand Gopal
Foreign Affairs Focus on Books: Anand Gopal on Afghanistan and Iraq