Kabul under siege while America's longest war - CBS News
60 Minutes
The war in Afghanistan is the longest in U.S. history. It's lasted over 16 years and in that time America's goals and strategies have changed. Now there's another new plan. President Trump has sent 3,000 more troops to train and assist the Afghan army. But in the Afghan capital you don't have to go far to see the problems. Kabul is so dangerous, American diplomats and soldiers are not allowed to use the roads. As we first reported earlier this year, they can't drive just two miles from the airport to U.S. headquarters. They have to fly. After all these years, a trillion dollars, and 2,400 American lives -- Kabul is under siege.
This is rush hour at Kabul International Airport -- a swarm of helicopters that's earned the nickname 'Embassy Air.' It's how Americans and their allies working at the U.S. Embassy and military headquarters travel back and forth from the airport. It's just a five-minute flight. The chopper we boarded was making its tenth trip of the day.
A few years ago American convoys regularly drove on the airport road below. Now the view from the helicopter window is all most on board will see of Kabul. They'll stay behind blast walls for the rest of their time in Afghanistan. We wanted to know what it says about where we are in this war if American troops can't drive two miles down a road in Kabul.
John Nicholson: It's a country at war. And it's a capital that is under attack by a determined enemy.
But this isn't some remote outpost -- it's the capital. When the U.S. first came here, the population was 500,000. Now it's more than 5 million. Refugees, people desperate for work, and terrorists have flooded Kabul. General Nicholson showed us how vulnerable the city has become.
John Nicholson: A suicide bomber is gonna go in here, he's gonna kill himself. He doesn't care about his future. Vastly easier than what the Afghan security forces have to do. - Read More
Kabul under siege while America's longest war rages on - CBS News
posted by Fakhria @ 6/04/2018
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