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Program Overview
- Hosts: Ray Suarez and Elizabeth Arnold
- Length: 51 minutes
- Original Airdate: Feb 2009
There’s widespread agreement that the greatest threat to the United States is lurking in the mountainous border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. President Obama will be hard-pressed to accomplish the mission of securing Afghanistan and protecting America if the tribal areas of Pakistan remain a terrorist haven. The largely ungoverned, and historically ungovernable tribal areas of Pakistan have long been a wasteland of thieves, thugs, and terrorists. The Taliban has regrouped there, and has extended the welcome mat to al-Qaeda. That poses a critical threat to Kabul, Islamabad, and Washington.
Segment 1: Ray Suarez explores the threats emanating from Pakistan's Tribal Areas.
Guests include: Major General Athar Abbas, a Pakistani Army General and Director General of the Inter Services Public Relations; Aitaz Ahsn, head of the Lawyer's Movement of Pakistan; Haroon Bacha, a Pakistani singer; Asma Jahangir, director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; Eersa Samiahuja, a project director for Internews in Pakistan; Josh White, regional expert at the Institute for Global Engagement's Center on Faith and International Affairs.
Segment 2: Elizabeth Arnold takes a look back at US policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan in the 1980s and 90s to better understand how US disengagement from the region had dire consequences both there and in America.
Guests include: Ambassador Teresita Schaffer, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia; former US Congressman Charlie Wilson; Milton Bearden, former CIA station chief in Pakistan; Edmund McWilliams, a former Foreign Service officer in Afghanistan; Robert Oakley, former Ambassador to Pakistan; Ambassador Robin Raphel, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia during the Clinton Administration.
Segment 3: Sean Carberry travels to Afghanistan to hear from the American military and Afghan people as they confront an insurgency heavily fueled by cash and guns from the tribal areas.
Guests include: Brigadier General Mark Milley, deputy commanding general for operations of CJTF101; Captain Andrew Wilson, Civil Affairs team leader of the Provincial Reconstruction Team at Combat Outpost Najil; Lieutenant Jon Bryant, with Charlie Company 1-178; Colonel John Spiszer, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division; Sergeant Sutton, 426 Civil Affairs Battalion; Abdul Rahman, former Afghan army officer and village elder; First Lieutenant Pier Muhammad, commanding officer of the Afghan National Army Company based at Combat Outpost Najil
Terror, Tribes and the Taliban / Executive Producer: Aaron Lobel / AAM Producers: Monica Bushman, Sean D. Carberry, Matt Ozug, Monica Villavicencio and Chris Williams / Interns: Ann Thomas and Nadia Shairzay / Additional reporting by Naveed Ahmad and Shaheen Buneri / Special thanks to Shaukat Malik
Additional Broadcasts
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- Winning the Peace
- Radio
What People are Saying
A very informative & historically correct summary of events in Pakistan & Afghanistan. It clearly points to the source of today's Taliban. Unfortunately, madrassas set up with US & Saudi money in the Pakistan border area to infuse Islamic ideology in the Afghan mujaheddin fighting the Soviet Union and Zia-ul-Haq's zeal to Islamize Pakistan led to the birth of Taliban madmen. These madmen destroyed Afghanistan's culture. They are now trying to destroy Pakistan's North Frontier Province by trying to impose outdated & primitive Islamic laws and by destroying girl schools. The only way to get rid of the Taliban culture is to declare Pakistan & Afghanistan as secular Islamic states along Turkish lines & marginalize the Taliban/Islamists through economic development. We should never forget Pakistan's sacrifice in bringing down the Soviet Union, which finally led to a unified Europe with the fall of the Berlin wall.
, about 1 year ago
The list of people who are invited for the talk is not balanced. From the Punjab side strong people are called while from the tribal areas a singer who has spent most of his time in a failed love affair, drinking and singing is called. How can one expect that he will be able to have a valid and strong point of view about the tribal area. In segment 3 it is mentioned heavily fueled...... If one really thinks that tribal areas have such a strong economy that they can heavily fuel a war against the best military machines of the earth, then that person must check his knowledge of this region or go to a psychiatrist. There is no word in your discussion of the old animosities of Pakistan and tribal people. The bombing of Wana in 60s and 70s, the imprisonment of Mawlana Noor Mohd of Wana, the wars that were waged in the 60s against people of Swat and Bajaur, the bombing of Khyber. Don't you guys think that Pakistan very wisely engaged US and UK to its own war? If the religious powers are defeated in this region it will make it very easy for other interested powers of the region to find support in the less religious classes of the tribes. It will make it easy for other interested people to buy loyalties in this region, which they cannot do among the religious communities. This whole campaign will not bring prosperity and economic growth, instead it will make the problem for a longer time and in the long run will seriously damage US interests in this region.
, about 1 year ago
