James Madison Center for Civic Engagement: Democracy Matters

"I was shocked by the speed at which the Taliban was able to retake control...It makes me wonder about political and military decisions that have been made over the last 20 years...It's agonizing to hear about the human rights advocates, military interpreters and even American citizens who were left behind. I appreciate the band aid needed to be ripped off eventually...Did we know all along that the government would immediately collapse without us putting money into those programs? How long did we know that the situation was untenable but remained? Ultimately, I've been battling with the question of what was the point." In this episode, we talk with Aaron Shapiro, JMU Business Administration, '06, who deployed to Afghanistan and served as a Disbursing Officer at Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan. See the show notes with links mentioned in this episode at https://j.mu/civic/9-11-at-20.shtml#ashapiro