A superb interview by RT’s Marina Portnaya of veteran New York Times and CBS journalist Jere Van Dyke on the Taliban, the Afghan War, and the deeper political and cultural context of a war the U.S. can never win — in part because the war is being fought against forces the U.S. itself created.
Van Dyke, a graduate of the University of Oregon and a military veteran, was held captive by the Taliban for 45 days, then released without explanation.
The takeaway: The war against the Taliban is something very different than is portrayed so glibly by American politicians, and one that could never be won, as so many other empires found at great cost.
We’re also very impressed with Portnaya, a young journalist whose sharp skills are growing ever-keener.
Her first question, asking Van Dyk what the war on terror looks like through the eyes of the Taliban, drew this response: “No one has ever asked me that. Very, very good question, very interesting question.” Coming from a journalist with Van Dyk’s credentials, that’s high praise indeed.
