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author eric lam has written about afghanistan and if you're ok fight over
their their book is called the only thing worth dying for eric thanks for
joining silent gary graham hope to be here thank you alright up for assistance
will go brought what's the book about
tells the store well its report dot
an analysis of the war by any means not
what's going on now this is the historical story and of the mission
became official forces green berets
who was with homage karzai back
right after nine eleven anna for the first time the story been told that
exclaimed
what exactly when on everybody note about heart by now and they have their
economy
preconceptions about him but nobody's truly understand anything more than hey
we put this guy and power
and thought i was able to go to the horse's mouth and
you know just like yours u_k_ i think that in your website you talk about how
you have
real conversation deliver the news honestly we're going to give you what we
got
i got to go to the guys that were actually there
talk to nine of the thriving
members of an eleven any payment with kar di
from during a three-week period when he rode literally from obscurity
no one ever heard of them on the on the world sage really
and during that three weeks every single member of the team with either wounded
and or killed
this their stories well system exists or so
well first question is waited karzai
come out of a mean how why him
well take their word their word to parkin
that had come back and afghanistan after nine eleven
to try and comment
if you will
rebellion in the house in the taliban heartland
as you know we all feel supported the northern alliance in the north we went
in with about
fourteen four five teams of green berets
to work with the northern alliance
to go against the taliban at the nationally plains region
to slowly
attempt to liberate
the various cities heading
toward canned are
now this is the one team that went to the health because somewhere during all
this
somebody real life
we're on a crash course for civil war in this country
and the the basic idea without going into the pool historical side of things
is that
uh... in the past they they knew that
ethnic minority there one of the and touchy embargo does in fact were too
put into power or
at least assisted and putting the power of by u_s_ forces heading south
but no way that majority postion would put up with it it would be civil war
just like it was when we omit abandoned the afghanistan after the filled with
withdrew
syracuse i mean winters kamikaze before
war right and and why do we why it is our special forces team decide to go
with him into this and it certainly would one of only coupons and that went
in to help on his own
right after nitrite when the bombing began on american pop over
mob dual hock
an armored car that would have to talk to him
that went into the top again we supported the northern alliance all the
difference me that on tell i mean there's like three different classrooms
like you walk around but we don't know about them foci with our remaining
finally there that they were the only two that contacted u_s_ we have lost all
of our
offer all of our contact really meeting we had to reestablish our contact in the
north and we had no contact from the foul
of the laughlin and and he was um...
syndicate wasn't willing to put anybody on the ground with either of these guys
they asked for assistance they wanted assistance like we were given the
northern alliance they want to keep on the ground with them
we refuse because if it was too dangerous in the house
what we did give them
art with or we offered them satellite phone
abu arc refused he said that he thought it would be used in combination with the
i tried the
pakistani intelligence to track him and he didn't trust that
cause i accepted cellphone satellite phone
he went in alternately he got kicked into the mountains north of canned are
and he called for help we extracted him
took him to pakistan
and that win that we
ten fifteen to meet with him
and on november third
two thousand one at gave to all about o_j_ that airbase no one to this day
until this book and out
two ten point exactly where the planets insurgency took place tonight actually
have a photo a above-ground satellite photo of the actual building with a plan
insurgency with this group
went back into the armed
into the travel belt
cartwright
was the one person who name kept coming up when all this is going on militarily
james dobbins was kind of work in the background he had never heard a card
like nobody ever heard of cars i bet you put the one name in the region that kept
popping up and people came
heated even guy the northern alliance said hey he's we would even look at him
as a potential leader
dr blood or ran against him he actually
com gave his summed up towards karzai back then in two thousand one i have the
actual exactly when he did that
which audrey was two days after
cars i want to first battle with fifteen have been great
what karthik had would be a diplomatic clout in the area he was from a
prominent tribe when he didn't have
it any military clout in afghanistan it with all occurred
you know respected earn from apparel begun and the northern alliance what
they're going to back him
what the campaign he will will work with you but they knew they needed a postion
he had no credibility really love the warrior you with a a guy who
guiding force in life work
now for mandela martin luther king
motley gandhi
and fill you truly
not even a wild card with an inspiring
guerrilla leader
that needed support to help by postion right up
plays couple more questions than that
where he goes into the south as you described in our book what does right
where they get fighting forces to fight against itself they had none
me do what's three-way around the country side amount of hot brought in
about thirty people
and they went around to talk to the different district chief in the
different look in the different regions that they hate
we need to write up we need to go to the only way the posh for the taliban aka
surrender it to another
tell another postion
and they literally had talks and the people did not trust the maid said we
will not stand behind you
we want the americans here
we want them behind us because what you're going to do is there to be looked
at
they looked actually one of the plane or dropping
templates all over thing right up against it like we did with again fit on
a train with you know the million in the first gulf war
and than what we do we
abandon these people were prodded by promising to be people worry that
if they were rough with the
statesman who weren't you know they were all i've been a club on the taliban
they're not going to survive because the americans are going to leave and they're
gonna leave them and then dekalb our to come back and retribution
***
fights list
mexico look i'm keepin it real obviously we had to trust karzai enough
that we game it in the green berets right ok so that already distinguishes
him from abu harkin and others cassie's playing ball
runner actually about to hawk actually would actually room going to get this
came back in a green beret they were actually training to go doing him but
then got captured and murdered
okay audit defence bennett that's if then that's why we have got to bring us
that these jealous i guess i went over the real open mind about blown away how
the alle honestly how much of but out camp loyal
innocent
card by coming to power whether helping just kind of lined up
because of her work for that can go in and you would have never had credibility
yeah yeah yeah i mean what you think this very rosy picture armored cars and
we know now ladies still obviously working with his brothers brothers on
the biggest drug dealers in afghanistan
ideas tremendous corruption is government so he might come in and it's
a nominal fees and i don't know that that's true right but it doesn't week
look like he's remainders yeah well that the beauty of the story and that's why i
keep it pure
is i keep it to the perspective of hate your view american view the leading man
their time this mission they meet this guy
they have the ability to either go in with him or not they have a judge women
make their own decisions we're talking junior after than ngos we're talking
nobody from the pentagon
white house had no idea i mean on the day that they were going before they go
in the nation
george tenet telling george bush
in the white house omg need situation room
but they have nothing to put on the table in the house he was completely
they didn't think anything was going to come up and he was going to maybe be
somebody who would help too
formula that either the post held on governments
but this team went in and by chance of he they want to touch huge battle
the gave him credibility also was some other real quick eric we're trying to
explain this book is the only thing worth dying for so
watkins eleven green berets do with some who quoted eighteen gauge what happened
next
well it when they went in
and again the local in the park in provo learned that the american could come in
with cartwright and
this is it worth a little bit of a gray area cartwright said that he didn't
realize if that happens bon pain usually
the green berets as you'll read in the book kind of have their own popped on
that
but all of sudden a town
account to karen koh rises up again their taliban gum local power bone
government banning the governor of earth on the taliban governor
and all the credit teamed with the poster in hiding and live with the
popular and grow up rebellion
lesson twenty four hours after there on the ground although threatened
they're like of crap we're going to have a ton of taliban coming toward this
village because they're going to put down the cup writing it's like they
weren't going to want to go up again today i did want to brief lena really
strep any trouble
until they have their forces settle bailing out about thirty guides at that
point
and for that all the phone from can our comfort was estimated at five hundred
without an ardent held on to put down this uprising in the phillips and it
came out of choice typically stay in hiding
we continue with our plan duly abort the mission completely and run because
there's no way we're going to go against this big kalb on force
or we're going to take like the enemy they decided to take the fight to be any
and of course with air power
they were able to repel the psalm puget convoy ocala one coming to again put
down this uprising in the town of karen coat
although threatened overnight
cards i have credibility got a phone call before the northern alliance would
be to talk to them you get the congradulations because all the for new
player
and for the for the moment in the story that no one's ever note about no one's
ever really follow through in the end
and delivered the history of means
you put it this so such pressure full-time you've heard this before in
your show that we have phil not time to reflect
and really i try try to do that right now in reflecting show the toward from
the perspective of the two men
i want to tell the
the people what we know now because what i wanted to do with keep the moment
then and show the people what they knew about cars at the time what was going on
and you're able to state with this team
all the way through the historic period when
flickrblog or less questions wrote these there
eighteen that sounded alot elba recapture how does a spread from that
what happened
from there it would kind of acting roller effect really they the different
districts
from oregon toward can our perjured replacing their flag and they the arm
the americans at one p m
one location inherent coat
used overactive techniques that i think i can't go into a far as uh... with
aircraft but they essentially
put on surveillance to protect these different towns that were facially
hiding behind car that all the way to can hardly move toward can are
homes all these rumors were spread out again cause i don't brother in in
pakistan was trained yet fell to the people inside
the different you know the whole idea of legend and mythology of the *** force
cars i was with with spreading and so they just were happily able to
kind of a ride in the shroud of this this perceived power that carla had when
he really had lesson three hundred guys in these eleven men
going towards
can are and that's where willmar
that thinking at the gigantic force on that right
said hey that
let's talk surrender and that's what they do that we can melt more board are
out in
honestly that there's battle between them skipping over a whole lot but these
eleven men truly
shape dumb
church history just
billy by championed by timing
and by going with a guy who was a nobody
and brought him to power now i'm not i'm not in the car that is the wrong data
right by this isn't an analysis of
it's very nonpartisan i just tried the reader in the moment
and on it
animates us alright of the book is called a living worth dying for is
obviously a really interesting story and plans offered by three donors are hair
appreciate it very much