President Biden must soon make a key decision about American troop levels in Afghanistan. There are currently about 2,500 American troops in Afghanistan, but under a deal negotiated last year between the United States and the Taliban all American troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by May 2021.
This deal was negotiated by the Trump administration and it is unclear whether or not the new Biden administration will honor it.
Journalist Jessica Donati discusses the dilemma facing the new Biden administration. She is a reporter with the Wall Street Journal who covers the war in Afghanistan and she is the author of the new book Eagle Down: The Last Special Forces Fighting the Forever War.
We kick off discussing the recent history of US military involvement in Afghanistan from 2001, when the first special forces and CIA officers deployed to help evict the Taliban from power. We discuss some of the choices previous presidents have made about the role of the US military in Afghanistan before having a longer discussion about the decision now facing the Biden administration.