In April, US President Joe Biden declared that all remaining US troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan.
He gave a deadline of September 11, a symbolic date and a powerful reminder of the events that sent America, along with her allies, into a long and brutal war.
Twenty years on from the 9/11 terror attacks, one war correspondent returns to Afghanistan to try and make sense of the conflict.
“I’m heartbroken about the way things went in Afghanistan… Why would I come back to a place that gave me nightmares?” Graeme Smith, former war correspondent
Canadian Graeme Smith travels back through the cities and provinces where he witnessed the intense conflict with the Taliban forces and explains what it was like to have a bird’s eye view of history in the making.
“I had no idea what I was getting myself into… It wasn’t unusual to hear people saying, ‘Oh this is like the opening scene in Star Wars, you know with all of the crazy characters walking around.’”
His reporting captured the brutality of the battles as well as dark and troubling incidents that cast a shadow over the mission in Afghanistan.
“Terrible things happened to these prisoners when they were being interrogated. This shook me because it wasn’t an accident of war. It was deliberate. It was a part of the design of the war.”
Now he wants to see how life has changed for the Afghan people and if they feel confident that Afghanistan can find peace.
From school principals to keen university students and housewives, he finds many worried about what life will be like once the US has left and whether that means a return of the Taliban.
“They will not accept us and we will not accept them.” Young female student
Taliban leaders themselves boast about their resurgence and how they felt about peace talks with America.
With the clock now ticking, those that have spent a lifetime opposing the Taliban say they fear for the future.
“The Taliban are extremists, so you may see a bloodbath on the streets of Kabul… This is about the future of my country, my people, quite literally our lives.” National security adviser
Ghosts of Afghanistan goes to air on Monday 7th June at 8.30pm on ABC and iview
It is replayed on Tuesday 8th at 1.00pm and Wednesday 9th at 11.20pm. It can also be seen on ABC NEWS channel on Saturday at 8.10pm AEST, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.
