The Afghanistan story is complicated and overwhelming. So let’s narrow it down to some personal accounts. First, David Rhode (a journalist who was kidnapped by the Taliban) in The New Yorker: Trying—and Failing—to Save the Family of the Afghan Who Saved Me. And from George Packer in The Atlantic: We Have One Last Chance to Save Our Allies. “A former U.S. ambassador is getting anxious messages from workers in the embassy cafeteria. Army veterans are hearing from Afghan troops, including women, who face special retaliation. Taliban fighters are going from house to house, searching for ‘infidels’ and ‘traitors’ to be punished. Their official promise to show mercy and forgo reprisals is daily betrayed by brutal murders now happening all around the country.”

+ Can we please stop with all the headlines questioning whether the Taliban will really be kinder and gentler? They are beyond ridiculous and it’s the same imbecility in the name of being supposedly unbiased we saw during 4 years of Trumpism. Graeme Wood: This Is Not the Taliban 2.0.

+ “It’s just constant.” Clarissa Ward describes gunshots fired in Taliban- controlled streets. And here’s Ward courageously reporting on what she’s seeing on the ground in Afghanistan now.

+ There are a lot of organizations trying to help Afghans. Let’s focus our NextDraft community efforts in one area to have an impact. Support Women Journalists
in Afghanistan. I’ve donated. Please do so too if you can.