1 00:00:02,200 --> 00:00:03,800 This programme contains scenes which some viewers 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:09,000 may find upsetting. 3 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,560 After nearly 20 years of war and over 100,000 dead, 4 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:22,800 Afghanistan is once more in the grip of the Taliban. 5 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:27,160 Just weeks before the fall of Kabul, I was there to see a country bracing 6 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:31,840 itself for the withdrawal of US forces. 7 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:34,480 Every morning that I wake up I worry that we might 8 00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:36,720 lose another colleague. 9 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:41,400 I met Taliban leaders who claim they've changed... 10 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:43,000 There was, in the past, some mistakes 11 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:47,520 that we have learnt from. 12 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:49,920 ..but with the future of millions of Afghans at stake, 13 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:55,160 and concerns about global security, can we believe them? 14 00:00:55,680 --> 00:01:00,880 They have become savvier in deceiving. 15 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,040 I was born in Afghanistan, and have been reporting 16 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:16,120 from the region for more than a decade. 17 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:21,800 I returned in June this year - just two months before the country 18 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:27,040 fell to the Taliban. 19 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:32,400 After nearly 20 years out of power, they were gradually 20 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:33,480 gaining territory. 21 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:35,640 My first stop was to see an old friend, 22 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:36,840 the photo journalist Massoud Hossaini. 23 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:42,040 Already he was living in hiding, barely leaving his house. 24 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:58,360 I'm staying here. 25 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:02,080 Here, just to show you, is all I have left. 26 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:03,160 Here is my bed. 27 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:05,840 I made it as a kitchen. 28 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,240 And that's it for now. 29 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:10,280 That's your life. 30 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:11,320 All the time here. 31 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:12,400 All the time. 32 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:17,440 Massoud's parents fled Afghanistan when he was a small child. 33 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:19,720 20 years ago, the Taliban were running the country 34 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:21,640 with an extreme version of strict Islamist law. 35 00:02:21,640 --> 00:02:23,560 After the 9/11 attacks, America blamed the Taliban 36 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:24,600 for sheltering Al-Qaeda. 37 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,000 A US-led coalition - with thousands of British troops - 38 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,280 invaded Afghanistan and drove the Taliban out. 39 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:32,920 Within months, Massoud returned to take part 40 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:38,160 in the rebuilding of a nation. 41 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:48,960 One of my favourite pictures when I came to Afghanistan. 42 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,120 This is the morning of the second day that I arrived in Kabul. 43 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:57,360 And this picture gave me a lot of hope. 44 00:02:57,640 --> 00:02:57,840 I 45 00:02:57,840 --> 00:02:58,040 I thought, 46 00:02:58,040 --> 00:02:58,280 I thought, we 47 00:02:58,280 --> 00:02:58,440 I thought, we are 48 00:02:58,440 --> 00:02:58,760 I thought, we are going 49 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:00,120 I thought, we are going to 50 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:00,320 I thought, we are going to be 51 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:00,520 I thought, we are going to be a 52 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:00,760 I thought, we are going to be a normal 53 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:00,920 I thought, we are going to be a normal country, 54 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:01,120 I thought, we are going to be a normal country, normal 55 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,480 I thought, we are going to be a normal country, normal society. 56 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:03,680 I thought, we are going to be a normal country, normal society. Our 57 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:03,880 normal country, normal society. Our girls 58 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:04,040 normal country, normal society. Our girls can 59 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:04,240 normal country, normal society. Our girls can do 60 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:04,440 normal country, normal society. Our girls can do this, 61 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:04,800 normal country, normal society. Our girls can do this, they 62 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:05,360 normal country, normal society. Our girls can do this, they can 63 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:05,560 normal country, normal society. Our girls can do this, they can come 64 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:05,760 normal country, normal society. Our girls can do this, they can come to 65 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:06,000 girls can do this, they can come to a 66 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:06,160 girls can do this, they can come to a normal 67 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:06,400 girls can do this, they can come to a normal cultural 68 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:06,560 girls can do this, they can come to a normal cultural event 69 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:06,800 girls can do this, they can come to a normal cultural event like 70 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:12,000 girls can do this, they can come to a normal cultural event like this. 71 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,160 But the Taliban never went away and the violence continued. 72 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,600 Massoud took this photo of a suicide bombing in 2011 when UK and US 73 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:23,440 forces in Afghanistan were at their peak. 74 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:28,760 It still is too much painful for me. 75 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:32,720 The year Massood took that picture, President Barack Obama started 76 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,080 the withdrawal of American troops from the country. 77 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:41,320 Over the next few years, the Taliban gained in strength. 78 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,240 Attacks against civilians become more common. 79 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:51,320 In many cases the Taliban were responsible. 80 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:57,440 In 2018, Massoud narrowly avoided two assassination attempts. 81 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:00,680 In the first, his car was riddled with bullets. 82 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:05,920 In the second, a suicide bomber had targeted a group of journalists. 83 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:18,720 I was clicking my camera and the explosion happened left to right, 84 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:20,840 in the viewer of my camera, in the frame. 85 00:04:20,840 --> 00:04:26,000 Massoud lost nine of his friends and colleagues in the blast. 86 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,560 That attack was completely and exactly against journalists. 87 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,600 The only chance and luck that I had, I was ten metres away. 88 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:36,640 That's it. 89 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:41,880 Otherwise, we all were being killed there. 90 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:47,800 Seeing Massoud confined to four walls was a disturbing 91 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:51,440 sign of the growing fear amidst the Taliban resurgence. 92 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:56,120 Before retaking the country, the Taliban - along 93 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:58,080 with other jihadi groups - were staging ever 94 00:04:58,080 --> 00:04:59,400 more brazen attacks. 95 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:04,440 By 2020 many here were living in constant fear. 96 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:12,640 We saw an increase in targeted killings. 97 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,080 Shaharazad Akbar is the chairperson of the Afghan Independent 98 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:27,760 Human Rights Commission, which investigates human rights 99 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:28,840 abuses in Afghanistan. 100 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:31,640 Last summer a bomb attack killed two of her colleagues, Fatima Khalil 101 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:36,920 and Jawed Folad. 102 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:55,760 I wonder, when you leave home every day, every morning you say goodbye 103 00:05:55,760 --> 00:06:00,880 to your child, do you think, "I may not come back?" 104 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:19,280 I think everyone in the field that I work in has that. 105 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:24,480 It's not just me and my colleagues. 106 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:26,680 Every morning when they their home they don't know 107 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:27,880 if they will be back. 108 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,200 It's the same for me when I leave in the morning - I don't 109 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:32,640 know if I will be back. 110 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,000 Since I have become a mum there is this doubt. 111 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,040 "Do I have the right to do this?" 112 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:38,920 Before the Taliban retook the country, it seemed 113 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,320 they were using these attacks to stoke fear and crush 114 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:46,200 the morale of the population. 115 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:48,640 Fatima and Jawid were two of over 700 people assassinated 116 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:53,040 in targeted killings last year. 117 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:56,160 Every time we are stuck in traffic there is a certain worry - 118 00:06:56,160 --> 00:07:01,360 it's so tense here, everything is on edge - 119 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,000 that maybe the car in front of you might explode, 120 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:07,360 next to you, or there might be some kind of targeted killing. 121 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:12,600 It is an absolutely precarious and uncertain situation. 122 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:21,320 The government was clearly struggling to maintain control. 123 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,600 I approached Vice President Amrullah Saleh, a man with a long 124 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:29,680 and personal history with the Taliban. 125 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,120 He fought them directly in the '90s and became intelligence 126 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,560 chief in the early 2000s. 127 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,360 Let me show you some of the pictures of my kids. 128 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:38,640 When I was intelligence chief, 129 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:41,000 I used to take them with me to the office. 130 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:46,200 This is the picture of my son. 131 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:54,240 Who was in the car with you? 132 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:55,880 This one. 133 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:58,120 He was in the car. 134 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:03,400 And I said, "Son, I am glad you are alive and I am 135 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:05,600 glad you are with me, because this is patriotism 136 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:10,840 learned the hard way." 137 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:13,960 One year ago, the vice president and his son 138 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,320 narrowly avoided an attempt on his life, after his convoy 139 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:18,200 was struck by a roadside bomb. 140 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,200 Not long after this attack, Mr Saleh set up daily security briefings. 141 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,080 If you want, you can join me. 142 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:29,360 He gave us rare access to attend. 143 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:43,000 But, I mean, if you think about Kabul city, 144 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:45,480 I've come back after several years, 145 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:48,360 people are saying to me they can't leave their house at night. 146 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:50,320 Women don't feel safe, people don't feel safe. 147 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:51,960 There's different militia groups in the city. 148 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:53,960 I mean, how has it got so bad? 149 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:56,040 Well, we have foiled 850 attacks in 200 days. 150 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:58,000 But those which have gone off, yes, failures. 151 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:03,200 But 850 have been stopped. 152 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:13,040 This 153 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:13,320 This is 154 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:13,640 This is my 155 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:13,880 This is my chief 156 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:14,080 This is my chief of 157 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,480 This is my chief of staff. 158 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:17,120 This is my chief of staff. Nice 159 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:17,360 This is my chief of staff. Nice meeting 160 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:22,280 This is my chief of staff. Nice meeting you. 161 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:32,800 TRANSLATION: 162 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:30,080 YALDA: These security briefings were taking place against 163 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:31,280 a backdrop of increasing uncertainty. 164 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:34,120 Last year, the US and the Taliban had signed a peace deal 165 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:35,160 agreeing a prisoner swap. 166 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:36,920 Do you regret releasing the prisoners? 167 00:10:36,920 --> 00:10:37,960 Big time. 168 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:41,960 Very big mistake. 169 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:44,840 But we did not want to lose the goodwill of our allies. 170 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:50,040 We knew it was not going to work. 171 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:58,120 And we calculated all the risks, and we said, 172 00:10:58,120 --> 00:10:59,560 "This is not going to work, 173 00:10:59,560 --> 00:11:01,920 but we don't want to be labelled as the obstacle. 174 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:03,000 So here they are." 175 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,880 It was agreed that American troops would be withdrawn by summer 2021. 176 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:07,640 It's time to end America's longest war. 177 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:09,480 It's time for American troops to come home. 178 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:14,720 America's withdrawal was a landmark moment. 179 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:22,960 After the prisoner swap, peace talks between the Afghan government 180 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:28,120 and the Taliban took place in Doha, the capital of Qatar. 181 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:34,040 But despite lengthy negotiations there was no real progress. 182 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:36,440 In June, I travelled to Doha to meet a member 183 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:41,720 of the Taliban negotiating team. 184 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:47,680 Before 9/11, Suhail Shaheen was the Taliban's representative 185 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:52,880 to the United Nations, living in New York. 186 00:11:57,640 --> 00:11:59,640 I liked the development, the technologies, the cities, 187 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,280 the buildings, and also the sense of research and hard work 188 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:07,440 in the American people, and also the media. 189 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:28,360 So you could see a partnership with them? 190 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:39,440 It was hard to reconcile his words with the 191 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:40,680 previous sections of the Taliban. 192 00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:43,120 When they were last in power they ruled with fear, 193 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:44,760 staging public executions and enforcing punishments such 194 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:50,000 as cutting off the hands of convicted thieves. 195 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:58,720 Girls were denied an education and women were made to wear the burka. 196 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:07,280 They could rarely leave the house without a chaperone and were denied 197 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:11,560 the right to work. 198 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:13,720 Would you have a religious police that will monitor 199 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:18,840 people's behaviour? 200 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,280 Would it be unacceptable for you to see a public 201 00:13:56,280 --> 00:14:01,480 execution in Kabul? 202 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:37,440 Many people say the Taliban have militarily become so strong, 203 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:38,880 therefore emboldened and therefore will try 204 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:40,040 and take power by force. 205 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:45,280 What do you say to that? 206 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:00,800 If you were to return to Kabul, how would you govern? 207 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:33,440 Suhail Shaheen was promising a peaceful Afghanistan, 208 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:37,200 and a Taliban that had changed. 209 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:41,040 But back in Kabul, I was about to meet another Taliban leader. 210 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,080 That was just a contact who's been communicating with a Taliban 211 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:10,200 commander from Helmand, and we're hoping to meet him. 212 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,280 I've just heard that he's ready to meet, not 213 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:17,600 in Helmand, but here in Kabul. 214 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:22,280 I mean, what's surprising about all of this is that quite 215 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:26,160 a well known commander can make his way from Helmand 216 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:31,400 to the capital and feel quite comfortable being here. 217 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:37,080 It makes you realise just how much they've infiltrated the city. 218 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:44,640 The commander I was meeting had been released as part of the prisoner 219 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:47,640 swap that took place last summer - in the hope it would pave 220 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:51,080 the way for peace talks. 221 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:55,880 It's very hot, does he want water? 222 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:04,000 Do you want the Taliban regime to come back into power? 223 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:21,280 If we talk about law, order and justice, 224 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:23,640 if someone were to steal or commit adultery, what should 225 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:28,360 happen to them? 226 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:51,840 What about girls going to school? 227 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:59,000 Can girls go to school and up until which age? 228 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:11,960 But in your districts and villages that you live and fight, 229 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:13,560 do girls go to school? 230 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:18,640 And if so, until what age? 231 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,160 And if there isn't a political resolution to this conflict, 232 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:39,080 are you prepared to take Kabul by force? 233 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:02,120 Commander Maulana was adamant the Taliban would only stop fighting 234 00:19:02,120 --> 00:19:04,480 when a strict form of Sharia law was imposed across 235 00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:09,640 the whole country. 236 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:17,000 After this interview, he headed back to the front lines. 237 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:20,360 The next month, his province, Helmand, 238 00:19:20,360 --> 00:19:21,840 would fall entirely to the Taliban. 239 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:26,720 I'd heard two different views of what the Taliban wanted. 240 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:30,400 I went back to the Presidential Palace to ask if the Vice President 241 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,560 thought it was time for the Taliban to return to Kabul. 242 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:37,280 Absolutely, tomorrow. 243 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:42,440 But not with their guns and IEDs and suicide bombers. 244 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:46,440 As normal individuals, who mainly come and interact 245 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:51,680 with the rest of the Afghans, run for office, why not? 246 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:57,400 But if they come to dictate the size of people's beards, their lifestyle, 247 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:00,240 what they cook in their kitchen or what time they wake up, 248 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:05,440 that's not going to happen. 249 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:13,640 They said to me that they want to come into a position 250 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,360 where they can power-share with fellow Muslims. 251 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:21,520 This group in Doha, they are a deceptive facade 252 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:24,840 of a very dark reality called the Taliban. 253 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:26,560 So in your view have they changed? 254 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:28,600 No. 255 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,240 Not only they have not changed, they believe that their stagnation 256 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:36,400 has brought them a strength. 257 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:39,840 They have become savvier in deceiving, but the 258 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:44,160 reality has not changed. 259 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,040 Are you willing to pick up arms again if you have to? 260 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:51,600 I am already armed against them. 261 00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:51,800 You 262 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:52,040 You have 263 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:52,240 You have got 264 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:52,440 You have got the 265 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:52,600 You have got the whole 266 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:53,480 You have got the whole army. 267 00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:53,840 You have got the whole army. 268 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:58,720 You have got the whole army. LAUGHTER 269 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:05,960 But I mean, if you really have to, head to head, and Kabul fell? 270 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:07,880 No way. 271 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,320 There is no way I can surrender to the Taliban. 272 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:11,440 No way. 273 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:14,080 For years, US and British soldiers have been training Afghan troops 274 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:19,080 to defend themselves against the Taliban. 275 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,400 There were over 180,000 government forces preparing to fend off 276 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:26,560 75,000 Taliban troops. 277 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,000 But despite this, US intelligence knew they'd fail and Kabul 278 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:30,840 would fall within months. 279 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:33,440 I went to an army base outside Kabul to meet some 280 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:36,520 of their newest recruits. 281 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:45,360 One of the most dangerous jobs to have in Afghanistan today 282 00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:48,280 is to be part of the Afghan army at such a turbulent 283 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:53,520 time when foreign forces are leaving the country. 284 00:21:55,480 --> 00:22:00,080 By June, the Taliban had made significant advances. 285 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:02,920 It was clear that the Afghan army had limited time to prepare 286 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,160 for the fight ahead. 287 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:07,840 Hamdullah was 18 and about to finish training. 288 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:32,080 The hopes that people had for someone like him, 289 00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:36,680 that 20 years or 18 years on, this would be a very different nation. 290 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,560 To think that they've gone back to square one is what's most 291 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:43,080 disturbing about all of this. 292 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:47,960 Protecting Afghanistan from the Taliban has 293 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:52,800 come at an enormous cost. 294 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:54,640 6,000 Americans and 457 British soldiers have died 295 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,760 during 20 years of war. 296 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:01,360 As have almost 70,000 Afghan soldiers and police, 297 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:06,600 and nearly 50,000 Afghan civilians. 298 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:10,920 The people I met in Kabul all told me that they did not 299 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:13,480 want to surrender the rights and opportunities that the last 20 300 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:14,800 years had brought them. 301 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:20,000 None wanted to leave Afghanistan. 302 00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:24,680 I wanted to see Massoud one last time before I left Kabul. 303 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:28,160 He was on a rare outing to take photographs at a popular 304 00:24:28,160 --> 00:24:30,800 Kabul hill top. 305 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:33,840 There is no certainty at all. 306 00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:35,680 Nothing. 307 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:40,960 And everybody is on the air now. They don't know what to do. 308 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:43,680 But these are just scenes of families with their children. 309 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:48,680 They've just come to have a nice time. 310 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:53,160 Yeah, well, they are living, for sure, right. 311 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:57,200 But I am sure that if you ask a person what is your Plan B 312 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:00,240 if something happens he will say, "Oh, I am going to 313 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:01,280 "Pakistan or Iran." 314 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:04,760 So they already have their Plan B. 315 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:10,000 So here is just a temporary place to live, even for its own citizens. 316 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,040 Just two months after I met Massoud, his predictions 317 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:17,960 of an exodus became a reality. 318 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,400 With only a handful of troops remaining, provincial cities started 319 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:25,040 to fall to the Taliban with barely a shot fired. 320 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:30,200 The advance came at staggering speed. 321 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:32,120 Afghan forces melted away and the capital 322 00:25:32,120 --> 00:25:34,160 fell without a fight. 323 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:38,200 The Taliban were back in charge. 324 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:49,400 Thousands of Afghans fled to Kabul airport - desperate 325 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:51,040 to escape the country. 326 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:55,320 Others hid in their homes. 327 00:25:55,320 --> 00:26:00,480 We gave them every chance to determine their own future. 328 00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:05,680 We could not provide them with the will to fight for that future. 329 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:10,880 Western politicians scrambled to make sense of the chaos. 330 00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:13,160 It 331 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:13,360 It would 332 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:13,920 It would be 333 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:14,120 It would be fair 334 00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:14,360 It would be fair to 335 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:19,480 It would be fair to say... 336 00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:22,560 The collapse has been faster than even the Taliban predicted. 337 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:25,400 What is not true to say is that the UK Government was 338 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:26,880 unprepared or did not foresee this. 339 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:28,800 After 20 years trying to rebuild the country, 340 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,480 had it all been for nothing? 341 00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:34,720 The feeling of abandonment, of not just a country, 342 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:39,800 but the sacrifice that my friends made. 343 00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:45,280 My friend Massoud managed to board one of the last 344 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:49,160 commercial flights out. 345 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,720 Suhail Shaheen has continued to defend the ideology 346 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:57,320 of the new Taliban, making a call to me live on air. 347 00:26:57,320 --> 00:27:02,520 We're just going to see if we can put you on speaker. 348 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:15,360 But will the Taliban stick to their word? 349 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:19,040 Or could there be a return to the darkest days of public 350 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:24,040 executions and the extreme suppression of women's rights? 351 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:27,760 Vice President Saleh remains in Afghanistan, 352 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:31,160 and is attempting to rally together a resistance against 353 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:35,240 the Taliban. 354 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:38,680 Back in London, I got a voice message from him at his new base 355 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,480 in the Panshir Valley, 90 miles from Kabul. 356 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:50,280 VOICEMAIL: If the president is absent or he resigns 357 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:52,640 and he becomes incapable to run his country, it becomes 358 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:56,200 the duty of the Vice President. 359 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:58,560 I am not ready to be part of the humiliation 360 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:00,520 and shame that the foreign militaries have endured. 361 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,760 I am standing for my country and the war is not over. 362 00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:09,760 Those who fight on, do it this time without the help of the West. 363 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:12,600 And, for now, the question is not if, but how, the Taliban 364 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:17,320 will rule the country.