The Longest War: 9-8-21

From Episode Description:

The U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan is officially over.

But for the more than 800,000 men and women who served there — not a day goes by that they don’t think about it.

Some feel a measure of success:

“The genie is out of the bottle in Afghanistan, the Taliban may try to turn back the clock, but they can’t,” Bajun Mavalwalla says. “We have moved that country forward and it’s irreversible. I’m actually slightly optimistic for the long haul.”

Others feel no optimism at all:

“It felt awful to be involved in a conflict that was pointless because every every bad thing that happens didn’t have to,” Laura Jedeed says. “The feeling that it was for nothing … there’s a nihilism to it. … It rots the soul.”