The Afghanistan Project Podcast

Welcome to Episode 105 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, my guest is Scott Bailey, co-founder and President ofthe Board of Directors of the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership. Scott and I discuss the hopelessness that Afghan refugees and visa applicants are experiencing in Pakistan as they attempt to evade deportation to Afghanistan. We also discuss the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership’s effortsto assist Afghans in need of assistance during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the community outreach from Blacksburg at large as the Blacksburg Refugee Partnership filed applications to help a number of Afghans reach the U.S. through Welcome Corps in late 2024. Though those efforts have stalled, one family was able toarrive in Blacksburg, and received a warm welcome from a community who showered them with care. Scott also talked about his work with She Leads Tomorrow,which allows Afghan women forbidden from receiving an education in the Taliban’s Afghanistan to further their learning online.   Find Blacksburg Refugee Partnership Inc. here: https://www.blacksburgrefugeepartnership.org/     About the host: Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as acivilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner.   Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85 [https://x.com/BWBailey85] on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 [https://substack.com/@bwbailey85] on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/  https://buymeacoffee.com/bwbailey85

Welcome to "The case that broke my heart," a special series within The Afghanistan Project Podcast where volunteers, advocates, and veterans speak out about the case or cases that had the greatest impact on them over the course of four years (sometimes more, rarely less) of supporting Afghan allies.Today's episode features Leslie Merriman, founder of Our Culture is Giving. Find Our Culture is Giving here:https://ourcultureisgiving.org/

Welcome to Episode 104 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, my guest Andy Sullivan, the Executive Director for nonprofit organization No One Left Behind. Today, we discuss No One Left Behind’s incredible pivot to help more than 2,000 Special Immigrant Visa applicants who were in need of a path to the U.S. after a series of executive orders and stop work orders halted the prior methods of evacuating processed allies with SIVs to our country. Andy talks about what No One Left Behind accomplished in Albania and Qatar and continues to do today for ourallies in need of assistance. Andy also gives an incredibly helpful update on SIV numbers and statistics, and talks about the biggest need No One Left Behind has as it takes on new work and fulfills our promises to our wartime allies.     About Andy Sullivan: Andy is an Erie, PA native and a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute. For over nine years, Andy served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army, and was deployed to Iraq, Eastern Europe, and Zabul, Afghanistan. Andy has his Mastersin Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.      Find No One Left Behind via: Twitter: https://twitter.com/n1leftbehind [https://twitter.com/n1leftbehind] Website: http://nooneleft.org/ [http://nooneleft.org/] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-one-left-behind/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-one-left-behind/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nooneleftbehindus/ [https://www.instagram.com/nooneleftbehindus/]     About the host: Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as acivilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner.   Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85 [https://x.com/BWBailey85] on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 [https://substack.com/@bwbailey85] on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/

Welcome to a special extra episode of the Afghanistan Project Podcast featuring guestElizabeth Lynn, the director of nonprofit Operation Recovery. We discuss my latest piece in the Washington Examiner, about the deportation of 19-year-old single, unaccompanied Afghan female Khultum from Pakistan, where her mother is suffering from extreme burns she received in an electrical accident in December, and her USRAP-applicant father is tooendangered to face a return to the Taliban’s Afghanistan.   Find the article here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/courage-strength-optimism/3474703/afghan-refugees-face-imminent-danger-in-talibans-domain/ Five other U.S. allies were deported alongside Khultum, including 4 USRAP applicants in the care of Paws Unite Pups, and one SIV applicant being assisted by No One Left Behind, whose executive director Andy Sullivan will be Monday’s guest. We also discuss the lack of information for nonprofitsassisting Afghans, and the need to stand by our Afghan allies.   About Elizabeth Lynn: Elizabeth served in the U.S. Air Force and the Navy Reserves, and has received multiple commendations for her service. After holding a variety of positions with the U.S. Postal Service, USCIS, IRS and other U.S. government institutions, Elizabeth retired in 2020. She came out of retirement shortly thereafter to help Afghans left behind in their homeland.   Find Operation Recovery here: https://operationrecovery.org/ Find Paws Unite People here:https://www.pawsunitepeople.com/ Find No One Left Behind here: https://www.nooneleft.org/   About the host: Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as acivilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner.   Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ [https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/] on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85 [https://x.com/BWBailey85] on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 [https://substack.com/@bwbailey85] on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/ [https://bethwbailey.com/] https://buymeacoffee.com/bwbailey85 [https://buymeacoffee.com/bwbailey85]

Welcome to Episode 103 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, my guest is Tahmina Nasser, who arrived in the U.S. during Operation Allies Refuge after working with Americans for over a decade. Tahmina discusses qualifying to work with the U.S. in Afghanistan, and many of the jobs she held in her homeland with various American entities over 14 years. She also talks about the dangers that those jobs brought to her. Tahmina tells the story of her evacuation from Afghanistan, and her arrival and adjustment inside the U.S. Unlike many of the refugees who have come on the podcast, Tahmina says she could not find the assistance she desperately needed in the U.S., and was forced to provide for her family largely on her own. Tahmina also tells the heartbreaking firsthand account of the abuse she experienced at the hands of her husband in Afghanistan, and the lack of agency she experienced years later on arrival in the U.S. She also laments the circumstances that Afghan women have been forced into now that the Taliban have control of the country.   About the host: Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner.   Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85 [https://x.com/BWBailey85]on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 [https://substack.com/@bwbailey85]on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/  https://buymeacoffee.com/bwbailey85