Negotiating with the Taliban to save lives in Afghanistan

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When the U.S. pulled up stakes in Afghanistan this past August, the Biden administration didn’t expect the Taliban to seize control of the country so quickly. Twenty years of nation building and an Afghan military crumbled within days.

To contain the Taliban’s power, the international community acted quickly – freezing Afghan assets, shutting down foreign aid and extending sanctions. Now, the country is facing mass starvation and economic collapse.

We went to Afghanistan; reported from it’s provinces and capital and had a rare conversation with a Taliban minister. We also met with humanitarian groups who have been left to pick up the pieces while negotiating with the Taliban.

Armed Taliban forces are everywhere. We noticed many of them have abandoned their traditional turbans and now wear the uniforms and gear that western forces left behind.

We see women and children dodging traffic to beg for cash and men waiting in long lines for free food.

Mary-Ellen McGroarty: I’ve been with WFP for a long time, 20-plus years, and I’ve never seen a crisis unfold and escalate at the pace and scale that we are seeing.

Mary-Ellen McGroarty is the director of the United Nations World Food Program in Afghanistan. From its warehouse in Kabul, she’s overseen the delivery of over 117 tons of food to nearly 9 million Afghans since August. She explained to us why the country is now facing mass starvation.

Mary-Ellen McGroarty: 72% of the population were already living below the poverty line before all this, before the fall of the government.

Sharyn Alfonsi: And now, what is the need like?

Mary-Ellen McGroarty: And now it’s just staggering. You know, we have 22.8 million people in what we call “severe food insecurity.”

Mary-Ellen McGroarty: That is more than half the country. People don’t have jobs, they can’t access cash. You know, food prices are going up. The currency is depreciating. So for us, we’re now really in a race against time.