Eric flies solo in this episode (while Eliot is traveling in Europe) and hosts guest Paul D. Miller, Professor of Practice in International Affairs at Georgetown University and former NSC Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Bush 43 Administration. They discuss the recent Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) report on the collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in August of 2021 and attempt to assess the roles of the Trump and Biden Administrations in the debacle. They cover the diplomatic malpractice involved in reaching and implementing the Doha Agreement between the US and the Taliban, the repeated failure of US efforts to train foreign military forces to be self-sustaining, and the possible alternatives that might have been pursued to hold the Taliban at bay. They also discuss Paul's new book, The Religion of American Greatness: What Is Wrong WIth Christian Nationalism? (InterVarsity Press, 2022) and touch on American identity and the US role in the world, the universalism of the American creed, how Christian nationalism is related to isolationism, democracy promotion and the role of history and heritage in American life. 23-16-IP.pdf">https://www.sigar.mil/pdf/evaluations/SIGAR-23-16-IP.pdf https://www.amazon.com/Religion-American-Greatness-Christian-Nationalism/dp/1514000261 https://www.thebulwark.com/afghanistans-terrorist-future/ https://www.thebulwark.com/the-catastrophic-u-s-exit-from-afghanistan/ https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/video/eric-edelman-v/ https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/transcript/eric-edelman-v-transcript/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01402390.2016.1145588 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09592318.2013.857935 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices