How 18 Years of War in Afghanistan Has Impacted Youth

FEATURING MARK LEVINE AND BRYAN REYNOLDS – The US Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has just announced a peace deal with the Taliban saying the US and the militants agree “in principle” on a draft agreement. So far what is known is that the deal will include the US withdrawing troops from 5 bases within 135 days as long as the Taliban keeps its end of the bargain. However Taliban forces have been relentlessly bombing various parts of the country with major civilian casualties.

This October marks the 18th year of war with Afghanistan, the longest official war the US has ever waged. That means that a baby born when the US first began dropping bombs is now an adult. How have Afghan youth lived through so much war?

Mark LeVine, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of California, Irvine, Bryan Reynolds, Professor in the Department of Drama at UC Irvine.