'It's easy to get into Afghanistan, but hard to get out of,' as the Afghan interlocutor says near the end of the video. I confirm it, but for a peaceful reason. In 1978, I got a one-week transit visa from the Afghan Embassy in Tehran to cross this country on my trip to Pakistan. But after crossing the Iranian border, I was so captivated by Afghanistan and the wonderful hospitality of its people, that I couldn't content myself with short transit visa. I stayed there for few months, before going to Kabul Central Police to obtain an exit permit. When the Police Superintendent asked me why I hadn't respected my visa, I replied that it would have been a crime toward Afghan hospitality I enjoyed everywhere, if I had crossed his country like a thief. The superintendent laughed as he handed me my exit visa. In Afghanistan you are welcome everywhere. On the condition of leaving at the border the feeling of superiority that many Westerners carry within them, and respecting people. As soon as we set a foot in this wonderful country, we must never forget that we are just guests.
As far as I understand, they have no choice but to be hospitable. If they aren't then that brings great shame on them. And if you refuse hospitality, then thats a great insult to them. it;s one of those cultures where certain actions are enforced because they have such a fixed meaning; ie refusing food is an insult, always, without exception, because that's what that action 'means'. It doesn't matter that you're full or that you can see they're hungry themselves. Opposite to a British culture where some offers are made and your expected to understand that the host would rather not be taken up on the offer, so don't take the offer unless there;s a reason. Different cultures are fascinating
You may soon get your wish. America is on the edge of economic collapse and when they fall wiser countries may learn to live in peace and mutual respect. At least that is my hope and the hope of all wise peoples everywhere.
"it's as though that after 10 years of fighting the Taliban today, the united states and their allies left Afghanistan and put the Talibans back in charge." what prophetic words. It's unfolding right at this moment.
I am not historian nor diplomatic but i think that believing superpowers want to conquer Afghanistan is, nowadays, a nonsense.They want to use that land as weapons test ground.Whether there is a kinda secret deal between the weapons makers and politicians , that i don't know.
It's sad really. With such rich culture I wish they would create a modern state or political government and not a loose confederation of religious bands. Maybe that's just me but the loss of life over these issues just really really worries and saddens me.
@@EMcKelvyF religion is stronger than the modern world gives it credit for. It's not going to "go out with a whimper" but a bang. No matter what you or I believe, a person steadfast in their convictions and willing to DIE for it....that's an unstoppable force.
That was a Mujahideen saying when they were fighting the Russians because the Russian Soldiers wore watches while the poor Afghans didn’t.....I’m an Afghan Vet and the people of Afghanistan are such great people.....I pray for peace for them because they deserve nothing less
@ALEX HECTOR we’ll live in poverty but beautifully and free at the same time we save the planet from all the greedy imperialists. While you had 8 millions of homeless people we had not a single hungry or homeless in that time 😒❤️🇦🇫❤️✊🏼🦁
@ALEX HECTOR I’m talking about before the Soviet war. It’s disgusting empiricism that has got us to this day. We are fighting terrorists from 32 countries daily. Not even New York, Paris, Russia and UK is sage from those terrorists. So shut up and give us weapons so we can send them to hell. Remember that it was the westerns and Pakistan that created this problem.
I have been fixated on Afghanistan-related news for the last week because of what's currently going on there which is such a tragedy. Then I came upon this documentary. Such an excellent piece of work and a masterpiece! It is the most comprehensive and fascinating history lesson on Afghanistan that I've seen. Simply brilliant. I didn't know much about Afghan history and didn't understand why foreigners kept trying to invade it only to lose bitterly in the end hence being called "The Graveyard of Empires." Now I understand. If the US military had studied some history or watched this film before going into Afghanistan and also now before leaving it, then maybe they could've learned something valuable. Alas, history is just repeating itself.
The quality of this entire production is nothing short of professional and genuinely impressive. Plus no advertisements? Absolutely brilliant work, thank you so much
@@henrychukwunonsonkamuke9040 You're welcome! But thank also the person who uploaded it because most BBC programmes are not available to see outside the UK.
According to Wikipedia it wasn't that straight-forward. The east India company took Afghanistan then got their arses handed to them and were turned into prisoners. Then the British army marched in, kicked arse, rescued the prisoners and fucked off. The real play for Afghanistan was to prevent Russia's expansionism.
It just shows that culture is stronger than any invasion or unfortunately this culture is something that didn't evolve through the years because of the wars.
As An Afghan,we are tired of these games in our homeland I hope one day these foreign realized that Afghans are also human and have the fate as others and just let Afghans the way they chose to live, peace to all,pray to Afghanistan to prosperity and peace.
Cycle of violence US & THEM IDIOTologies We are all human individuals We all came from our mothers Do you want your or my grand children fighting over how many GODS are on the head of a pin. None it's sll in your head.
The presenter here is Rory Stewart. He ran for leadership of the Conservative party but was beaten, along with the other contenders, by Boris Johnson. He could have been PM, presiding over our response to the current crisis. What could have been, eh?
"It's as though after ten years of fighting the Taliban today, the United States and their allies left Afghanistan and put the Taliban back in charge". This didn't age well.
I knew someone would put this quote into the comments. The host said it as if it were an insane, unimaginable act, borderline impossible ... and yet ... here we are. Saigon II. Helicopters and everything. Unreal.
Watching this after searching TH-cam for Afghan-related documentaries in light of the recent events leading to a taliban ‘’re-takeover‘’. Cheers to fellow inquisitive minds. The world will eventually be a better place because of us who seek to know historical facts and have nuanced opinions without shame.
It was a no-win situation. If you have the hubris to comnclude that we are going to go in and change Afghanistan to a Western style democracy, you are going to be disappointed every time.
Only thing I learned was to try not being a nice guy and carpet bomb the region so that there is no one left or nothing left to fight for. Tell the non taliban that if they do not fight back they will he seen as aiding them and will join them in death.
If you want a really good historical fiction account of the 1st Afghan war check out a book called, "Flashman". The parallels between that disaster and the recent US fiasco are uncanny. The book is hilarious too.
My take: I think Afghan people want to live a simple and a tribal life with reasonable cooperation among tribes. That's all. If people try to disturb their way of life, normal people transform into deadly legendary warriors, especially if the aggressor is a non-muslim. They are NOT interested in wealth, commercialization and all those BS. Great people in their own unique way.
I agree with you bro I’m afghan and belong to Tajik ethnic group. We aren’t interested in colonising others land because we know how it feel like when foreigners enter your land illegally and try to dominate. In fact our great grand fathers did invaded India many time and stole expensive stuffs. We are sorry for that. In history we never been defeated and never tolerated slavery of foreign powers. We rather die but never let them to conquer our land because it’s our land.
@The Wheel Modern day Pakistan was in hand of durani empire for centuries. Lahore, Amrit sir , Islamabad , all these territories once belonged to afghans. Check the history
@ALETHIOLOGY Exactly. And given that the US has been there since 2001, they should have extensive knowledge of the Taliban. The problem is the higher-ups reluctance to adapt. According to Blackwater founder Erik Prince: "The US military is trying to defeat the Taliban using the same tactics and methods that was so successful back in 2001"
@@matheenarif8645 he never invaded the Soviet Union in winter. The invasion began on June 22nd 1941, which is literally the summer solstice, arguably the warmest day of the year. The invasion was also meant to occur two weeks earlier
“When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains, and the women come out to cut up what remains, jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains An’ go to your gawd like a soldier." - Rudyard Kipling
It was subject to lots of invasions, kingdoms and empires and is rife with inter tribal rivalries and wars. Everyone that came overland to India loved it. But its not so easy to fit it into this simplistic narrative nor the British Empire. If not Britain it would have been someone else. Alexander the Great invaded what is today Afghanistan in 330 BC as part of war against Persia. ... Several cities in Afghanistan are named for Alexander, including Alexandria Arachosia, now called Kandahar (a contraction of Iskandahar).. Ebs flows victory and defeat ... History is not a neat linear boxed narrative.
Hahah. Afghan ruled by Turk near about 400 years...Indo-greek ruled region 350 years....kushan,hun ruled near about 200 years....Persian 500 years....Afghanistan was first fought forcefully only under Ahmed Shah abdali...until Afghanistan always raped by outsiders....
49:45 "it's as though after 10 years of fighting the Taliban today, the US and their Allies put the Taliban in charge" - yeah I guess that would have made more sense than doing the same another 10 years later
And the yanks gave them a $trillion worth of weapons and gear, trained the army who then simply changed uniforms and are now in the taliban. Good move if you want to keep the muslim/Christian antagonism going, good if you want another conflict to sell even more weapons.
12 years,, Iraq fiasco gobbled up eight years. The experts were saying it really needs almost three decades to tr a in up effective sargeant majors and a dependable troop pool from scratch. Biden just has thrown it all away . Also was worth waiting out for the natural advancing old age and deaths of current Taliban leaders . In last five years it wasn't costing much cos afghan troops were doing the fighting and loss of life. It had become a good place for western troops to gain field experience too .
Julian, man! I wrote another comment seconds ago with almost the exact phrasing of yours 3 days ago 😊 Could both of us be spiritual brothers? Maybe. Warm greetings from Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 👍🏻🖖🏻
"It's as if America today, after 10 years of fighting left and put the Taliban back in charge. " How the incredulous delivery of that statement betrays its true connotations just a decade later...
Not even close we lost 2,400 troops in Afghanistan in 20 years get your head out of the sand Joe Biden's exit plan was definitely a disaster I agree with that
49:44 what a prediction! "it's as though after 10 years of fighting the Taliban today, the US & their allies left Afghanistan and put the Taliban back in charge"... THAT has just happened..
@@hayoat800 They just thought they ruled it. Nobody ever conquered Afghanistan and nobody ever will. You can nuke it, make a parking lot out of it, but you’ll never conquer it.
Mongolians had no problem. The way you beat Afghanistan is genocide/enslavement/relocation. Modern society doesn't have the stones to see it through though.
@@spookrockcity None of those would work even if modern society had the balls to go through with such things. The reason why Afghanistan is called “the graveyard of empires” is because you aren’t really fighting the Afghans, you are fighting nature. More than half of Afghanistan is covered in mountains with extreme treacherous terrains and no infrastructure. It’s basically like climbing a mini- Mount Everest. None of the modern military technology works there. They’re totally useless. You could try chasing people with helicopters and drones but they can easily seek refuge in the mountains. Even nuclear weapons are useless. They don’t penetrate several layers of mountainous rocks.
Ancient Mauryan, Greeks , Guptas ,Hindu Shahi or Mongols, Medieval Turks not agree with you !!! If one think powerful nation like USA USSR not able to hold Afghanistan then it's strategic miscalculation , when one say Great game earlier it was between BRITISH INDIA vs RUSSIA and later between USA and RUSSIA , now USA has much bigger priority in pacific ocean to deal with CHINA they dont need waste money in central asia so they left ... Until Afghans get rid of tribal and extreme religious views they will used by Big powers and this is bcz of it's location In Ancient time Afghanistan used to gateway to enter in India, and in modern time it is battlefield between Big powers So technically no one want peace in Afghanistan and that's harsh truth !!!
In the 3rd century, the Sassanids mentioned an eastern tribe called Abgân, which is attested in its Arabic form Afġān in the 10th century Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam. Through the nineteenth century, the term "Afghan" was used by various writers as a synonym for "Pashtun", but such usage now is rare in English The earliest mention of the name Afghan (Abgân) is by Shapur I of the Sassanid Empire during the 3rd century CE, which is later recorded in the 6th century in the form of "Avagāṇa" (अवगाण) by the Indian astronomer Varāha Mihira in his Brihat-samhita. The Encyclopædia Iranica explains:
@@ikeswp4959 a graveyard of taxpayer money is my point-which has helped polarization spread like fire in the US. Also it’s a _graveyard_ because no empire conquers it, hence RIP to the dreams of taking Afghanistan
@@blackwitch4762you Indians were fighting against them in all the Anglo afghan wars for your British paymasters. When captured, some of you falsely claimed to be Muslims to avoid death. This proved that you only stand for your own interests, motivated only be greed until this day.
As one Russian commander said " how do you beat an army which looks into the barrel of a gun and sees paradise" I wish we are more united ourselves. We could have achieved greater things. 😓
"We're going to rrrroollll into the village and we going to Build things" "I said sir, if you're going to rrrroollll into the village we're going to rrrroollll you out" 😂 I can't stop laughing
Wow! This was truly brilliant. The innovative narrative techniques combining old film footage, paintings and documentary were gripping in the storytelling which provides the historical understanding of the current debacle of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. This should be required viewing for every American, who have a real struggle understanding the core message revealed in the ruins of the royal castle by Afghan nobility: “We accept poverty because we want to be free.”
We make a Northwest Atlantic to pacific route and another route through Central America, Afghanistan will be even more economical irrelevant. Russia needs to build up its eastern ports, and forget about this place.
I am happy that this documentary has freed me from some ignorance as I knew very of Afghanistan other than the time of the campaigns of Alexander the great and very little of the modern day invasion of Afghanistan.
@@reconquistahinduism346 I think you're a lone voice there. He never lost a battle; his army was defeated on occasion (in Afghanistan or northern Iran, I forget which) but he wasn't present. He was a conqueror, but was of his time and should be judged as such. He was born hundreds of years before Christianity appeared.
@@reconquistahinduism346 Bigotry leads to ignorance. All information presents an opportunity to learn. If you don't do this, you are just cheating yourself.
@@johnniea4684 what information ?? You people think your rewriting of others history means information. Your information is just an excuse for western or Christian or white ( depending on the people ) supremacy , colonization , dominance and hegemony and evangelization. Nothing else.
He is as much of an expert on the country as any Westerner can be. He walked across Afghanistan alone interacting with rural Afghans, staying with villagers, eating with them. Dari, the Afghan language, is one of the 11 languages he speaks.
Maybe it's because history is important. Also since everyone in the 1st world is searching Afghanistan, it makes complete since that TH-cam would present this. It's not a sick since of humor, it's math, you boob.
No its not. Ground reality is different now. Northern alliance will try to divide the country but Taliban will make this country a role model for other Muslim countries. They now understand what to do next even world saction on them.
"its as if the US handed Afghanistan over to the Taliban" - Wow who would have thought we're watching this a month after US left and Kabul is taken over by the Taliban. Pray for Afghans, I really hope the Taliban show mercy to their people and don't start this new country with blood stained all over of innocent people.
@@Abdullah-yn8zk what about the Russians? Afghanistan was chugging right along until Boris stuck his fat nose in there. Afghanistan was actually a place where people WANTED to go just to see it.
This should be essential curriculum viewing for all politicians involved in global decisions, decisions taken on military interventions, decisions on migration issues. And for any sticking an oar in. Currently this chap is needed to be in No10.
It’s a tragedy, for many Afghan’s at least, he didn’t win the Conservative Party leadership election. I’m sure he’d have had the Foreign Office & British Armed Forces grilling the Biden administration on its strategy for withdrawal. He’d have taken a personal interest that a solid strategy was in place to not leave an air power vacuum along with robust plans to evacuate all those who are at serious risk of having their entire families killed by the Taliban.
Woah, I just searched his name. He went from an academic to a high-profile diplomat and politician. And he's back to academics now. Hope he keeps marching on.
The only empire to collapse because of its failed conquest of Afghanistan was the Soviet Union... The British Empire successfully conquered Afghanistan several times, in fact it was they who defined the current borders of the region.
@@mallasaugat There are still a lot of very good tv shows produced, particularly of this style if you look on the app. Maybe bias to some extent (like anything is) but leftists moan it’s right wing and those on the right complain it pandas to leftism / the woke left. Can’t be both, just fashionable to bash the BBC because the pay per view billionaires behind Sky, Amazon Prime, Netflix etc want less competition and so promote that narrative. Most of their tv shows are absolute drivel and Sky shows 5 mins of adverts every 10 minutes. Rupert Murdoch lobbied for years for the BBC to have its funding slashed and that should tell you something (that maybe we should really keep it!) I’d trust the BBC over any of Murdoch’s publications.
Because of current events I was looking to brush up my knowledge of the history of Afghanistan and by happy chance came across this video. So glad to find it was with Rory Stewart. If you haven't read his book The Places In Between, please do. It's brilliant.
This documentary series is very well done, thank you for producing / uploading. Also, extra points for using the Daft Punk scoring of the TRON: Legacy soundtrack.
The Brits fought their way into Afghanistan in several successful battles. After Elpinstones' catastrophic defeat it was said they came in lions and left like sheep.
And imagine, the AFG POV on the Anglo Afghan wars is different one, way worse then in this video. That’s the POV of a colonialist that has to make the story less damaging to not lose face in front of the world. Think about that
@@hrafnofthule5962 European nation just extract skilled professionals from middle income and poor nations dont think you are doing any favour for them they deserved and worked for that success moreover they are not trying to overthrow their governments and rule the nation neither they are looting gold, diamond or the nations wealth they are contributing to that nations economy
I like Rory Stewart, when I heard he walked through Afghanistan after 9/11. I liked him even more, I think he has qualities most conservatives don't have. It's a shame he failed in his bid to be leader of the party.
I'm as pro America as anyone can be,but it still astounds me at how little it seems like American Political And Military leaders appreciated this situation.
@@strengthisthesolution2294 Where do you think all the opium required to make opiates for Americans & big pharma comes from when Afghanistan produced the vast majority of it during the American occupation?
Before i deployed to Afghanistan. I did my research. Thought it was a bad idea. Think the goals and objectives on a bigger picture was wrong. Alexander the great said you can take afghanistan easy holding it was impossible.
* About ninety percent of military personnel are involved in support roles, not combat. * The military goes where politicians order them to. If you want to be angry, be angry at the pols.
ofc and he will always keep repeating itself because its build on a lie to preceive degnity this reporter claim that afghan gave safety passage to british and bertayed them and thats why they won while the reality is the british lost a head on battle because they underestimated them . and thats why the russian and the nato lost there they refuse to acknowledge that they are fighting some of the mightiest warriors in the history of mankind and if you wanna beat them you need to treat them as such you cant beat what you dont know
Nicely done documentary with inspiring narrator, well-research history and illuminating visualization. Really good job to summarize a century of Western encounters in a country which is now (again) probably more timely than ever.
"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains, and the women come out to cut up what remains, jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains and go to your gawd like a soldier." Rudyard Kipling
I have been fixated on Afghanistan-related news for the last week because of what's currently going on there which is such a tragedy. Then I came upon this documentary. Such an excellent piece of work and a masterpiece! It is the most comprehensive and fascinating history lesson on Afghanistan that I've seen. Simply brilliant. I didn't know much about Afghan history and didn't understand why foreigners kept trying to invade it only to lose bitterly in the end hence being called "The Graveyard of Empires." Now I understand. If the US military had studied some history or watched this film before going into Afghanistan and also now before leaving it, then maybe they could've learned something valuable. Alas, history is just repeating itself.
America: bye Afghanistan we sacrificed thousands of soldier for nothing. A fruitless invasion and oppression. Afghanis: you know we don't have nothing but patience and firmness like mountain.
All countries like Afghanistan and Lebanon want to live in liberty. Afghanistan is a nice and beautiful country before Russian invasion of 79. A nation that would’ve been better without all these battles. People suffered and that was terrible. They should’ve left them alone.
The mongols ruled only some parts of Afg at that time, the rest of Afghan land was in india and it was called Khiliji empire, search wars of Khiliji and mongol empore
I BEAR WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO DEITY NONE TRULY TO BE WORSHIPPED BUT ALLAH S.W.T AND I BEAR WITNESS THAT PROPHET MUHMMED S.A.W IS ALLAH S.W.T MESSENGER AMEEN
As in afghan I’m proud of them for defending their country with less tech and man power to stop the invaders 👏🏼 and then bad things turned to worse Talibans 😤 came that changed our country do u agree.
Exactly this Afghan's who defeated 🇬🇧(GB) and the Soviet Union are Exactly 💯 and withdrawn American Soldiers in 6 months are the Ancestors from the Taliban without the Taliban your Country would already be in American hands ✋ this is reality
@@luqmanmarijanov2252 Without the paid lackeys of Pakistan Military Intelligence, the Taliban wouldn't exist, bin Laden and Al Queda would not have taken up residence, and the US would have no reason to stay.
'It's easy to get into Afghanistan, but hard to get out of,' as the Afghan interlocutor says near the end of the video.
I confirm it, but for a peaceful reason.
In 1978, I got a one-week transit visa from the Afghan Embassy in Tehran to cross this country on my trip to Pakistan. But after crossing the Iranian border, I was so captivated by Afghanistan and the wonderful hospitality of its people, that I couldn't content myself with short transit visa. I stayed there for few months, before going to Kabul Central Police to obtain an exit permit.
When the Police Superintendent asked me why I hadn't respected my visa, I replied that it would have been a crime toward Afghan hospitality I enjoyed everywhere, if I had crossed his country like a thief. The superintendent laughed as he handed me my exit visa.
In Afghanistan you are welcome everywhere. On the condition of leaving at the border the feeling of superiority that many Westerners carry within them, and respecting people. As soon as we set a foot in this wonderful country, we must never forget that we are just guests.
Yes bin ladeen was a guest in afganistan that is why they never give to US and Choose war
I like your story and the little message at the end thank you
@@sohailasghar8684 true lmao their hospitality might just be curiosity
Wisdom and respect goes a long way towards a new world philosophy that is beginning to come to the forefront.
As far as I understand, they have no choice but to be hospitable. If they aren't then that brings great shame on them. And if you refuse hospitality, then thats a great insult to them. it;s one of those cultures where certain actions are enforced because they have such a fixed meaning; ie refusing food is an insult, always, without exception, because that's what that action 'means'. It doesn't matter that you're full or that you can see they're hungry themselves. Opposite to a British culture where some offers are made and your expected to understand that the host would rather not be taken up on the offer, so don't take the offer unless there;s a reason. Different cultures are fascinating
We are tired from war since I born I haven’t see peace in my country it’s always war
May allah bring peace one day
I hope you find peace
As an Irishman i hope and pray you do!!! BEAUTIFULL COUNTRY
Ill prat for you hope for peace. And im pretty sure its coming soon considering the geopolitics situation.
You may soon get your wish. America is on the edge of economic collapse and when they fall wiser countries may learn to live in peace and mutual respect. At least that is my hope and the hope of all wise peoples everywhere.
@Patrick Ruscoe so no different from a christian deity then, jog on you ignorant fool
"it's as though that after 10 years of fighting the Taliban today, the united states and their allies left Afghanistan and put the Talibans back in charge." what prophetic words. It's unfolding right at this moment.
Is it prophecy if 3/4 of the worlds population would make the same assumption?
Yep, 14:42 quite extraordinary, almost as if he added an edit yesterday.
I am not historian nor diplomatic but i think that believing superpowers want to conquer Afghanistan is, nowadays, a nonsense.They want to use that land as weapons test ground.Whether there is a kinda secret deal between the weapons makers and politicians , that i don't know.
I noticed this too!!!
well it may have taken 20 years but Trump managed it !
"The less they see of us, the less they will dislike us"
Truer words cannot be said, of any invading force anywhere in the world.
Who said these words? The British or the Russians?
The PROPER way to deal with Afghanistan; "Declare victory and go home".
This is what winning looks like: Vice 😂😂😂 perfect example
Winning, duh
Damn Stephen that is brutally accurate.
The "PR-Operative" way to deal with Afghanistan 😂
@Fontaine King They probably wouldn't be that much worse off. No more invasions.
Good to see some of us doing a history check up with the current events. Here we go again boys...
Ay...anybody here who stays there?
History of whom.
and girls...
It's sad really. With such rich culture I wish they would create a modern state or political government and not a loose confederation of religious bands. Maybe that's just me but the loss of life over these issues just really really worries and saddens me.
@@EMcKelvyF religion is stronger than the modern world gives it credit for. It's not going to "go out with a whimper" but a bang. No matter what you or I believe, a person steadfast in their convictions and willing to DIE for it....that's an unstoppable force.
The old Afghanistan saying,
You might have the watches,
But we have the time.
That was a Mujahideen saying when they were fighting the Russians because the Russian Soldiers wore watches while the poor Afghans didn’t.....I’m an Afghan Vet and the people of Afghanistan are such great people.....I pray for peace for them because they deserve nothing less
@@w.s.2102 thanks man ♥️
Once it took us 200 years to take down a empire, we’ll go for 1.000 years ❤️🇦🇫❤️✊🏼🤲🏽
@ALEX HECTOR we’ll live in poverty but beautifully and free at the same time we save the planet from all the greedy imperialists.
While you had 8 millions of homeless people we had not a single hungry or homeless in that time 😒❤️🇦🇫❤️✊🏼🦁
@ALEX HECTOR I’m talking about before the Soviet war.
It’s disgusting empiricism that has got us to this day.
We are fighting terrorists from 32 countries daily.
Not even New York, Paris, Russia and UK is sage from those terrorists.
So shut up and give us weapons so we can send them to hell.
Remember that it was the westerns and Pakistan that created this problem.
Stellar documentary. Deserves a third part.
Great music selection
Interview to the new statesman
th-cam.com/video/EX4H_GxTdBA/w-d-xo.html
I have been fixated on Afghanistan-related news for the last week because of what's currently going on there which is such a tragedy. Then I came upon this documentary. Such an excellent piece of work and a masterpiece! It is the most comprehensive and fascinating history lesson on Afghanistan that I've seen. Simply brilliant.
I didn't know much about Afghan history and didn't understand why foreigners kept trying to invade it only to lose bitterly in the end hence being called "The Graveyard of Empires." Now I understand. If the US military had studied some history or watched this film before going into Afghanistan and also now before leaving it, then maybe they could've learned something valuable. Alas, history is just repeating itself.
The third part is still being written
@@dddarklord most of the music is from the film Tron Legacy by Daft Punk.
After 9 years this has become more relevant now than before.
It has always been relevant.
@@EMcKelvyF yeah it was always relevant, there’s just too much war and economic pain everyday for people to stay engaged with it all
The quality of this entire production is nothing short of professional and genuinely impressive. Plus no advertisements? Absolutely brilliant work, thank you so much
Fuck ads
BBC productions are some of the best in the world. Plus they never have any ads as the British tax payer pays for it all!
Agreed...great work!
Thanks a lot British taxpayers for making the ads stay away. Thanks to the producers for a good work
@@henrychukwunonsonkamuke9040 You're welcome! But thank also the person who uploaded it because most BBC programmes are not available to see outside the UK.
British Empire: This is going to be a cake walk.
Afghanistan: I'm gonna end this man's whole career.
th-cam.com/video/h0yZ0WAJp_Y/w-d-xo.html
Piece of cake you mean
@@taylormade2826 either one works, don’t be pedantic
According to Wikipedia it wasn't that straight-forward. The east India company took Afghanistan then got their arses handed to them and were turned into prisoners. Then the British army marched in, kicked arse, rescued the prisoners and fucked off. The real play for Afghanistan was to prevent Russia's expansionism.
@@taylormade2826 or maybe walk in the park
9years down the road and this has proven to have been such a prescient piece of work.
Kudos to the maker!
The power of foresight, it is just what many of today's politicians lack. Unfortunate.
@@xianseah4847This was about the Great Game, not idiotic politicians.
49:44 "Its as though after 10 years of fighting, the US left Afghanistan and put the Taliban in charge"
Wow I can't imagine what that would be like
History repeating itself.
Beat me to it! I got to this part and thought "wait a minute, I thought this video was from 2012?!"
@@richardwainwright1435 even I paused, exited full screen and rechecked!!
It truly hurts to hear it.. Especially the tone of disappointment in Rory Stewart's words!
It just shows that culture is stronger than any invasion or unfortunately this culture is something that didn't evolve through the years because of the wars.
As An Afghan,we are tired of these games in our homeland I hope one day these foreign realized that Afghans are also human and have the fate as others and just let Afghans the way they chose to live, peace to all,pray to Afghanistan to prosperity and peace.
europeans it seems from all their history only want to destroy everything on the planet.
"The past is never dead. It's not even past." - Faulkner
Indy Dude
One of my favorite quotes.
what does it mean ? when they fly land on your not dead & smealy ?
“My penis smells like cheese” deeeep
Cycle of violence
US & THEM IDIOTologies
We are all human individuals
We all came from our mothers
Do you want your or my grand children fighting over how many GODS are on the head of a pin.
None it's sll in your head.
"each of these invasions has ended in tragedy and humiliation" ... how prophetic!
Not really. Everyone in South Asia knew this and knows this
@@bobsingh5521 exactly these foreigners don't know anything.
@@reconquistahinduism346 How so?
@@bazmc1153
LOL. Do I even need to tell that ? ☺️ It's an obvious , straight on your face fact.
@@reconquistahinduism346 Who are the foreigners and how don't they know anything?
In 2021, it makes more sense than ever.
Does it?
True
@@jezalb2710 yes it does to many of us but obviously not you.
@@NISARQC because I asked a question? You are an eejit.
@@jezalb2710 I didn't call you an idiot you just need to know the history.
The presenter here is Rory Stewart. He ran for leadership of the Conservative party but was beaten, along with the other contenders, by Boris Johnson. He could have been PM, presiding over our response to the current crisis. What could have been, eh?
I think he served our there
The British STAND for public office, everyone else seems to run.
Stewart like Wilson in 1916 would have had to 'pay the piper' for the top chair.
@@robertdore9592 you’re right. Rory Stewart STOOD as candidate to be Leader of the Conservative Party. Apologies.
But he would have been hopeless because he was a remainer. We needed a Brexiteer to lead Britain to success and benefit from Brexit
"It's as though after ten years of fighting the Taliban today, the United States and their allies left Afghanistan and put the Taliban back in charge". This didn't age well.
my thoughts exactly. guess history really does repeat itself
I knew someone would put this quote into the comments. The host said it as if it were an insane, unimaginable act, borderline impossible ... and yet ... here we are. Saigon II. Helicopters and everything. Unreal.
Warriors allahamdulilha
They never buy western and European people propeganda
Hopefully now that the Taliban have come out of their hiding places the US can carpet bomb the bastards and send them to hell.
@@legslewis783
Problem is that they don't have much heavy equipment left in country
The twisted irony of hearing Rory say "it's as if the Americans left Afghanistan and put the Taliban in charge"
Watching this after searching TH-cam for Afghan-related documentaries in light of the recent events leading to a taliban ‘’re-takeover‘’.
Cheers to fellow inquisitive minds. The world will eventually be a better place because of us who seek to know historical facts and have nuanced opinions without shame.
It was a no-win situation. If you have the hubris to comnclude that we are going to go in and change Afghanistan to a Western style democracy, you are going to be disappointed every time.
We have to join forces
@@timothyrauch1 just leave Muslims alone.
Only thing I learned was to try not being a nice guy and carpet bomb the region so that there is no one left or nothing left to fight for. Tell the non taliban that if they do not fight back they will he seen as aiding them and will join them in death.
If you want a really good historical fiction account of the 1st Afghan war check out a book called, "Flashman". The parallels between that disaster and the recent US fiasco are uncanny. The book is hilarious too.
My take:
I think Afghan people want to live a simple and a tribal life with reasonable cooperation among tribes. That's all. If people try to disturb their way of life, normal people transform into deadly legendary warriors, especially if the aggressor is a non-muslim. They are NOT interested in wealth, commercialization and all those BS.
Great people in their own unique way.
I agree with you bro
I’m afghan and belong to Tajik ethnic group.
We aren’t interested in colonising others land because we know how it feel like when foreigners enter your land illegally and try to dominate. In fact our great grand fathers did invaded India many time and stole expensive stuffs. We are sorry for that.
In history we never been defeated and never tolerated slavery of foreign powers.
We rather die but never let them to conquer our land because it’s our land.
@@villainsneverdie5160 Massive respect to Afghanistan 🙏 🇮🇳♥️🇦🇫
Looks like the same story of human everywhere, a oppressive class, followed by other classes, and constant struggle between all those.
@The Wheel Modern day Pakistan was in hand of durani empire for centuries.
Lahore, Amrit sir , Islamabad , all these territories once belonged to afghans. Check the history
@The Wheel Afghanistan is a country of minorities, none of the ethnic groups living in Afghanistan can make 50% of the population alone
"To defeat an enemy you must know them. Not just their battle tactics, but their history, philosophy......art"
Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn.
from star wars rebels
@ALETHIOLOGY Exactly.
And given that the US has been there since 2001, they should have extensive knowledge of the Taliban. The problem is the higher-ups reluctance to adapt. According to Blackwater founder Erik Prince: "The US military is trying to defeat the Taliban using the same tactics and methods that was so successful back in 2001"
@ALETHIOLOGY Philosophy and art of HITLAR 😂😁🤪👌💯
@ALETHIOLOGY And yet invaded Russia in winter
@@matheenarif8645 he never invaded the Soviet Union in winter. The invasion began on June 22nd 1941, which is literally the summer solstice, arguably the warmest day of the year. The invasion was also meant to occur two weeks earlier
"We have never ever liked to be conquered"
Afghans most famous and truthful phrase
“When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains, and the women come out to cut up what remains, jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains An’ go to your gawd like a soldier." - Rudyard Kipling
I guess neighboring countries like to be conquered and welcome foreign powers with open arms
There again, who does ¿?
@@suzyqualcast6269 largely geographic resistance rather than temperament since there are so many ethnicities who constantly fight with each other.
It was subject to lots of invasions, kingdoms and empires and is rife with inter tribal rivalries and wars. Everyone that came overland to India loved it. But its not so easy to fit it into this simplistic narrative nor the British Empire. If not Britain it would have been someone else.
Alexander the Great invaded what is today Afghanistan in 330 BC as part of war against Persia. ... Several cities in Afghanistan are named for Alexander, including Alexandria Arachosia, now called Kandahar (a contraction of Iskandahar)..
Ebs flows victory and defeat ... History is not a neat linear boxed narrative.
I was a little skeptical at the beginning but damn, this was a great documentary.
Profound:
We have accepted poverty because we want to be free
That stood out to me as well .
Yes, agreed and in other words: I would rather be a poor master than a rich servant.
And No one conquer Afghanistan
Love Afghanistan from USA
People of god hearts
very profound statement; probably the most notable line in the whole documentary.
Hahah. Afghan ruled by Turk near about 400 years...Indo-greek ruled region 350 years....kushan,hun ruled near about 200 years....Persian 500 years....Afghanistan was first fought forcefully only under Ahmed Shah abdali...until Afghanistan always raped by outsiders....
49:45 "it's as though after 10 years of fighting the Taliban today, the US and their Allies put the Taliban in charge" - yeah I guess that would have made more sense than doing the same another 10 years later
I love that quote. It's doing so much work for my anti-war protester friends.
A.G.
And the yanks gave them a $trillion worth of weapons and gear, trained the army who then simply changed uniforms and are now in the taliban. Good move if you want to keep the muslim/Christian antagonism going, good if you want another conflict to sell even more weapons.
12 years,, Iraq fiasco gobbled up eight years. The experts were saying it really needs almost three decades to tr a in up effective sargeant majors and a dependable troop pool from scratch. Biden just has thrown it all away . Also was worth waiting out for the natural advancing old age and deaths of current Taliban leaders . In last five years it wasn't costing much cos afghan troops were doing the fighting and loss of life. It had become a good place for western troops to gain field experience too .
Julian, man! I wrote another comment seconds ago with almost the exact phrasing of yours 3 days ago 😊 Could both of us be spiritual brothers? Maybe. Warm greetings from Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 👍🏻🖖🏻
I'll be darned...
"It's as if America today, after 10 years of fighting left and put the Taliban back in charge. "
How the incredulous delivery of that statement betrays its true connotations just a decade later...
"Take the quickest route back home". Love from Bangladesh to Afghanistan. Great documentary. The sound mixing, editing is ridiculously perfect
Oh the irony. Kabul fell today; another empire has been swallowed up by Afghanistan. Empires never learn.
lol, its all a game to them
Not even close we lost 2,400 troops in Afghanistan in 20 years get your head out of the sand Joe Biden's exit plan was definitely a disaster I agree with that
naaa you guys are simply stupid. Forget about the Teleban. It is the work of the chin na comunist parti. 101%.
@@ikeswp4959 did you counted your tax payers money also?
@@saurabh5148 1 trillion no big deal put it on our tab 😜
49:44 what a prediction! "it's as though after 10 years of fighting the Taliban today, the US & their allies left Afghanistan and put the Taliban back in charge"... THAT has just happened..
😶😶
Absolutely right....
Yes
Sometimes winning is simply defined as getting out alive.
@@slappy8941 ,still better than ruled by outsiders like the colonies of European empires..
Ironic when you watch it now and he says it’s almost like ten years in giving power to the Taliban……
Britain: we’re going to invade Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: you’re going to get bent.
The British got bent.
well thats not true, when there was an empire, they ruled it.
@@hayoat800 ?
@@hayoat800 They just thought they ruled it. Nobody ever conquered Afghanistan and nobody ever will. You can nuke it, make a parking lot out of it, but you’ll never conquer it.
@@hayoat800 u clearly don’t know about the angolo war
@@MothaLuva everybody conquered Afghanistan read a history book
Everybody gangsta until they get to Afghanistan.
No vietnam.
Mongolians had no problem. The way you beat Afghanistan is genocide/enslavement/relocation.
Modern society doesn't have the stones to see it through though.
@@spookrockcity None of those would work even if modern society had the balls to go through with such things. The reason why Afghanistan is called “the graveyard of empires” is because you aren’t really fighting the Afghans, you are fighting nature. More than half of Afghanistan is covered in mountains with extreme treacherous terrains and no infrastructure. It’s basically like climbing a mini- Mount Everest. None of the modern military technology works there. They’re totally useless. You could try chasing people with helicopters and drones but they can easily seek refuge in the mountains. Even nuclear weapons are useless. They don’t penetrate several layers of mountainous rocks.
Ancient Mauryan, Greeks , Guptas ,Hindu Shahi or Mongols, Medieval Turks not agree with you !!!
If one think powerful nation like USA USSR not able to hold Afghanistan then it's strategic miscalculation , when one say Great game earlier it was between BRITISH INDIA vs RUSSIA and later between USA and RUSSIA , now USA has much bigger priority in pacific ocean to deal with CHINA they dont need waste money in central asia so they left ...
Until Afghans get rid of tribal and extreme religious views they will used by Big powers and this is bcz of it's location
In Ancient time Afghanistan used to gateway to enter in India, and in modern time it is battlefield between Big powers
So technically no one want peace in Afghanistan and that's harsh truth !!!
@@spookrockcity
Oooo your edgy
Mr keyboard boy
Taliban just crushed anything US and UK stood for lol
Please never delete this lol
Very informative. Great documentary
'It's really easy to get into Afghanistan; it's the getting out part that's very difficult.' Carve that one in stone.
Interesting to watch this after what just happend to the Americans
Some manuscript should have written this hidden under the rocks
Hhhhhh I am watch your this comment from Afghanistan
This is an old video. But totally resonates with the latest events
In the immortal words of Alexander the great... "May God deliver us from the venom of the cobra, teeth of the tiger, and vengeance of the Afghans"
In the 3rd century, the Sassanids mentioned an eastern tribe called Abgân, which is attested in its Arabic form Afġān in the 10th century Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam. Through the nineteenth century, the term "Afghan" was used by various writers as a synonym for "Pashtun", but such usage now is rare in English
The earliest mention of the name Afghan (Abgân) is by Shapur I of the Sassanid Empire during the 3rd century CE, which is later recorded in the 6th century in the form of "Avagāṇa" (अवगाण) by the Indian astronomer Varāha Mihira in his Brihat-samhita.
The Encyclopædia Iranica explains:
Rohan Tinku
We should learn that lesson in Amerika.
This quote has no basis in reality
You sure he used the word God I mean didn't he worship greek gods
@@michabell1713 never mind whether he said God or Gods.....he didn’t even say the quote!
'The graveyard of empires' Hugely understandable.
We lost 2400 troops not even close to a graveyard
@@ikeswp4959 and greetings from europe....
@@ikeswp4959 also trillions of dollars
@@nightoftheworld and your point we spend trillions like it's nothing
@@ikeswp4959 a graveyard of taxpayer money is my point-which has helped polarization spread like fire in the US. Also it’s a _graveyard_ because no empire conquers it, hence RIP to the dreams of taking Afghanistan
The TH-cam suggestion algorithm has a sick sense of timing.
it's almost as if it has access to real world data and trending searches
@@dustopian it does.
@@believer0001 Thats ze joek.
As an Afghan -American i hope my motherland will find peace :(
Was born in war time and its been almost 3 decades , innocent people are still dying :(
@Mr steal your wife
?
Surely Brother we Indians are always standing with you. No matter what happen 🇮🇳💓🇦🇫
Fatherland
Drrrt
@@blackwitch4762you Indians were fighting against them in all the Anglo afghan wars for your British paymasters. When captured, some of you falsely claimed to be Muslims to avoid death. This proved that you only stand for your own interests, motivated only be greed until this day.
As one Russian commander said " how do you beat an army which looks into the barrel of a gun and sees paradise" I wish we are more united ourselves. We could have achieved greater things. 😓
As an Irishman I believe that a people should be allowed to define their own destiny. Great video, and lesson.
The world dont
Well you would wouldn't ya
Because you know the suffering and pain of an oppressed people.
They may say you're a dreamer...
As a Finn I agree completely. As my mother used to say, 'If people send soldiers to invade your country, then you don't like it.'
Fantastic documentary, well put together and well narrated by a man who walked the walk. Cheers!
Current events really do spark an interest in history,
History does rhyme
It's true saying "if you want to predict future of any land read it's history"
@Linda Leonard Your comment seems to be irrelevant to the context.
@@suryatejas3013 quite the opposite
Yes, the holy ghost is what brought so much blood shed in European history. Amen.
This is the second time I see this wonderful documentary. It only keeps getting better.
"We're going to rrrroollll into the village and we going to Build things"
"I said sir, if you're going to rrrroollll into the village we're going to rrrroollll you out"
😂 I can't stop laughing
Imagine if French Soldiers roll into your town with their tanks talking about wanting to build a library.
Hahahahaha i cracked up too
Thats how we roll hey
😂
Lmao 😂😂
Wow! This was truly brilliant. The innovative narrative techniques combining old film footage, paintings and documentary were gripping in the storytelling which provides the historical understanding of the current debacle of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. This should be required viewing for every American, who have a real struggle understanding the core message revealed in the ruins of the royal castle by Afghan nobility: “We accept poverty because we want to be free.”
It always amazes me how history repeats itself.
We make a Northwest Atlantic to pacific route and another route through Central America, Afghanistan will be even more economical irrelevant. Russia needs to build up its eastern ports, and forget about this place.
ye cuz we forget
"We except the poverty because we want to be free"
Nice speech my brother
Well in the end they and got their poverty and also lost their freedom to the Taliban. Sad.
Even the European that was captured by Taliban in the end embraced Islam 😂😂 how brutal Taliban is??
This is Rory Stewart! I loved his book on Afghanistan and I highly recommend it to everyone.
I am happy that this documentary has freed me from some ignorance as I knew very of Afghanistan other than the time of the campaigns of Alexander the great and very little of the modern day invasion of Afghanistan.
Alexander was never great.
He lost many battles. And he was what the christians today hare the most , a polytheist pagan.
@@reconquistahinduism346 I think you're a lone voice there. He never lost a battle; his army was defeated on occasion (in Afghanistan or northern Iran, I forget which) but he wasn't present. He was a conqueror, but was of his time and should be judged as such. He was born hundreds of years before Christianity appeared.
@@johnniea4684 as if one should ever listen to a westerner for history 😂😂. Thank you. No one listens to western people today because you are exposed.
@@reconquistahinduism346 Bigotry leads to ignorance. All information presents an opportunity to learn. If you don't do this, you are just cheating yourself.
@@johnniea4684 what information ?? You people think your rewriting of others history means information. Your information is just an excuse for western or Christian or white ( depending on the people ) supremacy , colonization , dominance and hegemony and evangelization. Nothing else.
49:43 This man was seeing nearly 10 years into the future
He is as much of an expert on the country as any Westerner can be. He walked across Afghanistan alone interacting with rural Afghans, staying with villagers, eating with them. Dari, the Afghan language, is one of the 11 languages he speaks.
TH-cam algorithms got a sick sense of humor with recommending this during this week.
TH-cam does a splendid job factor-analysing current factors!
amazing how current this program is, shocking really
Maybe it's because history is important. Also since everyone in the 1st world is searching Afghanistan, it makes complete since that TH-cam would present this. It's not a sick since of humor, it's math, you boob.
@@EMcKelvyF You know what irony is don´t you mate?
It's not irony, it's math.
Yet again, yet once more, this land has become a playground for another “great game”.
No its not. Ground reality is different now. Northern alliance will try to divide the country but Taliban will make this country a role model for other Muslim countries. They now understand what to do next even world saction on them.
InstaBlaster.
Bumper cars! Merry go rounds! Hold my rpg
I thought that it went back before the British to the Greek, perse and mongolians, though the territory wasn't called Afghanistan back then
Fantastic comment. So so true
As an Afghan, this makes me proud, and at the same time very sad.
Proud because u resist Empires and their salivating.. And sad because of the wars and poverty it causes
@@wineverything7529 There's definitely a price to pay, and it seems the Afghans are willing to pay it.
From what I hear Afghans are nice people but they’re not afraid to spill blood.
There is nothing to be proud of
proud of what? Beghairat!
This is the best coverage on Afghanistan I’ve seen so far. Fascinating.
"its as if the US handed Afghanistan over to the Taliban" - Wow who would have thought we're watching this a month after US left and Kabul is taken over by the Taliban.
Pray for Afghans, I really hope the Taliban show mercy to their people and don't start this new country with blood stained all over of innocent people.
These talibans are americanized so dont worry biden is not stupid
"Blood stained"?
The US started that.
@@Abdullah-yn8zk what about the Russians? Afghanistan was chugging right along until Boris stuck his fat nose in there. Afghanistan was actually a place where people WANTED to go just to see it.
Mind blown, can't believe he said that back in 2012 and here i am watching this now.
They'll kill as many as they want to. It's sad. Total mess.
I am watching this documentary when mighty Kabul has fallen to Taliban.
me too
It's already fallen. President fled, and US embassy is Hanoi 2.0 again. 40 yes later...
Me too from India..
me too
Yes, with a sense of déjà Vi.
This should be essential curriculum viewing for all politicians involved in global decisions, decisions taken on military interventions, decisions on migration issues.
And for any sticking an oar in.
Currently this chap is needed to be in No10.
This is great to see and even more respect to Rory Stewart.
It’s a tragedy, for many Afghan’s at least, he didn’t win the Conservative Party leadership election. I’m sure he’d have had the Foreign Office & British Armed Forces grilling the Biden administration on its strategy for withdrawal. He’d have taken a personal interest that a solid strategy was in place to not leave an air power vacuum along with robust plans to evacuate all those who are at serious risk of having their entire families killed by the Taliban.
Woah, I just searched his name. He went from an academic to a high-profile diplomat and politician. And he's back to academics now. Hope he keeps marching on.
It's not called "The graveyard of empires" for nothing.
Which empire finished in the graveyard?
@@drstrangelove4998 England and the Soviet Union...and the U.S. because we don't learn anything from history.
The only empire to collapse because of its failed conquest of Afghanistan was the Soviet Union...
The British Empire successfully conquered Afghanistan several times, in fact it was they who defined the current borders of the region.
@Wais AFG Why did you waste your time posting that pointless non-argument?
@@MetricImperialist Would you agree that the whole online privacy problem we have nowadays is directly tied to the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001?
The BBC really does make the best documentaries. Brilliantly written, fascinating and educational.
Yeah, it used to be. But no longer, sadly. It has been biased a lot nowadays, like almost all major media publications.
@@mallasaugat There are still a lot of very good tv shows produced, particularly of this style if you look on the app. Maybe bias to some extent (like anything is) but leftists moan it’s right wing and those on the right complain it pandas to leftism / the woke left. Can’t be both, just fashionable to bash the BBC because the pay per view billionaires behind Sky, Amazon Prime, Netflix etc want less competition and so promote that narrative. Most of their tv shows are absolute drivel and Sky shows 5 mins of adverts every 10 minutes. Rupert Murdoch lobbied for years for the BBC to have its funding slashed and that should tell you something (that maybe we should really keep it!) I’d trust the BBC over any of Murdoch’s publications.
@@Sam-jy5tj Agreed 👍
Because of current events I was looking to brush up my knowledge of the history of Afghanistan and by happy chance came across this video. So glad to find it was with Rory Stewart. If you haven't read his book The Places In Between, please do. It's brilliant.
Hello how are you doing?
This video is so timely. The youtube algo is mind boggling.
They make you see what they want you to see💀
Yes - thanks algorithm!
This documentary series is very well done, thank you for producing / uploading. Also, extra points for using the Daft Punk scoring of the TRON: Legacy soundtrack.
The Brits fought their way into Afghanistan in several successful battles. After Elpinstones' catastrophic defeat it was said they came in lions and left like sheep.
And imagine, the AFG POV on the Anglo Afghan wars is different one, way worse then in this video.
That’s the POV of a colonialist that has to make the story less damaging to not lose face in front of the world. Think about that
These Scottish historians are wonderful
I & I agree 🏴
Great documentary. Thank you for the insight.
The people of Afghanistan need to be left to live happily.
Outstanding job on a very complex subject. Thank you, appreciated your insight.
The lesson: never invade mountainous countries
Scotland for example
Hence why wales in particular snowdonia is surrounded by castles and why Hadrians wall was built
@@johnsmith-mm1vt Lol i'm in Glasgow. Never invade Vietnam, though. No one can tame the place. Forget it.
One of the main reasons why Hitler never went into Turkey.
never invade a rich country
''The US and it's allies left Afghanistan and put the Taliban back in charge'' talk about prophetic
Or tempting fate.
This happens every time when a guest claims to be a owner of the house.
The same will happen when the Europeans take the same attitude to the “guests” currently here.
@@hrafnofthule5962 There is a big difference between guest with a gun and guest with a kind heart.🙂
@@nazimhassan2951 that's your opinion
@@hrafnofthule5962 European nation just extract skilled professionals from middle income and poor nations dont think you are doing any favour for them they deserved and worked for that success moreover they are not trying to overthrow their governments and rule the nation neither they are looting gold, diamond or the nations wealth they are contributing to that nations economy
Colonizers: GiVe mE tHaT
Afghani Jeff Bridges whispers back: “The Grid....”
I like Rory Stewart, when I heard he walked through Afghanistan after 9/11. I liked him even more, I think he has qualities most conservatives don't have. It's a shame he failed in his bid to be leader of the party.
49:45 -“It’s as though after 10 years, the USA left Afghanistan and put the Taliban back in charge” 🤦
Ha! We doubled that! USA! USA!
He said those words 9 years ago 😂
Everything old is new again
Proud to be an Afghan pashtoon form Kandahar the city of Ahmad Shah abadali durrani empire
*Afghanistan, the graveyard of empires.* 🤴🔥
Except for the Medians, Achaemenids, Macedonians, Seleucids, Bactrians, Indo-Greeks, Mauryans, Scythians, Parthians, Kushans, Sassanids, Huna, Kidarites, Alchon Huns, Hephthalites, Nezaks, Rashiduns, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Mongols, Timurids, Mughals, Uzbeks, Safavids, Durranis, and the British
Nah, until the 20th century, Afghanistan was the doormat of empires.
@@40below1000 someone has his ass kicked hard in Afghanistan lately 🤣🤣🤣
Is it really?
The U.S won the war.
That “it is like the US went out and put the taliban back in charge” line did age soooo well
I'm as pro America as anyone can be,but it still astounds me at how little it seems like American Political And Military leaders appreciated this situation.
Taliban took over opium exports sunk to zero, US invades and opium exports skyrocket.
@@whatabouttheearth I've heard that I need to checkout the evidence
@@whatabouttheearth wonder why we have an "opioid crisis"? There's your supply chain
@@strengthisthesolution2294 Where do
you think all the opium required to make opiates for Americans & big pharma comes from when Afghanistan produced the vast majority of it during the American occupation?
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. “
I wanna visit Afghanistan such a extraordinary nation.
Jarod 1999 well if you are pls be careful
You won't last a day there
ur welcome.. and u well never forget the hospitality ...
Be careful, someone is making a good argument for total destruction of every stone, every well and every person.
me too
Before i deployed to Afghanistan. I did my research. Thought it was a bad idea. Think the goals and objectives on a bigger picture was wrong. Alexander the great said you can take afghanistan easy holding it was impossible.
* About ninety percent of military personnel are involved in support roles, not combat.
* The military goes where politicians order them to. If you want to be angry, be angry at the pols.
History will continue to repeat itself, despite lessons well explained like this documentary
ofc and he will always keep repeating itself because its build on a lie to preceive degnity this reporter claim that afghan gave safety passage to british and bertayed them and thats why they won while the reality is the british lost a head on battle because they underestimated them . and thats why the russian and the nato lost there they refuse to acknowledge that they are fighting some of the mightiest warriors in the history of mankind and if you wanna beat them you need to treat them as such you cant beat what you dont know
Nicely done documentary with inspiring narrator, well-research history and illuminating visualization. Really good job to summarize a century of Western encounters in a country which is now (again) probably more timely than ever.
great show. this is high quality content
One of the best docs on YT
Good job telling the story Mr. Stewart. . . unfortunately, to be continued!
Wonderfully done. Looking forward to part 2.
"When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains, and the women come out to cut up what remains, jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains and go to your gawd like a soldier."
Rudyard Kipling
movie beast of war?
@@hasanfoyejul5500 www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/poems_youngbrit.htm
@@hasanfoyejul5500 lol
@@CaptainHarlock-kv4zt one of the best war movie. thanks
A scrimmage at a border station. A gallop up a dark defile.
Ten thousand pounds of education
Falls to a ten rupee jezreal.
Learned so much from this, hope one day there can be peace over there.
if the west just controlled their imperialistic tendencies there would be!
Great insight, thank you! Wish you peace, continue your efforts.
I have been fixated on Afghanistan-related news for the last week because of what's currently going on there which is such a tragedy. Then I came upon this documentary. Such an excellent piece of work and a masterpiece! It is the most comprehensive and fascinating history lesson on Afghanistan that I've seen. Simply brilliant.
I didn't know much about Afghan history and didn't understand why foreigners kept trying to invade it only to lose bitterly in the end hence being called "The Graveyard of Empires." Now I understand. If the US military had studied some history or watched this film before going into Afghanistan and also now before leaving it, then maybe they could've learned something valuable. Alas, history is just repeating itself.
America: bye Afghanistan we sacrificed thousands of soldier for nothing. A fruitless invasion and oppression.
Afghanis: you know we don't have nothing but patience and firmness like mountain.
History repeats itself. The Australian PM needs to learn from this outstanding BBC documentary.
All countries like Afghanistan and Lebanon want to live in liberty. Afghanistan is a nice and beautiful country before Russian invasion of 79. A nation that would’ve been better without all these battles. People suffered and that was terrible. They should’ve left them alone.
If even the Mongols had a hard time controlling the place, it's a hard time for anyone else
They didn’t , it was one of the richest areas in the world , a main route of the Silk Road well until they revolted and got plundered and masscuered
Columbus boat trip, and the Panama Canal was the real victory over Afghanistan and the Silk Road.
We defeated the mongols, my people The Qezelbashs did it with Afghan Pashtuns, hazaras, kurdmen and Uzbeks. ❤️🇦🇫❤️✊🏼
@@iameverywhere260 mongols failed to control the place after conquering just as alexander
The mongols ruled only some parts of Afg at that time, the rest of Afghan land was in india and it was called Khiliji empire, search wars of Khiliji and mongol empore
I BEAR WITNESS THAT THERE IS NO DEITY NONE TRULY TO BE WORSHIPPED BUT ALLAH S.W.T AND I BEAR WITNESS THAT PROPHET MUHMMED S.A.W IS ALLAH S.W.T MESSENGER AMEEN
As in afghan I’m proud of them for defending their country with less tech and man power to stop the invaders 👏🏼 and then bad things turned to worse Talibans 😤 came that changed our country do u agree.
Respect from the UK
Exactly this Afghan's who defeated 🇬🇧(GB) and the Soviet Union are Exactly 💯 and withdrawn American Soldiers in 6 months are the Ancestors from the Taliban without the Taliban your Country would already be in American hands ✋ this is reality
@@luqmanmarijanov2252 Without the paid lackeys of Pakistan Military Intelligence, the Taliban wouldn't exist, bin Laden and Al Queda would not have taken up residence, and the US would have no reason to stay.
@@luqmanmarijanov2252 The mujahideen were the real heroes. Taliban are extremists destroying Afghanistan? FUck you mean?
@@DonMeaker
Yes, and Pakistan is proud of it
You know it’s going to be an AAA documentary when Rory Stewart shows up.
If Indians had an ounce of Afghan resilience the British would have thought twice colonizing their subcontinent
exactly..and things wouldnt have been that worse for all of the south Asia.
The Brits came from the other side lol
Indians are cowards..
Thank you so much for this, one of the best videos on yt