In the two decades the United States spent in Afghanistan, it spent more than $85 billion to train and supply Afghan security forces.

And when the forces collapsed, surrendering to the Taliban as it captured Kabul over the weekend, it showed those efforts were a massive failure.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks to Craig Whitlock, Washington Post investigative reporter who writes that U.S. military officials have long doubted whether the Afghan security forces would ever be able to operate on their own.

Here & Now and The Washington Post have created a new partnership to deepen our global news coverage.n Post.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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