Foreign troops have begun leaving Afghanistan. But the country is still a long way from being prosperous, stable or even safe. We talk to someone who witnessed what happened under similar circumstances 20 years ago as the Soviet Union withdrew and cleared the way for civil war.

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Part Two of The Current

The Wars of Afghanistan: Peter Tomsen

Foreign soldiers are leaving Afghanistan in droves. Canada and The Netherlands have ended their missions there altogether and the United States, Britain, France and Belgium are all cutting their commitments substantially. But by some measurements, Afghanistan is more violent and unstable now than it was when those foreign powers first intervened. Corruption is rampant.

This week Ahmed Wali Karzai -- the powerful half-brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai -- was assassinated. And there's a sense that the Afghan government isn't ready to run the country itself. The last time this many foreign soldiers left Afghanistan was in February of 1989, when the former Soviet Union drove its last column of T-62 tanks back through the Salang Pass.

The Soviets left behind a weak government fighting a guerilla insurgency that eventually led to a civil war and the arrival of The Taliban. Peter Tomsen witnessed that chapter in Afghanistan's history first hand. He was the United States' special representative to Afghanistan's Mujahideen resistance from 1989 to 1992. He has since written a book about that time called The Wars of Afghanistan and he was in Washington.

Music Bridge

Artist: Zubot and Dawson
Cd: Tractor Parts: Further Adventures in Strang
Cut: # 3, Ultraman
Label: Black Hen
Spine: BHCD 0003

Last Word - Child Obesity

We ended the show this week with a preview of a story The Current's Elizabeth Hoath is working on for Monday's program. She got the last word today.

Other segment from today's show:

• Wicked Bugs: Amy Stewart