The World and Everything in It - August 26, 2021

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has consequences for the entire Middle East and beyond.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: They also have weapons. We’ll tell you about the U.S. military tech now in the Taliban’s hands.

Plus a visit to a Swiss farm that grows a very different kind of crop.

And a back to school suggestion for parents.

BROWN: It’s Thursday, August 26th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

BUTLER: And I’m Paul Butler. Good morning!

BROWN: Up next, news. Here’s Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Blinken estimates 1,500 Americans may still await evacuation » Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Wednesday that as many as 1,500 Americans may be waiting to be evacuated from Afghanistan. That figure suggests that this part of the U.S.-led airlift might be completed before President Biden’s Tuesday deadline.

But Blinken said everyone remaining in Kabul is in danger.

BLINKEN: We are operating in a hostile environment in a city and country now controlled by the Taliban with the very real possibility of an ISIS-K attack.

The U.S. government has contacted about 500 Americans with instructions on when and how to get to the chaotic Kabul airport to catch evacuation flights.

Blinken said the State Department estimates there were about 6,000 Americans who wanted to leave Afghanistan when the airlift began Aug. 14, and that about 4,500 of them have been evacuated so far.

At a Pentagon news conference Wednesday, spokesman John Kirby said U.S. helicopters conducted an operation Tuesday night to whisk people trapped in the city into the airport.

KIRBY: It was inside Kabul, David.
REPORTER: Was that a helicopter operation?
KIRBY: It was
REPORTER: Can you tell us how many?
KIRBY: We’re not going to provide specific details, less than 20.

But untold thousands of at-risk Afghans are struggling to get into the airport.

Some of the refugees from Afghanistan that have made it onto planes have arrived at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. And up to 10,000 more could arrive there in the coming weeks.

Two U.S. lawmakers' Kabul trip prompts questions, condemnation » House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy don’t agree on very much. But they were unified Wednesday in calling on members of Congress not to travel to Afghanistan.

That after two House members, one Republican and one Democrat flew into the Kabul airport to get a firsthand look at the evacuation.

McCarthy told reporters...

MCCARTHY: I don’t think it’s smart for others to go. You’re putting yourself—not yourself in harm's way, but you’re Americans in harm’s way if the military has to protect you.

And Speaker Pelosi agreed.

PELOSI: This is deadly serious. We do not want members to go.

The Pentagon is also discouraging VIP visits.

Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton, a Democrat, and GOP Congressman Peter Meijer of Michigan flew in on a charter Tuesday. They were on the ground at the Kabul airport for several hours before flying out on a military plane.

They said their visit was an effort to conduct congressional oversight of the evacuation.

Pentagon: US troops must get their COVID-19 vaccines ASAP » Military troops must immediately begin to get vaccinated against COVID-19. That’s the word from the Secretary of Defense. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Wednesday ordered service leaders to “impose ambitious timelines for implementation.”

More than 800,000 service members have yet to get their shots, according to Pentagon data. And now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval from the FDA, the Defense Department is adding it to the list of required shots for military service.

The Austin memo does not dictate a specific timeline for completing the vaccinations. But it says the military services will have to report regularly on their progress. And a senior defense official said that Austin has made it clear to the services that he expects them to move quickly, and that this will be completed in weeks not months.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

New NY governor adds 12,000 deaths to publicized COVID tally » New York’s newly seated Governor, Kathy Hochul, said 12,000 more people died from COVID-19 in her state than her predecessor admitted.

Gov. Hochul told NPR:

HOCHUL: The public deserves a clear, honest picture of what’s happening. And that’s whether it’s good or bad, they need to know the truth. And that’s how we restore confidence.

In its first daily update on the outbreak, Hochul's office reported that more than 55,000 people have died of the coronavirus in New York. That’s based on death certificate data submitted to the CDC.

That number is up from just over 43,000 deaths that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo reported to the public as of Monday, his last day in office.

Experts on WHO team say search for COVID origins has stalled » A team of investigators with the World Health Organization says its search for the origins of COVID-19 has stalled. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: Investigators say the window of opportunity for solving the mystery as to where the virus came from is “closing fast.”

The WHO-recruited experts said the origins investigation is at “a critical juncture.” They add that they need urgent collaboration but instead the probe has come to a standstill. That is largely due to China’s refusal to cooperate.

Earlier this year, the team traveled to Wuhan, China—the original epicenter. In their analysis, published in March, members concluded the virus probably jumped to humans from animals, and they described the possibility of a laboratory leak as “extremely unlikely.”

The WHO later backtracked, conceding they prematurely closed the door on the lab leak theory.

Meanwhile, a U.S. intelligence review ordered up by President Biden proved inconclusive about the virus's origin.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead: the global consequences of the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan.

Plus, a big question for parents as kids head back to school.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Thursday the 26th of August, 2021. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

PAUL BUTLER, REPORTER: And I’m Paul Butler. First up: geopolitical ripple effects.

It’s week two of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, and thousands of people are still flooding Kabul’s airport. That includes both U.S. citizens trying to evacuate and Afghans fleeing the Taliban.

BROWN: Meanwhile, those who have no hope of leaving are facing the hard realities of their country returning to the brutal reign of the Taliban. But the consequences of our troop drawdown go beyond the borders of Afghanistan. WORLD’s Jill Nelson reports.

AUDIO: [Crowds talking, shots fired]

JILL NELSON, REPORTER: The blundering U.S. exit from Afghanistan has turned into a nightmare for this administration and a blow to Joe Biden’s presidency.

But the damage goes beyond American politics and Afghan turmoil. Here are five geopolitical consequences that could play out over the coming months and years.

First, an increase in global jihadist activity. Husain Haqqani is a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States and a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

HAQQANI: The extremist jihadis are seeing this as a moment of triumph. They now have a narrative. The narrative is that jihad was successful in bringing down one super power, the Soviet Union, and now jihad has forced America out of Afghanistan. So Jihad is the way forward.

The Trump administration forced the Afghan government to release 5,000 jihadist prisoners as part of its peace deal with the Taliban. Haqqani says that’s contributing to the problem. Many of them now run terror networks in other countries.

HAQQANI: Will the Taliban arrest them just because these people are running Isalmist movements in other countries? I don't think so. So yes, all of a sudden the Islamist global jihadist movement has a home once again.

That leads into the second global consequence: Pakistan could become less stable and more isolated.

Haqqani says Pakistan is in a difficult position. The West sees Islamabad as having supported the Taliban for the last 20 years. But at the same time, Pakistan can’t fully rein in the Taliban. And its success in Afghanistan could embolden a related group of Pakistani militants.

HAQQANI: There is a group called the Pakistani Taliban, which after the Afghan Taliban’s success will try and put pressure inside Pakistan for a similar system that they want to establish in Afghanistan. So Pakistan will come under a lot of pressure from the international community over having supported the Taliban and from the Taliban over not being Islamic enough in its own conduct.

The third global consequence of the Afghan pullout: Our allies are questioning our commitments. Bilal Wahab is a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He was in Iraq a month ago and says fear, not logic, permeated his conversations with Iraqis.

WAHAB: The policy itself that the United States is giving up on the mission in Afghanistan sends chills down the spines of the Iraqi leadership.

Wahab says we’re unlikely to leave Iraq any time soon given its strategic value and strong institutions. But Iraqis haven’t forgotten the U.S. departure at the end of 2011. That opened the door to ISIS three years later. And the wide political swings in Washington have eroded confidence in the United States.

Husain Haqqani says that could have ripple effects across the region.

HAQQANI: America's friends and allies, whether they are individuals or relatively weak governments, will think twice about committing themselves to the United States after the way they feel the Afghan government was abandoned.

Our allies in the Middle East and beyond may begin to look elsewhere for patrons, such as Iran or Turkey. And Wahab says Russia and China are already there.

WAHAB: Russia has significant investments in Iraq’s energy sector, and China is definitely eyeing to link up Iraq to its Belt and Road Initiative.

That ties into global consequence number four: China and Russia stand to gain from our departure.

It's unlikely either country wants to be too entrenched in Afghanistan’s chaos. But Haqqani says they could find new ways to sabotage U.S. interests.

HAQQANI: America's enemies, like China and Russia could try and do the reverse of what America did in the 1980s when American used Islamic jihadists against the Soviet Union. They could get into the game of supporting the jihadis and saying, "Don't attack us. Attack the United States or the West." That will be a very dangerous game if it gets started.

And China could strike a deal with the Taliban that allows it to exploit Afghanistan’s mineral resources. Those are estimated to be worth trillions of dollars. China already dominates the global rare earths market. The minerals are commonly used in automobiles and high-tech devices.

Finally, global implication number five: A refugee crisis that could snowball in the months and years to come. Husain Haqqani warns the Taliban hasn’t unleashed the full ferocity of its beliefs on Afghans.

HAQQANI: Once the economy becomes less functional and the Taliban's rule becomes more brutal, the prospect of a refugee crisis cannot be ruled out.

Wahab recently appeared as a guest on Arabic television programs and says the hosts laughed at him for suggesting we made mistakes in our exit from Afghanistan. In the region’s conspiratorial mindset, the disastrous U.S. pullout was all part of a grand scheme to sow chaos in the Middle East. He says Washington needs to get busy addressing these misperceptions and reassuring our allies of our commitments.

WAHAB: These are all parts of the conversation in the Middle East, and Washington right now is just busy justifying why it did what it did. And that just adds to this world of perception.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Jill Nelson.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: arming the Taliban.

The humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan is not the only consequence of the botched U.S. military pullout there.

As the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, not only are the Taliban back in control of Afghanistan, but they are now a modernized fighting force, courtesy of U.S. taxpayers.

They’re now armed with U.S. military vehicles, aircraft, and weaponry left behind by Afghan government forces. Republican lawmakers say the extremist group now has access to more than $85 billion of American equipment.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Some Taliban fighters have even been seen in propaganda videos wearing U.S.-made military uniforms, helmets, flak jackets, even the wraparound sunglasses typically worn by U.S. troops. And they were all carrying American M4 automatic rifles.

They seized the gear from U.S. stockpiles left behind by special forces for the Afghan army.

Joining us now to discuss the impact of the U.S. weapons seized by the Taliban is retired Army Special Forces Colonel, Steve Bucci. He is also former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush.

Colonel, good morning!

STEVE BUCCI, GUEST: Good morning. Thank you for having me on the show.

BROWN: Colonel, Republican House leaders held a press conference this week. Congressman Jim Banks is an Afghanistan veteran who serves on the Armed Services Committee. He said the Taliban now has access to 75,000 US vehicles, more than 200 aircraft, and more than 600,000 small arms and light weapons, among other things.

How will this change the threat that the Taliban poses?

BUCCI: Well, the main thing it will do is the Taliban will now be—or are—the most well-equipped and well-funded militant group in the world. I would say they're probably close to competing with Hezbollah, who have a direct pipeline from the country of Iran. But, it's, first of all, going to play heck for the people in Afghanistan, who will be the direct recipients of the violence that the Taliban can now use. But I'm afraid some of it is going to start getting exported as well.

BROWN: What is the propaganda value of this to the Taliban?

BUCCI: Well, the propaganda value is tremendous. Remember, these folks portray themselves as servants of God, that they are doing this because God wants them to. And any victory for them is a validation to their followers, to people who might be on the fence, that they are indeed blessed by God. And now they've got a bunch of totems that they can hold up or ride around in to show people just how awesome they really are. You know, I don't believe any of that. But that's the way they will spin it and it'll have some resonance around the third world—particularly in the Muslim communities—that these guys are now the big dogs on the block. So they're going to leverage this heavily, both to show our weakness and to show their strength.

BROWN: Now, the Taliban can put things like armored vehicles, rifles, and night vision goggles to immediate use, but what about something like a Black Hawk helicopter. Do they have the necessary skills to make use of things like that?

BUCCI: Not to my knowledge. They've never had aircraft before of any kind, let alone cutting edge American aircraft. They possibly could recruit some of the pilots that we train, but those guys to the Taliban are considered the enemy because they cooperated with us. And they're just as likely to kill them as they are to try and recruit them.

And to be honest with you, American aircraft are actually pretty persnickety when it comes to maintenance. Every hour that a Blackhawk helicopter flies, it requires several hours of pretty intense maintenance to make it fly again. So I'm not sure that the Taliban have that capability.

So, I think if the Taliban managed to fly some of those Blackhawks, they probably wouldn't stay in the air very long.
My concern with the Blackhawks is they're going to sell them to somebody else—either to Iran who could probably try and figure it out, perhaps other terrorist groups are or even to China.

BROWN: I’ve heard some talk about possible U.S. airstrikes specifically aimed at taking out U.S.-made vehicles and weapons caches that have fallen into Taliban hands. Do you think that will happen and would it be effective?

BUCCI: It could happen. But I have to be honest with you that that's pretty reckless in that there's a number of Americans still there, other Western allies, personnel still there, and our friends. We could take out that equipment, but then the Taliban might not even wait until the 31st to start executing people. They might just go right at it. So, frankly, I don't think President Biden will do it because it will put too many people at risk just to get rid of the equipment.

If we had everybody out and everybody was safe, then I think it might be a more viable option. Not going to be total. It's not going to be comprehensive. You’re talking about large numbers of pieces of equipment that can be dispersed pretty readily. You just drive them away from the parking lots, and they'll get a lot harder to find and hit. And then there's the final issue involved in that of collateral damage. You know, who's living next to those equipment facilities? And if we start bombing them, are we going to be hitting civilians, as well as Taliban targets?

BROWN: Okay, Steve Bucci with Heritage Foundation has been our guest. Colonel, thanks so much!

BUCCI: It's my pleasure. Thank you for having me.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Well, apparently there’s virtually no area of life that a communist government doesn’t want to control, and that includes karaoke playlists.

China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced it would introduce a list of songs banned from appearing on karaoke playlists, effective Oct. 1st.

Officials said karaoke singing should be restricted to songs that promote healthy lifestyles and generate love of country—(as defined by the Chinese Communist Party.)

Violent and sexually explicit songs will be prohibited. But so too will songs like “Beijing Hooligans,” which the government says may encourage misbehavior, another one on the list: “Don’t Want to Go to School,” as it could discourage school attendance.

So much to the chagrin of Pink Floyd fans. I’m guessing “We Don’t Need No Education” is probably somewhere on that list as well.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, August 26th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: growing algae on purpose.

AUDIO: [Sound from Finding Nemo]

Thanks to Pixar’s Finding Nemo, kids around the world know all about that green stuff that grows on the sides of aquariums.

BROWN: And this time of year, those of us who live near ponds or lakes are quite familiar with the so-called: “pond scum!” But did you know that some algae is an amazing food source for people? WORLD European Correspondent Jenny Lind Schmitt has our story.

AUDIO: [BIRDS, MACHINERY] Bonjour!

JENNY LIND SCHMITT, CORRESPONDENT: Swiss farms are famous for producing high quality milk from happy cows. The Etique family farm does have a lot of cows as well as corn, tobacco, and other crops. But the family’s quest to innovate has it growing something more unusual.

AUDIO: [SLIDING DOOR]

Inside a long greenhouse is what looks like a huge wading pool. Only the water is fluorescent green! This is the nursery for millions and billions of spirulina plants. Molecules? Or...what exactly is spirulina? Mathieu Etique explains.

ETIQUE: [Spirulina]

The technical definition? A free-floating, filamentous cyanobacteria characterized by cylindrical, multicellular trichomes in an open left-handed helix. Uh-huh... So basically, spirulina is a microscopic blue-green algae that is edible and chock-full of iron, proteins, vitamins, and antioxidants.

A motor in the pool pushes the water gently, creating abstract moving patterns of light and dark green on the surface as the spirulina floats around. The odor makes me think of a lake, but it's not stagnant. Everything smells very fresh.

AUDIO: [WATER MOVING, LAUGHING]

After disinfecting my hand, I dip it in the warm pool. When I pull it out again, it’s coated with a bright green film that tastes slightly salty. For today’s harvest, Mathieu’s wife, Morgane, puts the end of a long tube in the basin.

AUDIO: [PUMP AND LIQUID]

MORGANE: [PROCESS…]

She starts a pump and green liquid flows into a rotating drum in a room next to the greenhouse. The drum spins, forcing liquid through a 30-micron filter. The water passes through and the spirulina molecules stick to the filter. Inside the drum, a metal blade scrapes the green mass into a strainer-lined tub.

AUDIO: [LIQUID]

The spirulina farm was born out of need. After Morgane had her first baby she looked for a job she could do from home on their three-generation farm.

During her pregnancy Morgane took spirulina as an iron supplement. When they learned it was imported, the couple wondered if they could grow it. They researched and realized they already had most of the equipment they needed on hand.

The Etiques use the farm’s greenhouses to start tobacco and cucumber plants in early spring, but then they sat unused for nine months. Meanwhile the family was installing an electric biogas plant on the farm and looking for a way to use excess heat from production. So they built a shallow pond with beams and tarps, got some spirulina starts, ran heat under the basins, and became the country’s first spirulina farmers.

AUDIO: [WATER REMOVAL]

Back in the greenhouse, the 40-pound mass of spirulina now has the consistency of a big vat of melted chocolate. There’s still too much water, so Morgane puts a special lid onto the plastic tub. She connects a hose and turns on a small milking machine that she’s adapted.

PATE: Ca enlève tout le reste de l’eau...

VOICEOVER: That pumps out the rest of the water in the spirulina. Afterwards we’ll have a nice play-doh to put in the sausage press to make spaghetti!

While the water pumps out, Morgane gets her microscope. She checks her spirulina daily to make sure it’s healthy and see what nutrients it needs. She puts a drop of liquid on the slide, and on the microscope’s screen appear thousands of tiny spirals. That’s how the algae got its name.

PATE: C’est des tire-bouchons. Moi je les appelles des gnocchi..

VOICEOVER: They’re corkscrews. I call them gnocchi because in this variety the spirals are very tight. There are seven spirals... Once they’ve reached seven spirals they redivide. That’s how they reproduce.

Spirulina grows naturally in warm lakes in Mexico and Chad, and was cultivated by the Aztecs. More recently it’s been rediscovered as a superfood because it’s rich in vitamins and minerals. Most spirulina is sold as a powder. But the Etiques turn theirs into crunchy little sprinkles to eat on yogurt or salads.

AUDIO: [Crinkle sounds]

That’s the next step in the process. When the spirulina is like a big green blob of play-doh, it’s ready for the sausage press. The Etiques had one specially revamped with a spaghetti attachment. Morgane uses a foot-operated lever to control the machine, and she fills tray after tray with long green filaments. Then into a dehydrator for 8 hours. When it’s dry, Morgane sends a sample to the Swiss equivalent of the FDA. After the sample is approved, it’s ready to sell.

AUDIO: [Metal tray]

A closet in her office overflows with samples from each production lot. Morgane has never had to recall a package, but she keeps samples from each one to be sure.

In summer when days are long, the pace is non-stop. Harvesting goes from every few days to twice a day. Spirulina needs to stay between 68 and 98 degrees Fahrenheit. The summer of 2020 was especially hot. The algae grew too fast, smothered, and died. They had to restart from scratch with a fresh strain.

Still it’s been more successful than the Etiques originally imagined. The farm won a national prize for innovation in agriculture in 2017. That gave them a lot of publicity and customers. But despite the potential for growth, Morgane says the goal is to remain a family farm. 

MORGANE: On est obligé...

VOICEOVER 3 We have to diversify on the farm, but we wouldn’t want to get any bigger. It would no longer be a pleasure. We’re good like this. It stays a family farm.

And that is where Morgane says she’s in her element.

AUDIO: [BABY]

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Jenny Lind Schmitt in Montignez, Switzerland.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, August 26th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler. Many students are headed back to class. But commentator Cal Thomas wonders what they’re learning.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: When I was in public school, a TV ad asked: “It’s 10 o’clock Do you know where your children are?”

Here’s a better question for today: Do you know what your children are being taught and exposed to in their schools?

This summer’s controversy over the teaching of critical race theory and whether to wear masks is only part of the problem. When kids claim to be a different sex than what they were born as and are allowed to use the locker rooms, restrooms, and showers previously reserved for what we used to call girls and boys, it further erodes the morals and values we once considered part of a solid education.

Since the 1960s, Secular progressives have used many public schools to indoctrinate children. It began with the elimination of prayer and Bible reading. Now gender identity is our highest ideal, and teachers are required to ask students which pronoun they prefer. Who can reliably predict what is coming next?

Once the sky was the limit for what hardworking students could achieve. Now it appears there are no limits to the depths to which we can plunge. Success is not honored, everybody gets a trophy, and failure is being eliminated.

All this just gives China another reason to celebrate following the messy U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Chinese students far outperform their international peers in reading, math, and science. According to 2018 results from the Program for International Student Assessment, U.S. students ranked 25th in science, reading, and math worldwide. China was first. Even Slovenia and Ireland outranked us.

Public schools may be the oldest monopoly in America. While government has broken up other monopolies, public schools remain intact. Even so, some schools are trying to distance themselves from the very government that funds and protects them. Students once said the Pledge of Allegiance before classes began. In some places, they don’t even do that anymore. Why? Proponents say it’s because so many kids come from other countries.

If government won’t break up the education monopoly, parents should. And those who call most loudly for personal autonomy should support that effort. It’s hypocritical for those who favor choice when it comes to abortion to oppose choice for the education of children fortunate enough to have been born.

We currently have 27 voucher programs in 16 states and the District of Columbia. But we need many more. Expanding school choice to every state should be a major issue in the next two elections. Parents and children—especially in minority communities—can testify to the difference the ability to choose a good school has made in their lives.

I’m Cal Thomas.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Tomorrow: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet.

And, the challenge of telling true stories on screen. We’ll take you to the set of the new biopic about Aretha Franklin.

Plus, listener feedback!

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Paul Butler.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

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Go now in grace and peace.

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