Iraq & Afganistan wars

In Descent into Chaos, Ahmed Rashid examines the United States' failures in Central Asia, where, the author says, Washington has helped create an unstable Pakistan, a reinvigorated Taliban and a entrepreneurial al' Qaeda that is profiting off the opium trade.

New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins has been covering clashes pitting Taliban militants against the Afghan and Pakistani governments; he joins Fresh Air to talk about recent developments in the region.

As the June 30 deadline for U.S. troop withdraw from Iraqi cities approaches, New York Times correspondent Rod Nordland shares his perspective on how prepared the Iraqi government and security forces are to take over.

Journalist Gretchen Peters argues the U.S. should focus on the opium trade in Afghanistan as a way of combating Taliban. Her new book is Seeds of Terror.

Army Major General Mark Graham lost two sons who were serving in the military, one by suicide, and the other died when a roadside bomb exploded in Iraq. Graham was struck by the different ways his sons' deaths were regarded. He has since enacted measures to ensure that all soldiers from the base he commands in Fort Carson, Colo. receive full military funerals and memorial services, regardless of whether they died in combat or by their own hand.

New York Times writer covers national security issues; he discusses what the newly discovered documents reveal about Bush Administration policy, and what the fallout from their release may be.

Former marine Donovan Campbell led a platoon against insurgents in Iraq. His memoir of his experiences is Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood.

The New York Times foreign correspondent Dexter Filkins reports that the Taliban are waging an increasingly aggressive campaign in Afghanistan — a fact evidenced by a 40 percent increase in Afghan civilian deaths in 2008.

Washington Post senior correspondent Thomas Ricks says the Iraq war is likely to last at least another five to 10 years. He has written a new book about General David Petraeus and the Iraq war called The Gamble.

Ryan Kules lost an arm and a leg in 2005 when an IED hit his vehicle in Iraq. Now the former Army captain works with the Wounded Warrior Project to help severely injured soldiers transition into the workforce.