After the Taliban's overthrow in 2001, the world could be forgiven for thinking they had seen the end of Afghanistan's brutal military organization.

But despite nearly two decades of US security intervention, the Taliban's forces have retaken control of Kabul and overthrown the democratically-elected Ashraf Ghani government.

How did it come to this? And can the Taliban be believed when they say they've changed?

In this timely conversation, foreign correspondent Irris Makler, Barat Ali Batoor and Kate Banville will unpack the recent history of Afghanistan, and consider what might be ahead for this troubled nation.

About of our host and guests

For the past seven years, award-winning foreign correspondent Irris Makler has been based in Jerusalem, filing stories across the Middle East for radio, television and online news services around the world, including Australia. Previously based in Moscow and London, she reported extensively from Afghanistan as one of the first journalists on the scene after 9/11

Barat Ali Batoor is a photographer, born into a family driven out of Afghanistan during civil war when most of his relatives were massacred. He returned to his ancestral country for the first time after September 11, 2001, when the Taliban regime was still in Kandahar despite the U.S. campaign to oust them. After visiting the devastation and destruction of 23 years of war, he decided to work for his country and draw the world's attention to the plight of the Afghan people, choosing photography as his medium of expression. Batoor began taking photos in 2002 and launched his first solo exhibition in 2007. His photographs have been exhibited in Denmark, Dubai, Australia, Pakistan, Italy, Japan and Afghanistan. His work has been published in The Washington Post, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, Stern, India Today, Outlook Afghanistan, Afghanistan Times, among others. He received a photography grant from New York's Open Society Institute for his project 'Child Trafficking in Afghanistan/The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan”. He also won the Nikon-Walkley photo of the year in 2013.

Kate Banville is a Freelance reporter covering mostly Defence, Rural Affairs and Human Interest stories. She has written for The Saturday Paper, The Guardian, The Inquirer, The Observer, Country Caller, OAK Magazine, Australian Veterans News, most Newscorp mastheads including The Daily Telegraph, The Herald Sun, The Courier Mail, Townsville Bulletin.

Kate draws on her personal military experience of serving in the Australian Army to report on matters relevant to the defence community. She was awarded the 2018 Ossie Awards for Investigative Journalism by an undergraduate for her ABC 7.30 report and ongoing coverage of a group of veterans’ plight against the Home Affairs Department to have their Afghan interpreters relocated to Australia on humanitarian grounds.

Contact the host of Afghanistan: How did it come to this?