<p>Welcome to Episode 126 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. Today, my guest is Mark Flanigan. Mark spent the 2016-17 academic year teaching at a women&#39;s liberal arts college in Bangladesh. Four years later, when he was helping Afghans who had been moved to Ft. McCoy following the Taliban&#39;s August 2021 takeover, kismet brought him back in contact with several of his Afghan students, who have taken off to a number of prestigious universities since being welcomed into the U.S.Mark talks about the impact that his experience has had on his life.About Mark:Mark Flanigan is a U.S. Army veteran, Rotarian, and educator in Northern Virginia. He previously served as a National Operations Officer with IOM, aiding in the resettlement of Afghan evacuees across the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome. He completed additional short-term refugee resettlement assignments in Qatar, Bangladesh, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. Mark’s diverse experience includes roles as an AmeriCorps VISTA, a HillVets fellow, a Rotary Peace Fellow in Japan and Thailand, a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF), and a JET Program teacher in Nagasaki. He holds an M.A. in Peace Studies from International Christian University in Tokyo, an M.S. in Public Policy from George Mason University, and a B.A. in Political Science from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.About the host: Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as a civilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner. Follow Beth: on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwbailey85/ on Twitter: https://x.com/BWBailey85 on Substack: https://substack.com/@bwbailey85 on the web: https://bethwbailey.com/</p>