Afghanistan - The Great Game - A Personal View by Rory Stewart
Afghanistan - The Great Game - A Personal View by Rory Stewart
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Afghanistan - The Great Game - A Personal View by Rory Stewart on IMDB
First Aired: May 28th, 2012
Status: Ended
Air Time: Wednesday, 09:00 PM
Network: BBC Two
Summary: Afghanistan - one of the most isolated and barren landscapes on earth is a strange place for an Empire or Superpower to invade. But for three of the greatest powers the world has seen, it became an unlikely target, an enduring obsession and an unwinnable war. After the British invasion in the 19th Century, Afghanistan was dubbed the ‘Graveyard of Empires.’ And yet two Superpowers, the Soviet Union and the US-led coalition today, again invaded in the 20th and 21st centuries. Rory Stewart is uniquely placed to tell this history - he ran a charity in Kabul for many years, and he walked across Afghanistan a month after the fall of the Taliban. In making these two films he meets Soviet Generals; former Taliban and Mujahideen commanders; CIA spies; historians and former diplomats. Filmed in Afghanistan, America, Russia and Great Britain, Rory Stewart tells the history of two centuries of foreign intervention in Afghanistan. So how has this history forged the Afghanistan of today, and what is it about this place, the paranoia and aggression of Empires, that’s created this repeated tragedy? ** Winner Scottish BAFTA 2012 for Best Factual Series **
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# of Episodes: 2
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Season 1
Episode 1: Episode 1
Air Date: May 28th, 2012
Summary: In episode one Rory Stewart tells the story of British interventions in Afghanistan in the 19th century, when the British Empire became obsessed with the idea that their rival, Russia, was considering the invasion of Afghanistan as a staging post for an attack on British India. It was a period of mutual suspicion and paranoia that later became known as "The Great Game". Afghanistan was perceived by Victorian Britain, as it's believed to be today, to be an immediate threat to British national security. In this first film, Rory Stewart tells the story of the decision-making that led to the first British invasion of Afghanistan, and the three Anglo-Afghan wars fought in this era. And he tells the story of Afghanistan's unlikely reaction to this period. When an Afghan-elite made a futile attempt to impose western-inspired ideas and modernity on the country.
Episode 2: Episode 2
Air Date: May 30th, 2012
Summary: Rory Stewart tells the story of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the twentieth century, and its parallels with the American-led coalition's intervention today. He explains that, quite contrary to popular understanding, the Soviets were reluctant invaders who agonized over the risks of intervention, but despite all these misgivings, they were sucked into Afghanistan. At first they thought it would take them a matter of months, but eight years later, when they departed, they had gained nothing but humiliation and horror. In this film Rory Stewart meets the soldiers and generals on both sides, and he meets the CIA spies who covertly funded the Afghans to the tune of nine billions dollars. And he explains the bloody and tragic aftermath of this invasion - civil war, the rise of the Taliban, and the US-led invasion following the World Trade Centre attack..
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