Video / Al JazeeraFormer prime minister Helen Clark says the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan shows "a catastrophic failure of intelligence in Western foreign policy" and to say that she is pessimistic about the country's future would be an understatement. Clark has also served as administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for eight years and has advocated globally for Afghan girls and women. She sent New Zealand troops to Afghanistan in 2001 during her term as prime minister and said it is surreal to see what has happened. "With the gaze off Afghanistan the Taliban started to come back. Clark said she very much doubts that this is "a new reformed Taliban", an idea that was accepted by some negotiators in Doha.

Source: New Zealand Herald August 15, 2021 23:15 UTC