AAM TV > Pul > Season 1

America Abroad Media (AAMTV) and Tolo TV in Afghanistan proudly present Pul – a weekly public interest program, recorded in the United States for broadcast throughout Afghanistan. In the Afghan language, Pul means "bridge." It represents the link between Afghans and Americans. Pul airs in primetime every Thursday in Afghanistan, reaching an estimated three quarters of a million people. The 30-minute program focuses on important issues in US-Afghan relations, while also introducing interesting segments on culture and society.

Mariam Atash Nawabi, Afghan-American journalist, hosts this groundbreaking show.

Pakistan
Pakistan plays a critical role in the United States’ strategy for winning the war in Afghanistan. In this episode, host Mariam Nawabi looks at the challenges and opportunities in the relationship between the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan. With Lisa Curtis, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and Shuja Nawaz, director of the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council.

Afghan Policy – December '09
As the Obama administration announces a troop surge in Afghanistan, host Mariam Nawabi discusses the implications of the president's decision with Hasseb Humayoon, a research Analyst at the Institute for the Study of War and Daniel Markey, a senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Women in the Political Process
Facing security concerns and societal challenges, Afghan women still turned out to vote and to run for political office amid the turmoil of last year's presidential election. Host Mariam Nawabi talks with three women deeply involved in building the capacity and skills of female voters and candidates in Afghanistan: Anita McBride, former chief of staff for First Lady Laura Bush; Kristin Haffert, director of women's political participation affairs at the National Democratic Institute and Palwasha Hassan, director for human rights and democracy in Afghanistan at the United States Institute for Peace.

Economic Development
Opportunities in business and agriculture may be the best hope for building a stable and prosperous Afghanistan. In this episode, Mariam Nawabi reports from the U.S.-Afghan Business Matchmaking Conference and sits down with two of Amb. Holbrooke’s key advisors to discuss the impact of the US civilian surge in Afghanistan on the business and agriculture sectors. Featuring: Paul Jones, deputy to Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Amb. Richard Holbrooke, and Otto Gonzalez, senior agricultural advisor to Ambassador Holbrooke.

Afghan Policy
President Obama faces tough choices in Afghanistan as he considers the recommendations in General McChrystal's strategy review. In this episode, PUL host Mariam Nawabi discusses whether success in Afghanistan is achievable and how many more U.S. troops it will take to drive out the Taliban and provide security for the Afghan people. Featuring: Gilles Dorronsoro, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment where he focuses on security and political development in Afghanistan and Ronald Neumann, president of the American Academy of Diplomacy and former Ambassador to Afghanistan during the most recent Bush administration.

Afghan Elections
In this episode of Pul, Mariam Atash Nawabi talks with international election monitors and experts about the possibility of a run-off election, and looks at the expectations from the international community for the next administration in Afghanistan. With: Karl Inderfurth, a member of the National Democratic Institute’s International Election Observation Mission during the recent presidential election, director of George Washington University’s graduate program in International Affairs, and Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia during the Clinton administration; Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress where he focuses on US national security policy in the Middle East and South Asia, and an election observer in the Afghan presidential election for Democracy International; and Alexander Thier, the Director of Afghanistan and Pakistan Programs and Senior Rule of Law Advisor at the United States Institute for Peace.

Maternal Health
The death rate among Afghan women during or following child birth is believed to be among the highest in the world. In fact, the maternal death rate in Badakshan province is the highest ever recorded in human history. Equally shocking is the high infant mortality rate in Afghanistan. In this program, we talk with US government officials who have worked on the ground in Afghanistan to improve maternal health care including: Dr. Lynn Lawry, senior health stability specialist with the Defense Department’s International Health Division, former director of the Initiative on Global Women’s Health, and senior medical researcher for Physicians for Human Rights in Afghanistan; Commander Patrick Laraby, Office of the Secretary of Defense, International Health Division; Dr. Brian McCarthy, who leads the Center for Disease Control’s Afghanistan Health Initiative; and Gary Cook, senior health advisor for USAID’s Asia Bureau, providing support for programs including family planning and reproductive health, maternal health, and children’s health.

Congress and US Aid
PUL host Mariam Nawabi sits down with three influential congressmen to discuss pending legislation on US aid to Afghanistan. Featuring interviews with Senator Christopher Bond (R-MO), vice-chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; Congressman Chris van Hollen (D-MD), who introduced the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act; and Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA), who serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and is a Ranking Member of its Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.

Rights of Women
Eight years after the fall of the Taliban, Afghan women are still fighting for justice and independence. Host Mariam Nawabi sits down with Corey Oser, deputy director of Women for Women International, a non profit organization which works to improve the rights, freedoms and status of women around the world in conflict and post-conflict countries;  Imam Qari Zia of the Mustafa Center who provides religious counseling to the Afghan-American community of Washington and Northern Virginia; Irfana Anwar, an immigration lawyer who is the former co-director of the family law division of Karamah, Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights. Mariam also speaks with Rebecca Grossman, co-founder of the Grossman Burn Foundation in Kabul, to examine the tragic effects of hopelessness and isolation on one young Afghan girl.

Strategy Review
The Obama administration’s strategy review of Afghanistan and Pakistan underscores the urgency of a regional approach in South Asia for US national security. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks about the Obama administration's strategy shift in Afghanistan; including a new approach to battling the opium trade, the role of Pakistan in combating extremism and US concerns over Afghan civilian casualties. Brigadeer General David Grange (retired) shares his insights on military and economic strategy that is vital to success in Afghanistan. The program also features a discussion with John Gastright, former deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs and coordinator for Afghanistan from 2005-2007 and Teresita Schaeffer, former deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia from 1989 to 1992.

Policy Review
As the Obama administration undertakes a regional strategy review, host Mariam Atash Nawabi sits down with Seth Jones, political scientist for the Rand Corporation and counterinsurgency expert, and Marvin Weinbaum, PhD, scholar-in-residence at the Middle East Institute, to discuss the troop surge and possible changes in US policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Electoral Process in the US
As Afghanistan prepares for a crucial Presidential election, host Mariam Nawabi sits down with David Mark, senior editor at Politico; Cliff May, president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Thomas Melia, deputy executive director of Freedom House, to discuss keys to a free and fair election and how the challenges and successes of the American electoral process can be applied to Afghanistan's new democracy.

Zahira Zahir
An interview with Zahira Zahir, hair stylist to Presidents, First Ladies, and the Washington elite for almost three decades, and the sister of Ahmad Zahir, who is known as the "Elvis of Afghanistan." Zahira gives insight into Presidential decision making on policy towards Afghanistan, as well as the mysterious story surrounding her brother's untimely death. She looks back on her remarkable childhood in Afghanistan, as the daughter of Prime Minister Dr. Abdul Zahir, and talks about her current focus on rebuilding Afghan schools destroyed by the Taliban.

Treasures of Afghanistan
They were thought to be lost or stolen during more than 25 years of conflict in Afghanistan. But in 2003, artifacts covering 2000 years of Afghan history were discovered safely hidden and well preserved in Kabul. These treasures are now touring museums across the United States. In this episode of Pul, archeologist and exhibit curator Fred Heibert takes us on a special tour of the exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. We will also talk with Abrahim Habibzai, a former official with the Ministry of Information in Culture who founded the Afghanistan Artists Union in the US, about the preservation of Afghan culture in the United States.

Afghan Women's Council
The US-Afghan Women's Council was formed in 2002 to promote partnership between the women of the two countries and to empower women in Afghanistan through training programs, leadership development, and economic opportunity. Mariam Atash Nawabi leads a discussion with these influential women. Guests include: Terry Neese, President of the Institute for Economic Empowerment and the Peace Through Business program; Doris Buffett, founder of the Sunshine Lady Foundation and Diana Rowen Rockefeller, founder of Afghan Women leaders Connect.

Rule of Law
With violence and corruption a part of daily life in Afghanistan, what is the importance of rule of law? Host Mariam Atash Nawabi leads a discussion about governance, corruption, and the rule of law with J. Alexander Their, senior adviser in the Rule of Law program at the United States Institute of Peace; Joan D. Winship, Executive Director of the International Association for Women Judges; and Tim Nusraty, Senior Advisor on Afghan Justice Reform in the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan at the United States Department of State.

Obama Policy
What will be US Policy towards Afghanistan under the new Obama administration? Host Mariam Atash Nawabi leads a discussion with foreign policy experts Dr. Anthony Cordesman, the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; John Nagl, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security; and Vanda Felba-Brown foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution and a security studies professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Charlie Wilson's War
Host Mariam Atash Nawabi meets former Congressman Charlie Wilson and discusses his intimate involvement in the U.S. relationship with Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s.The program ends with a brief interview with Dan Markey, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, to bring us up to date on the situation on the ground in Afghanistan after his recent trip to Kabul. *The introduction is in Dari and then switches to English.

Educational Exchange Opportunities
This program provides Afghans with information and advice on applying for various educational exchange opportunities in the United States available to Afghans. Featuring: Alina Romanowski, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs in the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; Mohammed Saboory, a Fulbright scholar who began his studies at Kabul University and is now working on two masters’ degrees in Middle East Studies and International Relations at New York University and Syracuse University; Asadullah Pasoon, Fulbright Scholar who received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Kabul University, and is now in a graduate program at Brandeis University in international business; Benjamin Gaylord, Program Manager for American Councils for International Education; and Naeem Muhsiny, Senior Program Officer for the Afghanistan Youth Exchange and Study Program at the American Councils for International Education. * This program begin in Dari.