Welcome to Episode 136 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, I'm thrilled to host Kieran Ramsey, Chief Investigative Officer at Global Reach. Kieran talks about the support Global Reach provides to the families of those wrongfully detained by overseas regimes, and discusses the Taliban's long practice of using hostages to achieve their own goals inside Afghanistan.We also discuss the current situation for hostages wrongfully held in Iran, whose situations are unknown in the current conflict.About Kieran Ramsey:During a 32-year career in federal law enforcement and the U.S. Intelligence Community, Kieran Ramsey spearheaded massive investigations including the Boston Marathon Bombing, the killing of a U.S. diplomat overseas, the assassination of an internationally renowned journalist, and multiple kidnapping/hostage cases, Kieran is also able to harness the power of partnership, across agencies and across governments, in direct support of victims and their families.Kieran most recently served at the FBI’s highest echelon of executive leadership as an Assistant Director and the FBI’s Senior Representative to a U.S. Intelligence Community agency. This assignment required his resourcefulness and expertise to ensure U.S. Intelligence Community capabilities and authorities were fully integrated not only in hostage situations, but across the entire range of national security threats: counterterrorism, counterespionage, cyber, and transnational organized crime.Kieran is well-known as a leader in the hostage space, having served as the third Director of the U.S. Government’s Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, wherein he led the interagency effort through a period of great change that saw the successful return of numerous hostages and wrongful detainees. He further established deep relationships with former hostages, hostage families, and other hostage advocacy groups which continue to this day.Kieran’s other positions across his lengthy career include multiple domestic office postings, as well as cross-cultural assignments as a diplomat, and the senior FBI official in U.S. embassies in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. His reputation as a “fixer,” placed him in some of the most challenging assignments, ranging from the Regime Crimes Task Force in Iraq in 2004, to navigating FBI’s support to local law enforcement during the period of civil unrest in Portland, Oregon in 2020. He also led one of the FBI’s Evidence Response Teams in New York in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.Kieran has been honored with numerous accolades and awards across his career for a variety of investigations including the U.S. Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Award, the International Chiefs of Police Award, and the International Narcotics Officer Association Award. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University and a master’s degree from Georgetown University, and is a former adjunct faculty member for the FBI.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/

Welcome to Episode 135 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. This is the third segment in a special sub-series of the podcast in conjunction with The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living.Today’s guests are three Green Berets from ODA 595, Mark Nutsch, Paul Evans, and Mike Elmore, and three members of VF-213, Nate Bailey, Michael Peterson, and Chip King.Today, we talk about the aftermath of the first strafing run that Biff and Tung conducted in support of ODA 595 and the use of that tactic throughout the remainder of VF-213's deployment.We also talk about the remaining months of operations that ODA 595 and VF-213 conducting in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the takeaways that each of our guests had from their participation in the early days of the Global War on Terror.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/

Welcome to Episode 134 of The Afghanistan Project, where we cover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal. This is the second segment in a special sub-series of the podcast in conjunction with The Fighter Pilots' Guide to Living.Today’s guests are three Green Berets from ODA 595, Mark Nutsch, Paul Evans, and Mike Elmore, and three members of VF-213, Nate Bailey, Michael Peterson, and Chip King.Today, we dive into the evolving conditions inside and overhead in Afghanistan as Green Berets arrived in the country, and we talk about the difficulties of calling in close air support in the early days of Operation Enduring Freedom.Towards the end of the episode, we address the single incident on November 5, 2001 that shifted the way that F-14 Tomcats would support ground forces working to push back the Taliban . 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/