Brooks & Capehart on Police Shootings and Afghanistan

Journalists on Police Shootings and the Afghan War

Watch the video clip, read the summary below and then answer the discussion questions. You may also choose to select just a portion of this video as a point of focus. To read a transcript of the video, click here. 

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week in politics, including more fallout from police shootings and President Joe Biden’s announced troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

• Biden announced last week that U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan before September 11, 2021. This will mark nearly 20 years of U.S. occupation of the country.
• Biden has said that the withdrawal will not be dependent on the stability of the country, and David Brooks argues that this will put citizens of Afghanistan at great risk of an insurgent Taliban. Jonathan Capehart argues that it makes no sense to keep U.S. forces in Afghanistan, which doesn’t represent a unique threat to U.S. safety.
• Capehart pointed to the examples of Daunte Wright, George Floyd and others who have been shot or harassed by police to explore how “Black people feel under threat.” Brooks says that while an important first step is acknowledging racial disparities in policing, reforms such as banning chokeholds can make a big difference.

Discussion Questions: The End of America's Longest War

1. What are some of the reasons the U.S. hasn’t left Afghanistan nearly 20 years after first attacking the Taliban there?
2. Who decides when U.S. troops will leave Afghanistan?
3. Why do you think Biden has decided to remove troops now?
4. When and where did the U.S. first declare war after September 11, 2001?
5. How might U.S. troops leaving affect both the U.S. and Afghanistan?

Focus Questions:Do you think U.S. troops should remain in Afghanistan? Why or why not?

Media Literacy:Whose opinion would you want to hear from to better understand what is happening in Afghanistan?

Additional Resources: Derek Chauvin and Police Brutality

• You can use this lessonto explore some of the ways the ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin reflects debates around police shooting and police brutality today.
• This Daily News Lesson from last week helps frame the shooting of Daunte Wright in Minneapolis.

Republished with permission from PBS NewsHour Extra.