ABC News Live to Present Two Specials Marking One-Year Anniversary of U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan

ABC News Live will present two specials marking the one-year anniversary of the U.S. military’s withdrawal from America’s longest war, Leaving Afghanistan: One Year Later and The Women Left Behind.

Leaving Afghanistan: One Year Later

With reporting led by Good Morning America co-anchor George Stephanopoulos, Leaving Afghanistan: One Year Later is a one-hour special that takes viewers inside the intense days of evacuation with first-hand accounts from the service members that were on the ground.
The program includes interviews with the U.S. Air Force Crew Reach 871 and 82nd Airborne members who helped evacuate Afghan citizens to safety, 24-year-old Marine Corp. Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who was injured by a suicide bomber, and Marine Gunnery Sgt. Zachary Kapinus, who pulled a baby over the Kabul airport wall in a viral video. Major Tom Schuemanand his former Afghan translator, Zainullah “Zak” Zaki, also discuss their book, “Always Faithful, A Story of the War in Afghanistan, the Fall of Kabul, and the Unshakable Bond Between a Marine and an Interpreter,” which recounts their time together in combat, Zak’s harrowing escape from Afghanistan with Schueman’s help, and their on-going effort to obtain a visa for Zak.
The program is produced by Sabrina Parise, Jennifer Pereira, Chris Donovan, Michele Molnar and edited by Michele Molnar, Jannel Eng and executive produced by Simone Swink.
Leaving Afghanistan: One Year Later streams Monday, August 29th (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC News Live and on Hulu.

The Women Left Behind:

The Women Left Behind features reporting over the last 12 months by ABC News chief foreign correspondent Ian Pannell and follows brave women and girls struggling to cope after the Taliban erased many of their rights when they seized power in Afghanistan. Pannell interviews a former restaurant owner who started a vocational training school in a show of defiance, a 9-year-old girl who presents as a boy to work and help her family survive and a news anchor trying to keep her position despite orders from the Taliban that make it nearly impossible for most Afghan women to work.
The 30-minute special also includes an interview with a Taliban official who defends its policies and discusses what the future will look like for women and girls in Afghanistan.
The program is produced by Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Cindy Smith, Bruno Roeber, and executive produced by Seni Tienabeso.
The Women Left Behind streams Tuesday, August 30th (8:30 p.m. EDT/9:30 p.m. PDT) on ABC News Live and on Hulu.