Needless to say, the Afghanistan situation just basically was a rapid implosion once we started to reduce our presence there.    The Beyond the Soundbite guest this week is Owen Kirby. He’s a fellow with the University of Central Florida’s Office of Global Perspectives & International Initiatives.   He recently served as the director of USAID Office of Transition Initiatives where he oversaw U.S. assistance programs to nations struggling to build democracy and peace.   Prior to that, he was the senior governance advisor in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, in 2009 and served as the senior adviser in the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs from 2004 to 2009.   He has worked on projects in Afghanistan since the initial U.S. occupation.   Kirby was in Kabul in early August working on civil society projects and engaging with Afghan government officials before the Taliban took over.   ABOUT THE SHOW Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

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