November 23, 2021 By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi A former high-ranking member of Afghan special forces and commando units has issued a plea urging U.S. officials to move remaining members of the force to the United States to avoid a “humanitarian catastrophe.” The former high-ranking member, who ask not to be identified by name, sent a statement
Jeff Seldin VOA News November 22, 2021 WASHINGTON — The United States is taking aim at the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan, sanctioning some of the group’s top officials as well as a financier charged with bolstering the terror group’s numbers with foreign fighters. The State Department on Monday designated senior Islamic State Khorasan leaders Sanaullah
NPR: The camps at military bases around the U.S. are supposed to be temporary, the last stop for just-arrived Afghan refugees before they move on to permanent homes. But for many, the weeks are stretching into months, with no clear end in sight. Click here to read more (external link). Related Afghanistan Has the Most
1/5 The Taliban’s letter to Congress earlier this week misconstrued the facts re Afghanistan’s economic & humanitarian crisis. Afghanistan was unfortunately already suffering a terrible humanitarian crisis before mid-August, made worse by war, years of drought, & the pandemic. — U.S. Special Representative Thomas West (@US4AfghanPeace) November 19, 2021 Tolo News: In a series of
AP: More than 28,000 Afghans have applied for temporary admission into the U.S. for humanitarian reasons since shortly before the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan and sparked a chaotic U.S. withdrawal, but only about 100 of them have been approved, according to federal officials. Click here to read more (external link). Related Biden administration considering sending some
Dawn: US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Wednesday redesignated Pakistan as a country of particular concern (CPC) for violating religious freedom and also rebranded the Taliban as an entity of particular concern. Click here to read more (external link).
NPR: They haven’t closed the door yet, but they may not be able to keep it open much longer either. The Afghan republic, the government before the Taliban, used to fund the embassy in quarterly installments. Now that money has almost run out. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: US Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Wednesday the “tragic events of this past summer (in Afghanistan) were the culmination of poor decision-making by both Republican and Democratic administrations, going back to 2001”. Click here to read more (external link).
Ayaz Gul VOA New November 17, 2021 ISLAMABAD — The Taliban foreign minister Wednesday penned an “open letter” to the U.S. Congress, warning of a mass refugee exodus from Afghanistan unless the United States unblocks more than $9 billion in Afghan central bank assets and ends other financial sanctions against the country. Amir Khan Muttaqi wrote
NBC News: It’s been only 2½ months since the last U.S. soldier left Afghanistan after a grueling two-decade war. Yet, perhaps sensing an opportunity to profit from the global attention garnered by the U.S. military’s withdrawal, Universal Pictures has reportedly already launched a cinematic retelling of American heroics during the evacuation. Hollywood tropes routinely brush