Top US General Milley calls Afghanistan withdrawal a ‘Strategic Failure’

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Mark Milley

Khaama: The former Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army acknowledged the mistakes made during the withdrawal from Afghanistan, admitting that political and strategic failures marked it. Mark Milley stated that the 20 years spent by the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan were a valuable opportunity, but in the end, the Taliban took control of the country. He pointed out flaws in the Doha agreement and noted that the U.S. forces’ lack of proficiency in local languages was another significant weakness, which the Taliban exploited in rural areas. He said, “The U.S. didn’t fully understand what was happening on the ground.” Click here to read more (external link).

Other US-Afghanistan News

US special envoy for Taliban-ruled Afghanistan moved to different role

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Ayaz Gul
VOA News
October 2, 2024

ISLAMABAD — The United States has reassigned its special representative for Afghanistan, leaving vacant a key position in its efforts to engage with the Taliban-ruled country.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the decision Tuesday to reassign Tom West, while emphasizing that Washington’s commitment to the South Asian nation “remains an enduring priority.”

Blinken said West would serve in a new role as the acting head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination at the U.S. State Department and commended him for working “tirelessly to ensure [that] both our national interests and the welfare of the Afghan people guided our policy in Afghanistan.”

West was appointed as the special representative to Afghanistan in October 2021, two months after the Taliban regained power and all U.S.-led NATO troops withdrew from the country, ending 20 years of involvement in the war.

“Tom has skillfully led diplomacy on Afghanistan during a complex period,” Blinken said. “Today’s global challenges are equally as complex, and I look forward to working with him on coordinating economic sanctions strategies across the U.S. government with our partners and stakeholders to achieve U.S. foreign policy priorities,” he said without elaborating.

The Taliban takeover compelled Washington and other Western capitals to relocate their diplomatic missions from Kabul to Doha, Qatar, where Karen Decker serves as the chief of the U.S. Embassy. Blinken said Decker has been asked to lead Afghan diplomacy.

The de facto Afghan leaders have imposed their strict interpretation of Islamic law, known as Shariah, banning girls’ education beyond the sixth grade, prohibiting women from most workplaces and access to public life at large across the impoverished country.

Taliban leaders reject international criticism and calls for reversing bans on Afghan women’s rights to work and education as interference in the country’s internal matters.

Blinken said that Rina Amiri, the U.S. special envoy for Afghan women’s and girls’ rights, would continue to lead her mission to ensure that “human rights, and particularly women’s rights, are prioritized.”

Asif Durrani, who served as Pakistan’s special representative to Afghanistan until last month, said that many countries, including the U.S., are frustrated with the Taliban due to their treatment of women and their lack of an inclusive government in Kabul.

“Issues such as inclusivity or human rights, particularly girls’ right to education and women’s right to work, are issues that the American administration cannot afford to overlook and engage the Taliban in a meaningful way,” Durrani said.

But he suggested the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have diverted Washington’s attention from the Afghan situation.

“It’s quite obvious that Afghanistan is not on the United States’ priority list, at least for the time being,” Durrani said.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller rejected that view when asked by reporters Tuesday whether Afghanistan is still a U.S. foreign policy priority.

“Of course it is,” he said. “And we will continue to stay engaged in Afghanistan. It remains an enduring priority.”

Durrani said the U.S. cannot be blamed alone for the lack of improvement in Afghanistan. “The Taliban’s rigid attitude towards women’s education and their ban on women’s work is not winning them any friends or sympathy.”

No country has officially recognized the men-only Taliban government in Kabul, mainly due to human rights issues and their sweeping restrictions on women’s freedoms.

The United States and allied nations have imposed financial and banking sector sanctions on Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. Donors have cut economic development assistance, citing terrorism-related sanctions on several key leaders of the de facto government.

State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching contributed to this report.

Afghan athlete under police protection slams gender apartheid as ‘crime against humanity’

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FRANCE 24 spoke to Marzieh Hamidi, a former taekwondo champion for Afghanistan who has been a refugee in France since 2021, when the Taliban returned to power. In late August of this year, she posted a video on social media denouncing “gender apartheid” in her home country. Since early September, when she began receiving death threats, she has been under police protection.

Marco Polo Sheep population declining in Badakhshan, Afghanistan

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Khaama: Officials from the Department of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock of Badakhshan province have reported a decline in the population of the Marco Polo sheep and the Ibex, based on a survey conducted in the country’s second national park. This survey highlights the risk of these species facing a significant population decrease. The Marco Polo sheep is considered one of the rarest animals globally, and its presence in the Pamir region of Wakhan, Badakhshan, has historically attracted international tourists. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Tourism ‘Distorting The Truth’ In Afghanistan

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By Abubakar Siddique and Frishta Sahak
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
October 1, 2024

The Taliban’s repressive policies and widespread rights abuses have made its unrecognized government in Afghanistan a global pariah.

To boost its international image, the hard-line Islamist group has tried to woo foreign tourists to the country, where violence has significantly dropped since the Taliban seized power in 2021.

But even as the Taliban looks to cash in on propaganda and financial benefits of foreign visitors, the groups’ widespread restrictions on the movement of Afghans, especially women, have stifled the growth of the local tourism industry.

“The Taliban promote tourism because it has a major propaganda advantage for its government,” said Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator who tracks the Taliban.

“The Taliban want to cash in on the interest in tourism to project a positive image of the country it rules,” he added.

The number of tourists visiting Afghanistan has steadily increased in recent years. In 2021, there were 691. In 2022, that number increased to 2,300. Last year, there were 7,000, according to Taliban officials.

Foreign visitors have been drawn to the country’s ancient history and scenic landscape. Chinese tourists make up the largest group of visitors. Major airlines stopped flying to Afghanistan after 2021, but several have resumed flights.

Taliban officials have also been keen to stress that foreign tourism also provides a financial boost to Afghans, many of whom are struggling to survive mass unemployment and rising poverty.

But the burgeoning tourism industry in Afghanistan faces formidable challenges.

Visas are expensive and difficult to obtain. Many countries cut ties with Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. No country in the world recognizes the Taliban regime. Many Afghan embassies, especially in the West, have shut or suspended their operations.

The Taliban is also selective in who it chooses to grant a visa. Foreign journalists and rights activists are barred from entering and working in the country.

Even with a visa, foreign tourists must obtain written permission from the Taliban to visit tourist spots and take photos or videos of their interactions with Afghans and Taliban fighters.

Safety is also still a concern. The Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) extremist group, a rival of the Taliban, killed six foreign and local tourists in the central city of Bamiyan in May.

IS-K militants have previously targeted foreigners and embassies in Afghanistan.

‘Dark And Bleak’

The Taliban has been keen to exploit the rosy picture of the country presented in videos and photos taken by foreign tourists, including YouTubers.

“The Taliban know these YouTubers are not interested in stirring controversies,” said Yousafzai. “So, they plan to send these YouTubers to places where they can do their ‘positive’ reporting.”

Many YouTube videos produced by foreign tourists show the Taliban in a positive light, portraying them as welcoming hosts. The videos also highlight the relative safety in the country and suggest that Afghans are happy under Taliban rule.

The Taliban, which is increasingly active on social media, often promotes the videos on various platforms.

The militant group has also made exceptions for female tourists to visit historical sites and national parks that are off-limits to Afghan women.

The Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on the appearances, behavior, and movement of women in what rights group have described as gender apartheid.

“This is dangerous and distorts the truth,” said Nazifa Haqpal, a British-based Afghan researcher.

“The truth under the Taliban’s cruel rule is dark, bleak, and ugly,” she said. “Unlike journalists, YouTubers are not bound by impartiality or professional ethics, which makes it easy for the Taliban to manipulate them.”

Some Afghan women said that foreign tourists are playing into the Taliban’s hands and whitewashing their suffering.

“Conditions for us are worsening with each passing day,” Arezo, a young woman in the central province of Bamiyan, told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi.

Even as the Taliban tries to woo foreigners, the group’s restrictions have prevented the growth of local tourism.

Last year, the Taliban banned women from visiting Band-e Amir, a national park in Bamiyan. Consisting of crystal-blue lakes and soaring cliffs, it is one of the most popular tourist sites in the country.

The Taliban is “denying the most fundamental rights of Afghan women,” Arezo said.

“Unfortunately, Afghan women are banned from tourism and leisure by the Taliban,” Zala, a housewife in the capital, Kabul, told Radio Azadi.

“We are banned from enjoying the natural beauty and historic places of our ancient homeland,” she added.

In recent years, the militants have barred Afghan women from using gyms and visiting public bathhouses and city parks.

Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Taliban Bans Journalists From Filming & Photography in Takhar

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Afghanistan International: Sources in Takhar told Afghanistan International that the Taliban has instructed journalists in the province that they are no longer allowed to film and photograph. According to sources, this order was recently issued by the Taliban’s Department for the Promotion of Virtue in Takhar. Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban asserts new gains against Afghan-based IS offshoot amid skepticism

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Zabihullah Mujahid

By Ayaz Gul
VOA News
September 30, 2024

Islamabad — The Taliban said Monday that their security forces had killed and captured several “key members” of a regional Islamic State affiliate for plotting recent terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, alleging that the suspects had crossed over from Pakistan.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, listed the claims and so-called successes against Islamic State-Khorasan, or IS-K, locally known as Daesh, in a formal statement without providing evidence to support them.

The assertions came after the country’s three immediate neighbors and Russia jointly urged the de facto Kabul government this past Friday to take “visible and verifiable actions” against transnational terrorist groups, including IS-K, on Afghan soil.

Mujahid said the IS-K operatives in question had been involved in several recent attacks in Afghanistan. They included a suicide bombing in the Afghan capital earlier this month and a May gun attack in the central city of Bamiyan, he added.

Both attacks resulted in the deaths of at least ten people, including three Spanish tourists, with IS-K claiming credit for them at the time.

The Taliban spokesperson said that IS-K insurgents had established “new operational bases and training camps” in the Pakistani border provinces of Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after fleeing Afghan counterterrorism security operations.

“From these new bases, they continue to orchestrate attacks, both within Afghanistan and in other countries,” he claimed, noting that “some of the arrested individuals had recently returned to Afghanistan from the Daesh Khorasan training camp” in Balochistan.

Islamabad has not immediately responded to the Taliban’s allegations, which came two days after neighboring Pakistan, China, and Iran, along with Russia, at a meeting in New York this past Friday, urged the Taliban to eradicate bases of IS-K and other transnational terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

The ministerial meeting warned that these Afghan-based terrorist entities “continue to pose a serious threat to regional and global security.” According to a joint statement released after the huddle, the participants recognized the Taliban’s efforts in combating IS-K.

“They called on de facto authorities to take visible and verifiable actions in fulfilling the international obligations and commitments made by Afghanistan to fight terrorism, dismantle, and eliminate all terrorist groups equally and non-discriminatory and prevent the use of Afghan territory against its neighbors, the region, and beyond,” the statement stressed.

It identified the groups in question as IS-K, al-Qaida, Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement, ETIM, which opposes China, anti-Iran Jaish ul-Adl, and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, TTP, as well as the Baloch Liberation Army, BLA, both waging attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians.

The United Nations, in a recent security assessment, also described TTP as “the largest terrorist group” in Afghanistan, with several thousand operatives, noting that IS-K activities in the country are also turning into a significant regional threat. It noted that the group had intensified cross-border attacks in Pakistan since the Taliban regained power three years ago and is being facilitated by the de facto Afghan rulers.

A new report issued Monday documented nearly 1,000 deaths of civilians and security forces in Pakistan during the first nine months of 2024. The Islamabad-based independent Center for Research and Security Studies stated that most of the fatalities resulted from attacks by TTP and BLA-led insurgents.

Pakistani authorities have consistently urged Kabul to extradite TTP leaders and militants to Islamabad for trial for instigating deadly violence in the country.

The Taliban has rejected Pakistani and U.N. allegations, saying they are not allowing any foreign groups, including TTP, to threaten other countries from Afghanistan.

The United States has designated TTP and BLA as global terrorist organizations.

Related

How the Taliban’s new ‘vice and virtue’ law erases women by justifying violence against them

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The Conversation: Since returning to power three years ago, the Taliban have been enforcing oppressive laws that violate people’s freedoms and human rights, especially those of women and girls. But a newly passed “vice and virtue” law goes further. It is among the most repressive and discriminatory measures ever enacted by the Islamist fundamentalist group. Punishments for those who protest the laws include beatings, detention, torture, rape and death. Women protesters have reported being beaten and tortured with electric shocks. The Taliban have reportedly raped girls and women in jail, including filming the gang rape of an Afghan woman activist jailed for protesting. Women, simultaneously, have no means of seeking justice. The Taliban have abolished the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. The commission investigated and reported about alleged extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, illegal detention and inhuman treatment and violence against women, among other rights violations. Click here to read more (external link).

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