Ayaz Gul VOA News May 18, 2022 ISLAMABAD — An official U.S. agency report has blamed the sudden demise of Afghan security forces in August 2021 mainly on Washington’s decision to rapidly withdraw the American military, leading to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), tasked to monitor events in
The Hill: The brutality and persecution of women and girls shown by the Taliban are unmatched. Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are banned from school and where women are not allowed to leave the house without a male chaperone. And so it is easy for people outside the country to
The Atlantic: America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan added moral injury to military failure. But a group of soldiers, veterans, and ordinary citizens came together to try to save Afghan lives and salvage some American honor. Click here to read more (external link).
NYT: Commandos who played a key role in helping American forces are waiting for visas in the United Arab Emirates, and are among the last of the evacuated Afghans to get a chance to reach the United States. Click here to read more (external link).
Ariana: Biden suggested Wednesday there was nothing else that could have been done to bolster Afghan allies. “Raise your hand if you think anyone was going to be able to unify Afghanistan under one single government,” he said. “It’s been the graveyard of empires for a solid reason. It is not susceptible to unity.” Click
01/03/21Abandoned to Taliban American Citizens–100+Allies–60K+Afghan Brothers in Arms 200KWomen Rights Decimation 20MMusic OutlawedLGBTQ hunted Children sold for food Accountability – 0 Blood On My Hands – White House https://t.co/VMARuBAFy9#AmericansforAfghanistan pic.twitter.com/rTsUBbQvf0 — John Ondrasik (@johnondrasik) January 3, 2022 Fox News: Singer-songwriter John Ondrasik released a graphic and chilling video for his song “Blood On My Hands”
The Hill: Mohib blamed the decision to not involve the Afghan government in talks with the Taliban for its ultimate collapse. According to the former official, the biggest mistake was not understanding that the U.S. was withdrawing from Afghanistan, regardless of the situation. Click here to read more (external link).
Malali Bashir Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty December 17, 2021 By August 15, several thousand Taliban fighters had encircled the Afghan capital, Kabul, after seizing most of the country in a blistering military offensive against the Western-backed Afghan government. With the militants at the city gates, President Ashraf Ghani and his close team of advisers were
The New Yorker: A trove of unreleased documents reveals a dispiriting record of misjudgment, hubris, and delusion that led to the fall of the Western-backed government. Rahimi told Ghani that the Taliban had pledged not to enter Kabul. Yet this was based on assurances from Khalilzad and the Taliban, and Ghani regarded both as unreliable
Michael Hughes: Considering the Americans – for years – have gone to great lengths to obfuscate the reality on the ground in Afghanistan, it is only fitting that Washington is trying to muddy the waters as to how and why the war ended in such a disastrous manner and who bears the most responsibility. Of