8am: Taliban officials have called the release of Haji Bashir Ahmad Noorzai, known as Haji Bashar, as a sign of American goodwill and a “new chapter in the relations” between the Taliban and the United States. Haji Bashar is known in the media and political circles as the godfather of Afghanistan’s drug mafia. It is
Carla Babb VOA News August 23, 2022 WASHINGTON — The United States is not safer following the pullout of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and President Donald Trump’s and President Joe Biden’s determination to withdraw all U.S. forces from there led to Kabul’s fall, according to the last commanders to oversee a U.S. military presence in
Chris Mason via The National Interest: One year ago, I wrote in these pages that the war in Afghanistan was not over. As many as 5,000 Afghan soldiers who the United States trained were still fighting in Panjshir Province, the last redoubt against the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021, and I said
Axios: Zalmay Khalilzad was tasked by two U.S. presidents with negotiating an orderly U.S. exit from Afghanistan. Instead, one year ago, Kabul collapsed, the U.S. mounted a frantic evacuation, and the Taliban took total control. What he’s saying: “It’s very unfortunate that we couldn’t get a political agreement before the Taliban moved in,” Khalilzad tells
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 15, 2022 By Abubakar Siddique One year after toppling the internationally recognized Afghan government and seizing power, the Taliban has consolidated its tight grip over the war-torn country. The extremist group has monopolized power, sidelining many ethnic and political groups. It has also jailed and beaten journalists and rights defenders who
USA Today: Biden said the drone strike that killed an al-Qaida leader is vindication of his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan. Experts say it highlights the vacuum created by the U.S. exit. Click here to read more (external link). Related The US and its allies indirectly encouraged Ghani to flee the country: Khurram
Patsy Widakuswara VOA News August 12, 2022 WHITE HOUSE — On July 21st, 41 consular and diplomatic security officers of the U.S. State Department were given the agency’s prestigious Award for Heroism for assisting in the relocation of 124,000 people from Kabul in August 2021, including American citizens, legal permanent residents and tens of thousands of
Politico: Seligman: Why did they collapse? We spent so long training the Afghans and then as soon as we were gone, they fell. How did that happen? McKenzie: I believe the proximate defeat mechanism was the Doha negotiations [on a peace deal]. I believe that the Afghan government began to believe we were getting ready to leave.
NPR: Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. Kenneth McKenzie: I will tell you, I don’t believe Afghanistan is ungovernable. I believe Afghanistan is ungovernable with the Western model that will be imposed on it. And so I think that’s sort of what draws out to me. We lost track of why we were there, and
David Robinson via The Hill: In fact, Afghanistan has little strategic significance for the United States and offers scant leverage for U.S. regional priorities. Geography alone is not sufficient reason to exaggerate its importance and there is nothing to be gained by trying to expiate national guilt for abandoning, once again, friends and partners who