Afghanistan’s neighbors Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as well as Kazakhstan, may shelter as many as 9,000 Afghans qualified for the so-called Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program. It is meant for people who worked for the US government or the NATO-led coalition that invaded Afghanistan two decades ago and now face retribution …
Read More »The Taliban tide rolls on ahead of US withdrawal from Afghanistan – déjà vu all over again
Lawrence Peter ‘Yogi’ Berra, the hall-of-fame New York Yankee, won 13 World Series wins as either a player or manager. He is perhaps better known for his humorous quips, including one of most frequently cited – “It’s déjà vu all over again.” Many Americans who experienced the end of America’s …
Read More »As US military exits from Afghanistan, Pentagon considering airstrikes if Taliban threaten to take Kabul – media
In the event of a Taliban offensive that threatens the capital, Kabul, the US military is weighing the possibility of responding with warplanes or drones, the New York Times reported, citing senior officials. President Joe Biden has pledged to end US military engagement in the country, including airstrikes, by September, …
Read More »As Trump’s withdrawal date passes, Taliban warn they may ‘take action’ against US troops in Afghanistan
Saturday marked Trump’s planned withdrawal date from Afghanistan, which the former US leader announced last year. With Biden pledging to withdraw American troops by September 11, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid declared that all bets are off between now and then. “As withdrawal of foreign forces from #Afghanistan by agreed upon …
Read More »Top Democrat reveals US will miss Afghanistan withdrawal deadline, says Biden will ask Taliban for ‘more time’
“It’s a general feeling that May 1 is too soon, just logistically,” Smith said on Wednesday, during a virtual event hosted by Foreign Policy. “You cannot pull out ten thousand-plus troops in any sort of reasonable way in just six weeks.” “Job one is to try to get back in …
Read More »Taliban threatens with ‘reaction’ if US does not pull out troops by May deadline
“They should go,” Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban negotiation team, told reporters in Moscow on Friday. Troop presence beyond May 1, Shaheen warned, will qualify as a “violation of the agreement” struck with the Trump administration and will warrant a “reaction.” “We hope that this will not happen, …
Read More »Whether or not the US leaves Afghanistan, the Taliban will stand triumphant and the violence won’t stop
Last year, the United States initiated a historic deal with Afghanistan’s militant Islamist group, the Taliban. The agreement seemed quite straightforward: if the Taliban refrained from attacking NATO coalition soldiers and brokered peace with the Afghan government (which was not party to the talks), then America would fulfil a promise …
Read More »Taliban bounties 3: The China menace. Claim of payments for attacks on US troops in Afghanistan now stars Beijing
Secret intelligence indicates that “non-state actors” in Afghanistan were paid to carry out attacks against US troops, according to sources. President Trump was briefed on the intelligence. The bounties were presumably offered at a sensitive time when the US and the Taliban were engaged in talks on a peace deal. …
Read More »‘CBS interpreted my remarks incorrectly,’ Taliban spokesman says, as report claims the militant group endorsed Trump
The “clarification” from the Taliban spokesman came hours after a report that the militant group threw its weight behind Trump set Twitter alight, with the president’s detractors seizing upon the unusual endorsement to tear into the Trump administration. “US news outlet @CBSNews has interpreted & published my remarks incorrectly. Nothing …
Read More »Trump’s critics slamming him for Taliban ‘endorsement’ dislike him so much, they are seemingly willing to argue for endless wars
“We hope he will win the election and wind up US military presence in Afghanistan,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told CBS News in an interview highlighting the unusual support. Mujahid said Trump’s “America first” policy breaks with past administrations’ need to be “cops for the world.” The Taliban was even …
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