The US’ unceremonious retreat from Afghanistan after two decades and the lightning-fast reconquest of the Taliban will be regarded as an epoch-defining event. Aside from demonstrating the uselessness of the world’s greatest military and most credentialled commanders against God-fearing goat herders, it’s a complete repudiation of the idea that a …
Read More »Taliban announces formation of new government, including some ministers sanctioned and WANTED by US
Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, a co-founder and head of the Taliban’s leadership council, was named acting Prime Minister of Afghanistan on Tuesday, with other senior Taliban leaders approving his nomination. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, considered the militant group’s de-facto leader, was named Deputy Prime Minister, according to a Taliban spokesman. …
Read More »US working with Taliban on securing additional flights from Afghan capital – secretary of state
Speaking at a news conference in Qatar on Tuesday, Blinken said the US has been communicating with the Taliban to secure agreements for more charter flights to leave safely. He vowed to hold the Taliban to their promise that all those with travel documents wanting to leave the country would …
Read More »Slavoj Zizek: The Taliban is the proof that our modernity is an unfinished project
The American or European populist Right fanatically opposes Muslim fundamentalism in which it sees the main threat to Western Christian civilization. They claim Europe is on the verge of becoming “Europistan”. For the European as well as for American populists, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan is the ultimate humiliation of …
Read More »As the West stokes fears the Taliban might seize Pakistan’s nukes, declassified files hint at the CIA’s role in their acquisition
Since returning to power in Afghanistan, the Taliban has amassed a vast trove of US-made weaponry. The total value and size of the haul, and the question of whether the group can even in fact use the more high-tech equipment, has been hotly disputed. Nonetheless, numerous US and UK officials, …
Read More »Afghan resistance rejects Taliban claims of gaining ‘full control’ of Panjshir province
Earlier on Monday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed on Twitter that the group had conquered the last remaining pockets of resistance in Panjshir, defeating most of its rivals and forcing others to flee. However, the claim was swiftly rejected as “false” by its opponents from the National Resistance Front in …
Read More »‘War has ended’ in Afghanistan, Taliban says, despite resistance’s claims that Panjshir Valley is still not lost
The announcement was made during Mujahid’s press conference, which was held in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Monday. With the conflict coming to an end, the Taliban was hoping to have “a stable Afghanistan,” the spokesman said, according to local outlet TOLONews. An Islamic and accountable government would be …
Read More »Taliban gained ‘full control’ of Panjshir province, spokesman claims
Taliban fighters have conquered the last remaining pockets of resistance in Panjshir, defeating most of their rivals and forcing others to flee, Mujahid announced on Monday morning. The claim was hard to verify, as the group has often overestimated its gains in the past. Videos have been uploaded online showing …
Read More »Republican congressman accuses Taliban of holding planes with US evacuees ‘hostage’ at northern Afghanistan airport
“We have six airplanes at Mazar-i-Sharif airport, six airplanes, with American citizens on them as I speak, also with these interpreters, and the Taliban is holding them hostage for demands right now,” US Representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said on Sunday in a Fox News interview. He added that since US …
Read More »Leader of Afghanistan’s ‘resistance’ group says he’s ready to talk with Taliban as they claim reaching Panjshir province capital
The call for talks was issued by the head of the self-styled Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) on Sunday in a Facebook post. The son of the late mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud expressed readiness to end hostilities and talk with the Taliban, urging it to withdraw from the Panjshir …
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