Author: M Barbu

New Delhi, Aug 16: While a section of Pakistani fundamentalists is cheering for the Taliban “victory”, Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Prime Minister Imran Khan and ISI chief, Faez Hamid are huddled in the National Security Council (NSC) meeting on Monday. They are apparently discussing ” whether Pakistan should recognise the Taliban as they have taken over Afghanistan” leading to the collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government. Of course this is window dressing. Recognition of a Taliban government by Pakistan is a foregone conclusion.

A defiant President Joe Biden rejected blame Monday for chaotic scenes of Afghans clinging to U.S. military planes in Kabul in a desperate bid to flee their home country after the Taliban’s easy victory over an Afghan military that America and NATO allies had spent two decades trying to build.

At the White House, Biden called the anguish of trapped Afghan civilians “gut-wrenching” and conceded the Taliban had achieved a much faster takeover of the country than his administration had expected. The U.S. rushed in troops to protect its own evacuating diplomats and others at the Kabul airport.

Four presidents share responsibility for the missteps in Afghanistan that accumulated over two decades. But only President Joe Biden will be the face of the war’s chaotic, violent conclusion.

The president fought that reality Monday as he spread blame for the Taliban’s swift and complete recapture of Afghanistan. He pointed to a previous agreement brokered by then-President Donald Trump, expressed frustration with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and lamented the performance of Afghan national security forces. Republicans overwhelmingly criticized Biden and he found few vocal backers among fellow Democrats.

The chop of U.S. military helicopters whisking American diplomats to Kabul’s airport punctuated a frantic rush by thousands of other foreigners and Afghans to flee to safety as well, as a stunningly swift Taliban takeover entered the heart of Afghanistan’s capital.

The U.S. was pouring thousands of fresh troops into the country temporarily to safeguard what was gearing up to be a large-scale airlift. It announced late Sunday it was taking charge of air-traffic control at the airport, even as it lowered the flag at the U.S. Embassy.

Thousands of Afghans rushed into Kabul’s main airport Monday, some so desperate to escape the Taliban that they held onto a military jet as it took off and plunged to their deaths. At least seven people died in the chaos, U.S. officials said, as America’s longest war ended with its enemy the victor.

Abdul Ghani Baradar, liderul taliban eliberat dintr-o închisoare pakistaneză la cererea SUA în urmă cu mai puțin de trei ani, a apărut ca un învingător incontestabil al războiului de 20 de ani. În timp ce Haibatullah Akhundzada este liderul general al talibanilor, Baradar este șeful său politic și cel mai cunoscut lider al talibanilor, scrie The Guardian.

Arcanele mişcării talibane, care s-a întors la putere în Afganistan după o ofensivă de doar zece zile asupra marilor oraşe ale ţării, sunt învăluite în mister, la fel ca în perioada de cinci ani, între 1996 şi 2001, când au condus pentru prima dată ţara.