From around the world, governments, NGOs and volunteers have poured support into Ukraine — from military assistance to medical supplies and humanitarian aid. Countries surrounding Ukraine have opened their borders to welcome the millions of Ukrainians seeking safety. These efforts to stand in unity with the people of Ukraine are admirable and laudable.
While China has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine, both U.S. and European intelligence warned that Beijing has displayed openness to supplying Russia with both military and economic aid.
Chinese state-backed media have amplified Russian conspiracy theories to spread disinformation about the war in Ukraine to a global audience, parroting the Kremlin’s talking points.
India continues to maintain its supportive relationship with Russia despite international isolation of the Kremlin.
Indian leaders continue to see Moscow as a counterweight to the threat posed by Beijing, a greater strategic concern for many in India.
The Taliban may be using databases of biometric information left in Afghanistan by the U.S. military and international organizations to target soldiers and dissidents, according to a report issued Wednesday by a human rights advocacy group.
The Pentagon on Monday released a $773 billion budget request for fiscal year 2023, asking Congress for a big spending boost to build new weapons to curb an emergent Chinese military, check Russia’s aggression in Europe and boost pay for troops.
An Extremist Regime Is Pushing Afghanistan to the Brink
When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, some observers suggested that their approach to governance might prove more moderate this time around. Twenty years had elapsed since the group was last in charge. The country had transformed dramatically, and with the fight against the United States over, tasks like collecting garbage and keeping the lights on now seemed largely nonideological in nature.
Intelligence agencies worldwide are warning that Taliban rule in Afghanistan is radically reshaping terrorist and militant groups in South Asia and around the world.
Specifically, intelligence and counterterrorism officials say that despite Taliban promises to sever ties with al-Qaida and oppose terror groups such as the Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate, as codified in the 2020 Doha agreement with the United States, there has been scant evidence of progress.
While the world’s attention is focused on Ukraine, Afghanistan has plunged into darkness. The Taliban are tightening their control amid growing reports of detentions, rapes, and summary executions of minorities, rights advocates, women, and people associated with the old government or the new resistance.
Gen. Frank McKenzie, the outgoing head of U.S. Central Command, said that he wished during his tenure that CENTCOM did a better job of convincing countries to repatriate captured Islamic State fighters.
McKenzie spoke to reporters for the final time in his role on Friday morning, warning that a failure to repatriate captured ISIS fighters would ultimately lead to “ISIS 2.0 down the road.”
While the Ukraine crisis may put some strain on the Chinese-Russian relationship, it has also spurred deeper collaboration between them. Based on a shared desire to undermine the United States’ global order, their constructive partnership will not only endure the blowback from the Ukrainian invasion but is likely to expand.