South East Asia

The threat of violent extremists attacking the United States or allies from Afghanistan has been greatly reduced over the past 20 years, and any remaining threat emanating from the country can be addressed without a persistent U.S. military presence there, DOD officials told the House Armed Services Committee today.

President Joe Biden announced April 14 that all U.S. troops will be out of Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, the twentieth anniversary of the attack on the United States that the al-Qaida terror group planned and trained for from safe havens in Afghanistan. That attack killed 2,977 innocent people in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. More than 6,000 were injured.

Pakistan ruled out Tuesday the possibility of again providing its military bases to the United States for future counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan after U.S. troops leave the conflict-torn neighbor by September 11.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi made the remarks to reporters in Islamabad, explaining that his government has adopted a policy that allows it to become “only partners in peace” and not join any future U.S. war.

The retrograde from Afghanistan is going well, but U.S. officials are being careful as the effort is still in its early stages, Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said today.

U.S. Central Command officials estimate that they have completed between 6% and 12% of the retrograde process. Airlifters have flown out the equivalent of 104 C-17s worth of materials; U.S. personnel have turned over more than 1,800 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for destruction; and the U.S. has officially handed over one facility to the Afghan National Army.

European and Chinese leaders are urging swift ratification of the trade deal they agreed to in December, after tensions over accusations of human rights abuses in China delayed approval of the deal by European Union lawmakers.

The EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) took seven years of negotiations and was finally agreed to in principle December 30, 2020, following a virtual summit between EU and Chinese leaders. Europe said it was the most ambitious trade deal China had ever undertaken with a third party.

American service members will move out with professionalism and dedication to fulfill the newest mission in Afghanistan, ending the U.S. presence in the country by September, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said today.

Austin and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held their first joint press conference at the Pentagon.

According to research by Stop Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Hate, there were nearly 3,800 anti-Asian racist incidents from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021, not including those that have occurred the most recently.

America’s annual threat assessment has highlighted the dangers posed by China. The manufactured hysteria about Beijing’s supposed intentions reveals a country unnerved at the prospect of losing its global preeminence.

U.S. general: Afghan forces could face ‘bad possible outcomes’

A May 2, 2021, Washington datelined AP report said:

Afghan government forces face an uncertain future and, in a worst-case scenario, some “bad possible outcomes” against Taliban insurgents as the withdrawal of American and coalition troops accelerates in the coming weeks, the top U.S. military officer said Sunday.

A car bomb attack in Pakistan, possibly aimed at a Chinese diplomat, has demonstrated just how important peace and stability in the region is to Beijing and its $65 billion Belt and Road Initiative. On April 21 Wednesday evening a deadly blast struck a Pakistan hotel stemming from a car bomb, claiming four lives.