The fall of the democratically elected government in Afghanistan is an American betrayal of democracy. The fall did not begin yesterday – it began with the Doha agreement signed in February 2020. The U.S. and other Western powers were pretending hard to push forward a non-option in Kabul, a power-sharing agreement between the Taliban and the democratically elected government of President Ashraf Ghani. This option never existed.
On August 15, 2021, forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Afghan Taliban) advanced on the outskirts of the country’s capital of Kabul after conquering most of Afghanistan in the space of a week. Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters landed atop the U.S. Embassy in the capital to evacuate personnel to Kabul International Airport, as Afghans and foreigners scrambled to flee the country.
Afghans are facing possibly the world’s most brutal army of radical Muslims, now installed in Kabul, and armed with what US President Joe Biden said were “all the tools… and equipment of any modern military. We provided advanced weaponry,” which the Taliban has captured from the disintegrating Afghan National Army.
The leader of the hardline Islamist group HTS has said that his organisation should be allowed to enter Turkish-controlled areas of northern Syria and form a “unified administration” with Turkish-backed factions there.
The leader of the Syrian Islamist extremist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has said that his organization should enter areas controlled by Turkish-backed Syrian militias and form a “united administration”.
On Thursday, Syrian politicians said that the recent developments in the city of Daraa, south Syria, reveal political and military disputes between Iran and Russia which are settled by their proxies in the region.
Yesterday, cities, towns, and villages in Daraa witnessed a mass strike following a call by local activists to stand by the Daraa al-Balad and the Tariq al-Sad neighborhoods and the internally displaced people’s camps which have been besieged by the government forces and pro-Iranian militias for more than 47 days.
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.
Turkey is planning to send Syrian Jihadists to fight in Kashmir, a Greek journalist has claimed. Andreas Mountzouralias has detailed the plans of Turkish President Erdogan in his report titled ‘Erdogan sends mercenaries to Kashmir’ on Pentapostagama.
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.