Archive for April 18th, 2021

CIA Chief: Ability to Gather Intel, Act on Threats Will Diminish

Washington’s ability to collect intelligence and act on threats will diminish when US troops leave Afghanistan, CIA Director William Burns said on Wednesday ahead of an expected announcement of a pullout by President Joe Biden, Reuters reported. Burns’ testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee underscored a key risk inherent in Biden’s decision to pull remaining US forces out, given the […]

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Taliban Threatens US With Countermeasures

The Taliban, responding to US President Joe Biden’s troops pullout policy on Wednesday, issued a statement on Thursday saying that the US by skipping the May 1 troop deadline has violated the Doha peace agreement. US President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced the full withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan, which have been in the country for nearly 20 […]

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Taliban Attack Army Base in Zabul, Clashes Ongoing

The Taliban attacked a local army base in the southern province of Zabul on Wednesday night and clashes are still ongoing, local sources confirmed on Thursday. The attack took place in the Holand area of Shahjoy district when first the Taliban detonated a car bomb at the base and then militants engaged with security forces, according to sources. “At least […]

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Govt: ANDSF Ready to Shoulder Security of Afghanistan

The Afghan government on Thursday said the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) are fully prepared to take the responsibility of providing security for their country. The Office of the National Security Council (ONSC) said that Afghanistan is battling on the frontline of a war against terrorism, and stated that international cooperation to Afghan security forces will continue even […]

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The US’s Elusive Sense of Responsibility: Op-Ed

The United States claims it wants to safeguard the progress made in the past two decades but it also wants to evade any responsibility toward Afghanistan, as per President Joe Biden’s latest remarks and his decision to withdraw troops from the country. Biden stated that the reason the US and its allies came to Afghanistan could not justify their presence […]

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Taliban Has to Change Based on Democratic Ways: Zarif

Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Friday said that there is a need for the Taliban “to change in democratic ways” as today’s Afghanistan is different than it was in 2001. Addressing the Raisina Dialogue’s online conference, Zarif said: “The Taliban has to change based on democratic ways. If they want to go back to their 90s ideology, it will […]

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Afghanistan: 11 Killed in Security Incidents in 24 Hours

Nearly a dozen civilians and military personnel were killed and as many were wounded in Taliban attacks and other security incidents in the country in the last 24 hours. In the Southern Kandahar province, at least four civilians were killed in a roadside bomb blast in Shah Wali Kot district on Thursday evening, the provincial police spokesman Jamal Nasir Barikzai […]

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Troops Withdrawal Will Plunge Afghanistan into Civil War: Mohaqiq

Afghanistan will be plunged into a civil war if international troops leave, senior presidential adviser Mohammad Mohaqiq said a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kabul where he reassured Afghan leaders that Washington’s partnership with Afghanistan and its people will be enduring despite President Biden’s decision to disengage the US from a 20-year conflict. Mohaqiq warned that […]

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US: Indian Ocean is not India’s ocean

Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones prepares to pull alongside aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (File photo) The “defining partnership of the 21st century” with India will not inhibit Washington from pursuit of American interests. The bottom line is that in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), India should not punch above its weight… reflect sadly where all the heady […]

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As the US plans its Afghan troop withdrawal, what was it all for?

A woman embracing her husband after his return from a deployment to Afghanistan in 2014. David Goldman/AP.More than 2,400 American service members were killed in Afghanistan and more than 20,000 were wounded. What exactly am I supposed to tell these mothers that their sons died for? What was it all for? It remains unclear if the more than 2,400 US […]

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