Archive for August, 2021

Why Exactly Did We Abandon Bagram Air Base?

The Economist’s Shashank Joshi tweeted an important observation that deserves to be highlighted. President Biden was either confused or — worse — actively misleading the American people when he said at Thursday’s press conference that senior military officers advised him to abandon the Bagram air base because there “was not much value added” in holding it. “They concluded — the […]

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Afghanistan Nightmare Gets Worse

Our nightmarish exit from Afghanistan got worse on Thursday when a suicide attack at the Kabul airport killed 13 U.S. troops, as well as dozens of Afghan civilians. It was the heaviest combat loss for the U.S. since the downing of a Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan a decade ago. Prior to Thursday, we hadn’t lost anyone in combat in Afghanistan […]

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US-Taliban ties on razor’s edge. China is the winner

A panoramic view of Mes Ayna on the gentle hills and craggy mountains in Logar province 40 kilometres south-east of Kabul, Afghanistan, where Chinese firms signed contracts to mine one of the world’s largest untouched copper deposits estimated to contain 450 million metric tonnes of ore worth at least US$50 billion. China disclosed that unnamed US mining companies have hitherto […]

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Wandering 40 Years in the Afghan Desert

The Taliban have taken military control, but Afghanistan’s future is cloudy. Assumption that the Taliban can, by itself, effectively govern a nation divided by conflicting tribal loyalties and a partially reconstituted population, with a sharply contrary mindset, needs more validation. Rather than facts, agendas have delegated responsibility for the debacle in Afghanistan. Analysis demonstrates that United States President Joe Biden […]

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What is ISIS-K? Two terrorism experts on the group behind the deadly Kabul airport attack and its rivalry with the Taliban

An attack on a crowd gathered outside Kabul’s airport on Aug. 26, 2021, has left at least 100 people dead, including at least 13 U.S. troops. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the coordinated suicide bomb and gun assault, which came just days after President Joe Biden warned that the group – an affiliate of the Islamic State group operating in Afghanistan […]

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Taliban asks Turkey to run Kabul’s HKIA

The Taliban has asked Turkey to operate the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in capital Kabul but no decision has been made yet, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday. “The Taliban have made a request for us to operate Kabul airport. We have not yet made a decision on this matter,” he told a news conference at Istanbul’s Ataturk […]

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Luc de Barochez – L’échec afghan laisse l’Otan moribonde

ÉDITO. L’Europe devrait saisir l’occasion pour rompre avec sa sujétion aux États-Unis et réinventer l’alliance transatlantique. Emmanuel Macron avait raison, avec deux ans d’avance. L’Otan est bel et bien en état de « mort cérébrale ». Estourbie par son échec en Afghanistan. Depuis vingt ans, elle consacrait l’essentiel de son énergie à tenter d’y construire une armée et une nation. […]

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Più che la democrazia, abbiamo esportato inflazione e rancore

La resa dei conti. Investito in sviluppo un 20° di quanto speso per guerreggiare. E solo un decimo di quel 20° è finito in progetti agricoli, per un popolo a cui non restava altro che coltivare oppio. A chi presentare il conto della disfatta? I paesi Nato potrebbero almeno accollarsi, in proporzione al Pil, l’impegno di dare ospitare le migliaia […]

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A fuga que se adivinha

Apesar de, nos últimos meses, a questão dos refugiados não ter estado em foco nas agendas mediáticas, há migrantes que continuam a arriscar a vida no Mediterrâneo à procura de paz. Com a crise no Afeganistão, o fluxo terá tendência a aumentar. Se, numa primeira fase, Portugal vai receber 50 pessoas que de uma forma ou de outra colaboraram com […]

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Pääkirjoitus: Ovi hädänalaisille ei ole enää apposen auki EU:ssa

Kreeta KarvalaEuroopassa ei haluta toistaa edellisen pakolaiskriisin virheitä, mutta uusien toimintamallien luominen on jäsenmaiden näkemyserojen vuoksi haastavaa, kirjoittaa Iltalehden Kreeta Karvala. Afganistanissa asuu 38 miljoonaa ihmistä, ja Talibanien valtaan nousun myötä tuhannet ovat jo jättäneet maan. YK:n pakolaisjärjestö UNHCR:n mukaan vuoden alusta puoli miljoonaa afgaania oli jo paennut kodeistaan. Heistä suurin osa on nyt Iranissa ja Pakistanissa. Eri asiantuntija-arvioiden mukaan […]

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