Afghanistan

Afghanistan to Discuss Fate of Foreign IS Prisoners with Their Countries

The Afghan government said it plans to begin talks with 14 countries to discuss what to do with hundreds of their citizens who have been captured while fighting alongside the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). Ahmad Zia Seraj, the head of Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, National Directorate of Security (NDS), said …

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U.S.-Europe Communique on the Afghan Peace Process

The following is the text of a communique issued by the United States of America, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, Norway, and the United Kingdom on the Afghan Peace Process. Begin Text: Special Envoys and Special Representatives of the United States of America, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, NATO, …

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Pentagon Sends Reinforcements For Afghan Pullout

The Pentagon has deployed more heavy bombers and fighter jets to ensure the protection of the withdrawing U.S. and coalition troops from Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters on May 6. “Less than one week in, the drawdown is going according to plan,” Austin told reporters, adding that the …

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NATO Secretary General Discusses Military Mobility, Russia, Afghanistan With EU Defense Ministers

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday (6 May 2021) that NATO continues to closely monitor Russia’s significant military build-up in and around Ukraine. Speaking at a meeting of European Union Defence Ministers, the Secretary General welcomed today’s announcement by the EU to include Canada, Norway and the United …

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US Presses Taliban To Ease Violence, Resume Peace Talks

The United States appears upbeat about the resumption of stalled peace talks between warring parties in Afghanistan, even as fighting escalates amid the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the country. A senior U.S. official said Tuesday during a background briefing in Kabul that Washington’s diplomatic efforts are continuing …

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Is America hoping its withdrawal from Afghanistan makes that war-ravaged country China’s problem now?

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 …

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Biden’s Withdrawal from Afghanistan Undermines His Own Global Strategy

Far worse than failing to intervene is intervening to fail. The withdrawal from Afghanistan is just that. US allies who have themselves invested huge military and economic resources in Afghanistan fear a Taliban return to power and the blood-bath that would likely accompany it. Their concerns are shared by General …

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‘Insider Attacks’ on Afghan Forces Increased by 82%, US Agency Reports

A new quarterly U.S. report has documented a staggering 82% increase in “insider attacks” on Afghan government security forces in the first quarter of 2021, resulting in 115 personnel killed and 39 wounded. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) reported Thursday to the U.S. Congress that overall Afghan …

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Pentagon preparing for Taliban attacks during US withdrawal from Afghanistan

The Pentagon is preparing for possible Taliban attacks on U.S. and coalition forces as they withdraw from Afghanistan, a prospect that complicates the outlook for winding down America’s longest war. May 1 was the date all U.S. and other foreign forces were to have departed Afghanistan under a February 2020 …

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US troops begin leaving Afghanistan

The U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan has officially begun in line with President Biden’s order for all U.S. troops to be out by Sept. 11, the White House confirmed Thursday. “A drawdown is underway,” deputy White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling on Air Force One. Biden ordered …

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