August, 2021

• 22 August

  Scoop: CIA director raised China concerns with Israeli prime minister

  While visiting Israel last week, CIA director Bill Burns told Prime Minister Naftali Bennett the U.S. was concerned about Chinese investments in Israel, particularly in the tech sector, and involvement in major infrastructure projects, Israeli officials tell Axios. Why it matters: That’s the highest level at which the Biden administration …

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• 22 August

  Russia supports withdrawal of foreign fighters from Libya

  Russia’s top diplomat assured his Libyan counterpart Thursday that Moscow supports the withdrawal of all foreign fighters from the North African country and is prepared to help work out the details with other countries. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after the talks in Moscow with Najla Mangoush that the …

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• 22 August

  G7 Seeks Cooperation on Evacuation Amid Chaos in Kabul

  Foreign affairs ministers from the U.K. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S. spoke about internal displacement in Afghanistan over recent days. The Group of Seven (G7) on Thursday sought to secure close cooperation in personnel evacuation and the resettlement of refugees as chaos continues at the Kabul airport …

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• 22 August

  Israel Bombs Syrian Cities in the Middle of the Night

  The Israeli attack was the second to hit Syria within two days, after a missile attack targeted military sites in Quneitra province on Tuesday On Thursday night, Israel launched missile strikes at some sites in the Syrian capital of Damascus and the central province of Homs. At 11:00 pm local …

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• 22 August

  Putin Rejected Role for U.S. Forces Near Afghanistan at Summit With Biden

  After Afghan withdrawal, U.S. military hopes to position forces temporarily near Afghanistan, but Putin told Biden that Moscow objects Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a June 16 summit meeting with President Biden, objected to any role for American forces in Central Asian countries, senior U.S. and Russian officials said, undercutting …

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• 22 August

  Taliban Conquest of Afghanistan Scrambles the Diplomatic Map

  U.S. efforts to isolate the Taliban could be undercut by new regime’s outreach to Russia, China and neighbors The ascent of the Taliban has redrawn the diplomatic map for the U.S. and its rivals as they compete to shape the future of Afghanistan. China and Russia already are moving to …

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• 22 August

  Iran Treading Cautiously Amid The Taliban Takeover Of Afghanistan

  Iranian officials are carefully weighing their options after the surprisingly swift Taliban takeover of Afghanistan amid fears of instability, a refugee influx, and extremist groups such as Islamic State (IS) gaining a permanent foothold in its eastern neighbor. Tehran, which has cultivated loose ties with the Taliban in recent years …

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• 22 August

  Turmoil In Afghanistan Spills Into Central Asia

  The events that the governments of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have been increasingly dreading in recent weeks have begun to happen. The Afghan government has fallen to the Taliban and despite the Central Asian governments having had years to contemplate and plan for such an occurrence, the initial shock waves …

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• 22 August

  Former US Centcom chief: military alone ‘insufficient’ to achieve goals in Afghanistan

  Joe Votel was only a few weeks into his new job as commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment, the US Army’s elite special operations force, when Al Qaeda hijackers attacked New York. At his base in Fort Benning, in the southern state of Georgia, his secretary came into his office …

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• 22 August

  Panjshir Commander Ahmad Massoud readies for war while negotiating with Taliban

  The leader of Afghanistan’s only region not to have fallen to the Taliban has said he would be willing to join a Taliban government, but only if the group proved itself to be inclusive and respect the rights of all Afghans. Ahmad Massoud, 32, leads forces in the Panjshir valley …

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