August, 2021

• 20 August

  Congress Vows Probe of Afghanistan Withdrawal

  

  Members of the U.S. Congress, including many of President Jo e Biden’s fellow Democrats, said on Tuesday they were increasingly frustrated with events in Afghanistan, and they vowed to investigate what went wrong. “The events of recent days have been the culmination of a series of mistakes made by Republican …

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• 20 August

  Taliban Frees Thousands of Prisoners, Including al Qaeda and ISIS Fighters

  

  As the Taliban takes ov er Afghanistan, it has freed thousands of prisoners, including top leaders affiliated with al Qaeda and ISIS, a move likely to complicate U.S. efforts to evacuate personnel from Kabul. The release of more than 5,000 prisoners from Bagram Air Base, which the Taliban captured during …

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• 20 August

  ANALYSIS: What the Taliban Can Teach the United States About Inclusive Government

  

  Muslims, people of color, and formerly incarcerated individuals are heavily represented in militant group’s leadership President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies claim to value diversity and inclusion in government, but their actions suggest otherwise. They have praised Biden’s cabinet as the “most diverse” in American history, yet they refuse …

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• 20 August

  Regional Powers Assess a New Afghanistan

  

  As the United States continues to mount an evacuation effort from Afghanistan, not all foreigners are headed for the exits, as regional powers begin to assess their positions as the country comes under a new regime. No immediate bonanza awaits Afghanistan’s prospective partners. It remains one of the poorest countries …

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• 20 August

  U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland’s Visits to Egypt, Turkey, and Morocco

  U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland visited Egypt, Turkey, and Morocco August 10-16. Ambassador Norland met with senior officials in Cairo and Ankara, and with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in Rabat. The Ambassador’s travel focused on the urgency of establishing the constitutional basis and legal framework …

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• 20 August

  PM says Israel will respond to Gaza rocket fire ‘at a time of our choosing’

  

  Visiting troops at the Gaza border, Bennett says Israel holds Hamas responsible for attack which ended three months of relative calm; Gantz says Hamas is the real enemy of Gazans, not Israel A day after rocket fire from the Gaza Strip resumed, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned on Tuesday that …

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• 20 August

  Syrian state TV: Israel fires missiles in southern Syria

  Syrian state media reported that Israel carried out a missile attack on southern Syria late on Tuesday, targeting an unspecified military position. There was no immediate comment from Israel. The state TV report did not specify if there were any casualties. It said two missiles were fired toward the military …

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• 20 August

  An Afghanistan Apportionment

  

  American media and other politicians, and the people they pay to say things, are locked up tight with the demise in Afghanistan. How could anyone let this happen? Who’s to blame for these precipitous – they claim — events? What awful chaos at the airport! The answers are as vacuous …

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• 20 August

  Biden’s Clueless Afghan Double-Cross

  

  Globally, there is not a friend or foe who doesn’t see that America’s reliability as an ally has been demolished. Great Britain, which has troops in Afghanistan, was not even consulted. Thousands of Americans awaiting instructions and with no way to get to an airport whose access is now controlled …

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• 20 August

  Afghan chaos further incentive for India’s efforts to strengthen ties with Iran

  

  The recent rise of the Taliban in Kabul has expedited New Delhi’s efforts to boost ties with Iran, which is positioned to be India’s main corridor to Afghanistan, yet major challenges remain. The Indian government, which has been reaching out to the new administration in Iran to establish closer ties …

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