International | October 19, 2021
State Department IG to probe Biden admin’s chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal
International | October 19, 2021
The State Department’s inspector general is launching a series of investigations into the Biden administration’s last diplomatic moves in Afghanistan. The reviews will focus on the State Department’s Special Immigrant Visa program, Afghans processed for refugee admission into the U.S., resettlement of refugees and visa recipients, and the emergency evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, according to an Oct. 15 memo to Secretary of State Blinken. Diana Shaw, the acting inspector general at State, told Congress that her office was launching “several oversight projects” related to the end of the U.S. military and diplomatic missions in Afghanistan…. (Excerpts from Fox News)
Connecticut, International | September 30, 2021
Democratic Senator Blumenthal: ‘Nobody is in charge’ on Afghanistan
Connecticut, International | September 30, 2021
Senator Richard Blumenthal suggested Tuesday that the Biden administration’s current approach to Afghanistan is beset by chaos. “Nobody is in charge,” the Connecticut Democrat told generals appearing at a hearing of the Senate Armed Service Committee. The outrage is so great over Americans and our Afghan allies being left to the Taliban that even some Democrats are willing to abandon their partisanship to speak the truth…. (Excerpts from the White House Dossier)
International | September 28, 2021
Joint Chiefs chairman calls Afghan withdrawal a ‘strategic failure
International | September 28, 2021
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, refused to say what advice he gave President Joe Biden last spring when Biden was considering whether to keep any troops in Afghanistan. But he told the Senate Armed Services Committee it was his personal opinion that at least 2,500 were needed to guard against a collapse of the Kabul government and a return to Taliban rule.
In a blunt assessment of the outcome to a war that cost 2,461 American lives, Milley called it a strategic failure.
“The enemy is in charge in Kabul,” he noted, referring to the Taliban having taken control of the capital on Aug. 15. “There’s no way else to describe that,” he said, adding that it’s possible the U.S. military’s biggest failure was to make the Afghan military overly dependent on an American presence and technology… (Excerpt from American Family News)
International | September 20, 2021
Taliban Order Kabul Government Female Employees to Leave Workforce, Stay at Home
International | September 20, 2021
International | September 20, 2021
Xi and Putin pledge to co-operate on Afghanistan after Taliban takeover
International | September 20, 2021
China’s leader Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart, on Friday pledged to join forces in an effort to prevent violence and instability spilling over Afghanistan’s borders into the wider region. Speaking via video link at a joint regional security forum in Dushanbe, the Tajikistan capital, the two leaders announced plans to share intelligence and hold regular talks on Afghanistan following its takeover last month by the Taliban. The event marks the first ever joint meeting on Afghanistan of the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation — a Eurasian political and security forum, of which Russia is also a member — and the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, a military alliance of some former Soviet states in the region…. (Excerpts from the Financial Times)
International | September 19, 2021
28 US Citizens Depart Kabul via Charter Flight, State Department Confirms
International | September 19, 2021
Nearly 30 U.S. citizens were able to leave Taliban-controlled Afghanistan after the full withdrawal of U.S. troops, the State Department confirmed Saturday.
“We can confirm that a Qatar Airways charter flight departed from Kabul yesterday with 28 U.S. citizens and 7 lawful permanent residents on board,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
“We are grateful to Qatari authorities, who continue to coordinate these flights with us. We will continue to help U.S. citizens and Afghans affiliated with the U.S. government to depart Afghanistan,” he added.
Price suggested that the evacuation succeeded because of the Taliban’s cooperation… (Excerpts from the Epoch Times)