Tag Archives: Taliban

Russia Claims Afghan Leader Fled With Millions In Cash

The New York Times reports: In his first statement since he fled the country, President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan said he had left the country to avoid a lynching by the Taliban and vowed to return. In a videotaped statement posted on his Facebook page from the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday evening, Mr. Ghani said that, despite an agreement …

Read More »

Pence Op-Ed: Biden Broke Our Deal With The Taliban

From a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Mike Pence: When Mr. Biden became president, he quickly announced that U.S. forces would remain in Afghanistan for an additional four months without a clear reason for doing so. Once Mr. Biden broke the deal, the Taliban launched a major offensive against the Afghan government and seized Kabul. They knew there was no …

Read More »

When Trump Praised A Future Takeover By The Taliban

Mediaite reports: Last February, months after canceling a planned meeting with the Taliban that would have placed the group’s leaders inside the White House on Septembr 11th, Trump gloried in the idea of a Taliban-led Afghanistan that would become a bane to terrorists. “I’ll be meeting personally with Taliban leaders in the not-too-distant future. And we’ll be very much hoping …

Read More »

QAnon Rep Hails Taliban For “Building Back Better”

Mediaite reports: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) was met with immediate backlash after tweeting Monday that “the Taliban are the only people building back better.” The quick fall of the government in Afghanistan has alarmed translators who assisted the U.S., female politicians, and others who have been scrambling to get out of the country for fear of their safety. Boebert currently …

Read More »

George Bush: “Cut The Red Tape” For Afghan Refugees

A statement from George W. Bush: Laura and I have been watching the tragic events unfolding in Afghanistan with deep sadness. Our hearts are heavy for both the Afghan people who have suffered so much and for the Americans and NATO allies who have sacrificed so much. The Afghans now at the greatest risk are the same ones who have …

Read More »

Biden: “I Stand Squarely” Behind Afghanistan Decision

The New York Times reports: President Biden offered a defiant defense on Monday of his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, returning to the White House from a weekend at Camp David amid chaotic scenes at the Kabul airport following the collapse of the Afghanistan government to the Taliban. Speaking to the American people from the ornate East Room, Mr. …

Read More »

LIVE VIDEO: Biden Speaks On Crisis In Afghanistan

USA Today reports: Facing intense criticism for his handling of Afghanistan, President Joe Biden will address the nation from the White House on Monday, the administration announced. Biden has not yet spoken publicly about the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country. Taliban fighters completed their stunning sweep by seizing control of Afghanistan’s capital Sunday as American troops scrambled to evacuate …

Read More »

China “Respects The Wishes And Choices Of Afghans”

Axios reports: China will “respect the wishes and choices of the Afghan people” after the Taliban seized Kabul and toppled Afghanistan’s U.S.-backed government, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said Monday, according to the Financial Times. Beijing’s first official comments since the Taliban installed themselves in the presidential palace in Kabul signifies a willingness to work with a Taliban-led government …

Read More »

British Defense Sec: We Won’t Go Back To Afghanistan

Reuters reports: The Taliban are in control of Afghanistan and British and NATO forces will not be returning to fight the insurgents, Britain’s defence minister said on Monday. “I acknowledge that the Taliban are in control of the country,” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News. “I mean, you don’t have to be a political scientist to spot that’s where …

Read More »

US To Deploy Another 1000 Troops To Afghanistan

The Hill reports: The Pentagon has reportedly authorized the deployment of 1,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total number of troops on the ground to 6,000 as the Taliban continues its advances in the capital city of Kabul. Reuters reported on Sunday that the additional troops will be drawn from the 82nd Airborne Division, which was already on standby. …

Read More »

Reuters: Afghan President Leaves Country For Tajikistan

Reuters reports: Taliban insurgents entered Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Sunday and an official said President Ashraf Ghani had left the city for Tajikistan, capping the militants’ lightning push for power. A senior Afghan Interior Ministry official said Ghani had left for Tajikistan. Asked for comment, the president’s office it “cannot say anything about Ashraf Ghani’s movement for security reasons”. Taliban …

Read More »

US Commits More Troops To Afghanistan Evacuation

The Washington Post reports: The Taliban’s blitz across Afghanistan pushed closer to Kabul on Saturday, as U.S. diplomats appealed to the militants to stop the advance and President Biden warned that any moves to threaten American personnel or interests would be met with “a swift and strong” military response from the thousands of U.S. troops flooding into the capital. A …

Read More »

30 Taliban Killed In Bomb-Making Class Explosion

Agence France-Presse reports: At least 30 Taliban fighters have been killed in an explosion at a mosque in Afghanistan during a bomb-making class. The 209th Shaheen Corps – part of the Afghan National Army – said in a statement that 30 fighters including six foreign nationals who were expert mine makers, had been killed in an explosion on Saturday morning. …

Read More »

The Taliban Endorses Trump: “We Hope He Will Win”

CBS News reports: President Trump’s reelection bid received a vote of support Friday from an entity most in his party would reject: the Taliban. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told CBS News in a phone interview, “We hope he will win the election and wind up U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.” The militant group expressed some concern about Mr. Trump’s bout …

Read More »

CIA Briefs Congressional Leaders On Russian Bounties

ABC News reports: CIA Director Gina Haspel led a slate of intelligence officials to the U.S. Capitol Thursday to brief a select group of lawmakers on reports Russia offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American troops in Afghanistan. Members of the so-called “Gang of Eight” were expected to attend Thursday’s briefing. The exclusive group is comprised of the legislative …

Read More »

REPORT: Taliban Sources Confirm Russian Bounties

The Insider reports: Taliban commanders have confirmed that Russia has offered financial and material support to its members in exchange for attacking US forces in Afghanistan. President Donald Trump has since strongly denied that he was told of this intelligence and attacked its credibility, characterizing the existence of Russian bounty payments as fake. But three separate Taliban sources told Insider …

Read More »

Trump: Russian Bounty Story Is A “Fake News Hoax”

Politico reports: President Trump claimed early Wednesday that reports about suspected Russian bounties on coalition forces in Afghanistan were a “hoax” meant to damage him politically. The White House has denied that Trump was personally briefed on the intelligence before it became public, though it has sidestepped questions about subsequent reports that the information was cited in one of Trump’s …

Read More »

“Large Bank Transfers” Back Intel On Russian Bounties

The New York Times reports: American officials intercepted electronic data showing large financial transfers from a bank account controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency to a Taliban-linked account, which was among the evidence that supported their conclusion that Russia covertly offered bounties for killing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence. Though the …

Read More »

NYT: US Officials Were Told About Bounties In January

The New York Times reports: United States intelligence officers and Special Operations forces in Afghanistan alerted their superiors as early as January to a suspected Russian plot to pay bounties to the Taliban to kill American troops in Afghanistan, according to officials briefed on the matter. They believed at least one U.S. troop death was the result of the bounties, …

Read More »

Intel: Taliban Doesn’t Intend To Abide By New US Deal

NBC News reports: The U.S. government has collected persuasive intelligence that the Taliban do not intend to honor the promises they have made in the recently signed deal with the United States, three American officials tell NBC News, undercutting what has been days of hopeful talk by President Donald Trump and his top aides. “They have no intention of abiding …

Read More »