Afghanistan news and discussions

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weatheriscool
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The Taliban issued a death sentence to the brother of an Afghan interpreter who helped the US
Source: Business Insider

despite saying it won't seek revenge

The Taliban accused the brother of an Afghan interpreter of aiding Americans and sentenced him to death, according to letters obtained by CNN, after previously claiming that it would not seek revenge against people who helped the US military.

In the first of three letters, the man was accused of "helping the Americans" and providing security for his brother, who was an interpreter, and was ordered to appear for a hearing. The second letter informed him that his case had been sent to the Sharia court because he didn't appear.

In the third letter, the Taliban notified the man that he had been found "guilty in absentia" after not appearing for the Sharia court hearing. The letter said the man was sentenced to death, and that he could not object to the sentence.

"You chose this path for yourself and your death is imminent, God willing," the letter read, as quoted by CNN.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/th ... ar-AANDJFe
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US and allies will face 'consequences' if troops stay after deadline, Taliban warn
Source: The Guardian
The Taliban has warned that there will be “consequences” if the United States and its allies extend the presence of troops in Afghanistan beyond next week, as chaos continued to overwhelm Kabul airport, with a deadly gun battle on Monday at one of the airport’s gates.

The comments were made after a firefight between unidentified gunmen and US, German and Afghan guards at the airport left one Afghan guard dead and three wounded, underscoring the fragile security situation around the site and throughout the capital.

The fight, which took place at just after 7am Kabul time at the north gate of the airfield, started when former Afghan security forces who are acting as guards exchanged fire with the gunmen. Then German and US forces became involved.

In further evidence of the tense security situation surrounding the continuing evacuation, French special forces entered Kabul to escort about 260 Afghans working for the EU to the airport.


Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us ... li=BBnb7Kz
weatheriscool
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Allies push Biden to extend Afghanistan airlift beyond August 31
Source: Axios
President Biden is attempting to navigate between calls from allies to extend the Kabul airlift operation beyond Aug. 31 and warnings from the Taliban that doing so would cross a red line.

Driving the news: U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to push for an extension beyond the end of August at a virtual G7 meeting tomorrow, which he will chair.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also said today that France was "concerned about the deadline set by the United States" as "additional time is needed to complete ongoing operations."

But National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden still believes all Americans can be evacuated before Aug. 31. The goal remains to conclude the evacuations by then, though Biden will consult with allies, Sullivan added.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/biden-afghanistan ... 352e4.html
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Female athletes from Afghanistan leave Kabul after being granted Australian visas
Tue 24 Aug 2021

A group of 77 Afghani athletes and family members, including members of the Afghanistan women’s national football team, youth team and women’s football officials have left Kabul airport on a plane bound for Australia.

In a furious 10-day period the players’ union Fifpro, a team of human rights lawyers and other NGOs worked around the clock with former team coaches Kelly Lindsey and Haley Carter and team founder and former captain Khalida Popal pursuing every avenue available to get them on evacuation lists, secure the players visas and get into the airport perimeter.

Players were forced to take their chances running past Taliban checkpoints, some suffering beatings and having to avoid gunfire to reach the relative safety of the airport.

The Australian team of former Socceroo Craig Foster and human rights lawyer and former Olympian Nikki Dryden, that were critical in ensuring the safety of detained Bahrain footballer Hakeem al-Araibi in 2019, and director of Human Rights for All, Alison Battisson, were some of the many that swung into action and Australia quickly became the most viable escape route as Australian visas were secured for all athletes and the Australian government called for them to report to the airport.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... lian-visas
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weatheriscool
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Taliban spokesperson says Afghans should stop attempting to reach Kabul's airport
Source: Axios
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Tuesday that Afghans should stop attempting to reach Kabul's international airport, and reiterated that the militant group would not agree to extend the Aug. 31 deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw.

Why it matters: The evacuation effort has ramped up significantly over the last 48 hours, but given Mujahid's statement that "we are not in favor of allowing Afghans to leave" the window to complete the operation could soon begin to close.

What he's saying: Mujahid said the journey to the airport was dangerous and that Afghans should instead remain in the country and help to rebuild it. He also claimed the Taliban would guarantee their security after the U.S. left.

Afghans continue to flee, clearly not trusting such assurances from the Taliban. There have been reports of reprisals against people who worked for the ousted government or with NATO troops.
Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/taliban-spok ... 24721.html
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caltrek
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More clues on what went wrong in the U.S. policy toward Afghanistan over the years:

No One Can Win Here
by Tom Lasser
August 25, 2021

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/08/25 ... -win-here/

Introduction:
(Counterpunch) “No one can win here,” I found myself whispering as I looked at the distant mountain peaks surrounding Bagram Airfield. Single file out of the C-130 we came. It was 2013, a point at which we were told the war was all but over...
Image
Photograph Source: Staff Sgt. Whitney Amstutz – Public Domain
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
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caltrek
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...and this....

The Moral Implications of Bloodlust, White Supremacy, Christian Nationalism
by Wendell Griffen
August 25, 2021

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/08/25 ... tionalism/

Extract:
(Baptist News via Counterpunch) Foreign troops and weapons never would outlast Afghan mores, customs, history, ancestral warrior pride and centuries of refusal to be ruled by foreign invaders, especially when the invaders propped up corrupt and incompetent indigenous rulers and Afghan military personnel who would not fight for the future of their society even with overwhelming military, logistical and diplomatic advantages.

A combination of bloodlust, Western hubris, white supremacy and racism, conservative Christian nationalist imperialism, and capitalist greed also must be admitted. The monetary cost of wars always produces wealth for people who profit in supplying weapons and war materiel.

….No matter how many troops were deployed, how many drone missions were flown, and how many U.S. military personnel were killed and wounded, bloodlust, cultural incompetence, disregard for military and political history, hubris, white supremacy and racism, Christian national imperialism, capitalist greed and national pride transformed the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan into a 20-year fiasco that bedeviled the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Don't mourn, organize.

-Joe Hill
weatheriscool
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AFP News Agency
@AFP
·
Aug 25, 2021
Replying to @AFP
#UPDATE More than 80,000 people have been evacuated from #Afghanistan since August 14, but huge crowds remain outside #Kabul airport hoping to flee the threat of reprisals and repression in the Taliban-ruled country before an August 31 deadline http://u.afp.com/UrtA
weatheriscool
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Re: Afghanistan news and discussions

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AFP News Agency
@AFP
#BREAKING Taliban agree to let Afghans leave Afghanistan after US withdrawal deadline of August 31: German envoy
weatheriscool
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Blast reported at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul
Source: CNN
(CNN)An explosion was reported outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport on Thursday, according to two US officials.

One official said there are injuries among Afghans, but there is no information yet on any US casualties.

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby confirmed there was an explosion outside of the airport. "We can confirm an explosion outside Kabul airport. Casualties are unclear at this time. We will provide additional details when we can," he said in a tweet.
This is a developing story.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/26/asia/afg ... index.html
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