Afghan war news and discussion

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weatheriscool
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Afghan war news and discussion

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LAID TO WASTE Taliban seizes a THIRD of Afghanistan in blitz offensive after US wastes nearly $1TRILLION in ‘pointless’ 20-year war
https://www.the-sun.com/news/3158760/ta ... -year-war/
Olivia Burke

16:43 ET, Jun 25 2021Updated: 16:46 ET, Jun 25 2021

THE Taliban have seized control of a THIRD of Afghanistan as they continue to accelerate their blitz offensive while the US continues to withdraw their forces.

The US has wasted nearly $1trillion on the "pointless" 20-year battle trying to stave off the terror group who are fighting to gain ultimate control over the war-torn country.
The Taliban now have control of a third of Afghanistan and are set to conquer more
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funkervogt
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Post by funkervogt »

Maybe the central government will hold them back.
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Top US general says security in Afghanistan deteriorating
Source: AP

By KATHY GANNON

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S.’s top general in Afghanistan on Tuesday gave a sobering assessment of the country’s deteriorating security situation as America winds down its so-called “forever war.”

Gen. Austin S. Miller said the rapid loss of districts around the country to the Taliban — several with significant strategic value — is worrisome. He also cautioned that the militias deployed to help the beleaguered national security forces could lead the country into civil war.

Miller told a small group of reporters in the Afghan capital that for now he has the weapons and the capability to aid Afghanistan’s National Defense and Security Forces.

“What I don’t want to do is speculate what that (support) looks like in the future,” he said.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-af ... cf9fe5e4e5
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Afghanistan: 'Most British troops have quietly withdrawn' following 20-year campaign
Wednesday 30 June 2021

The majority of British troops have quietly withdrawn from Afghanistan, with flag-lowering ceremonies marking the final stages of a nearly 20-year campaign, Sky News understands.

Boris Johnson is set to chair a National Security Council meeting on Monday to decide the future shape of the UK footprint in the country, amid mounting security concerns as the Afghan government loses territory to a resurgent Taliban and the threat of civil war looms.

British special forces could retain a presence, while a small number of regular troops may be required if the UK decides - as is likely, according to a Whitehall source - to keep an embassy open.
https://news.sky.com/story/afghanistan- ... n-12345960
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US hands Bagram Airfield to Afghans after nearly 20 years
Source: AP

By KATHY GANNON

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — After nearly 20 years, the U.S. military left Bagram Airfield, the epicenter of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two U.S. officials said Friday.

The airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force in its entirety, they said on condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to release the information to the media.

One of the officials also said the U.S. top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, “still retains all the capabilities and authorities to protect the forces.”

Miller met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Friday and according to a Dari-language tweet by the presidential palace the two discussed “continued U.S. assistance and cooperation with Afghanistan, particularly in supporting the defense and security forces.”
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/taliban-afgh ... 85c9eb385d
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Afghan Troops Flee After Clashes With the Taliban
July 5, 2021

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/af ... NewsSearch

Introduction:
(BBC via MSN) More than 1,000 Afghan soldiers have fled to neighbouring Tajikistan after clashing with Taliban militants, officials have said.
The troops retreated over the border to "save their own lives", according to a statement by Tajikistan's border guard.

Violence has risen in Afghanistan, with the Taliban launching attacks and taking more territory in recent weeks.

The surge coincides with the end of Nato's 20-year military mission in the country.

The vast majority of remaining foreign forces in Afghanistan have been withdrawn ahead of a September deadline, and there are concerns that the Afghan military will collapse.
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US left Afghan airfield at night, didn't tell new commander
Source: AP

By KATHY GANNON
BAGRAM, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by shutting off the electricity and slipping away in the night without notifying the base’s new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans’ departure more than two hours after they left, Afghan military officials said.

Afghanistan’s army showed off the sprawling air base Monday, providing a rare first glimpse of what had been the epicenter of America’s war to unseat the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks on America.

The U.S. announced Friday it had completely vacated its biggest airfield in the country in advance of a final withdrawal the Pentagon says will be completed by the end of August.

“We (heard) some rumor that the Americans had left Bagram ... and finally by seven o’clock in the morning, we understood that it was confirmed that they had already left Bagram,” Gen. Mir Asadullah Kohistani, Bagram’s new commander said.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/bagram-afgha ... aaa167e623
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Afghanistan: Taliban flag raised above border crossing with Pakistan
Source: BBC
The Taliban are reported to have raised their flag above a key border post between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and claim it is now under their control.

Videos being shared on social media show the white flag fluttering above the Spin Boldak crossing near Kandahar.

Afghan officials have denied the post has fallen, although pictures on social media show the militants chatting to Pakistani border guards.

The BBC has been told the Taliban took the border crossing with no resistance.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57818221
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House votes to evacuate more Afghan allies as US war ends
Source: AP
The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to allow in thousands more of the Afghans who worked alongside Americans in the Afghanistan war, citing the urgency of protecting those on-the-ground allies from Taliban retaliation as the U.S. military withdrawal enters its final weeks.

Florida Republican and Vietnam war veteran Rep. Neal Dunn evoked the scenes of the U.S. military withdrawal from Vietnam, which left many Vietnamese who’d worked with American forces fearing — and sometimes meeting — death and detention.

“We cannot do this again. We must not do this again. We must bring back … all the people who were so important to us in combat,” Neal said, urging fellow lawmakers to vote for the bill. “Please do not abandon friends of America again.”

The House passed it 407-16, sending it to the Senate. The bill, by Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat and former Army Ranger who fought in Afghanistan, allows 8,000 more visas for translators and others who worked with American troops and civilians in Afghanistan. It also eases some requirements for the visas.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ho ... ar-AAMri7m
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US strikes Taliban and captured equipment in support of Afghan forces
Source: CNN

By Oren Liebermann,

(CNN)The US military carried out two strikes against the Taliban overnight in support of Afghan forces in the Kandahar province, multiple defense officials said, targeting captured equipment.

The military has retained the authority to carry out strikes in support of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) during the final stages of the withdrawal of US troops, but the pace of these strikes has decreased in recent weeks. According to a defense official, the US military has carried out approximately six or seven strikes in the past 30 days, mostly using drones to launch the strikes. Previously, the US launched strikes in support of Afghan forces on a more frequent basis, a different defense official said.

"I can say that in the last several days, we have acted through airstrikes to support the ANDSF, but I won't get into technical details of those strikes," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said at a press briefing Thursday.

Three of the last four strikes have targeted captured equipment, one official said. This includes US equipment transferred to the ANDSF that the Taliban then captured as it advanced throughout the country.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/22/politics ... index.html
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