Afghanistan exit strategy

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GOP: Biden Picked 'Optics' Over Safety in Afghan Exit

Democrats and White House fire back and pin the blame on Trump

(Newser) - The blame game over the deadly US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 is heating up before the election. Republican members of Congress issued a new report blaming President Biden and VP Kamala Harris for the chaotic exit, one that left 13 US service members dead , while Democrats say Donald Trump'...

CNN Pushes Back at Pentagon Account of Kabul Airport Attack

Outlet says new evidence turns over narrative of a lone suicide bomber in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Few claim that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan almost three years ago went smoothly. Now, conflicting accounts of the war's final days are emerging that puts the Pentagon's narrative at odds with others.
  • Bombing: In the late afternoon of Aug. 26, 2021, a blast brought about by an
...

Americans, Afghans Assess Withdrawal a Year Later
Afghanistan Is Back
Where It Was: US General
the rundown
Aug 14, 2022 5:05 PM CDT

Afghanistan Is Back Where It Was: US General

A year after withdrawal, assessments of the fallout differ

(Newser) - One year ago, the Taliban took control of the government in Afghanistan. The anniversary has sparked assessments and reassessments of the fallout from the withdrawal of US troops, from Afghans as well as Americans. And the Biden administration is preparing to answer them. The latest are from:

Report Blames Afghan Collapse on Trump, Biden Decisions

US plans to withdraw damaged local forces' morale, report contends

(Newser) - A government watchdog says decisions by Presidents Trump and Biden to pull all US troops out of Afghanistan were the key factors in the collapse of that nation's military. The new report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction mirrors assertions made by senior Pentagon and military leaders...

Washington Post Wins Pulitzer for Capitol Riot Coverage

Afghanistan pullout featured heavily in winning journalism

(Newser) - The Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize in public service journalism Monday for its coverage of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol. The Post's extensive reporting, published in a sophisticated interactive series, found numerous problems and failures in political systems and security before, during, and after the...

Trump Is Calling Families of Troops Killed in Kabul

'He was awesome,' says father of one Marine

(Newser) - Some of the families of the 13 American service members killed in a blast at Kabul's airport last month have refused to speak to President Biden—but they have welcomed calls from former President Trump. Trump has reached out to several families over the last week and some of...

California District Works to Get 27 Students Out of Afghanistan

Families were visiting relatives during summer break

(Newser) - A California school district is still waiting for the return of about 27 students who went to Afghanistan on summer break with their families. The Sacramento County students were there to visit relatives and for other personal reasons, USA Today reports. "We believe that some of these families may...

Pope Inadvertently Uses Putin's Words to Chide West

He was talking about Afghanistan

(Newser) - Pope Francis has criticized the West's two-decade-long involvement in Afghanistan as an outsider's attempt to impose democracy—although he did it by citing Russia's Vladimir Putin while thinking he was quoting Germany's Angela Merkel. Asked during a radio interview aired Wednesday about the new political map...

Brit Trapped in Afghanistan Plans Daring Escape

Ex-bodyguard Ben Slater aims to lead 400 Afghans out by land

(Newser) - A British man who once was in the Royal Military Police and now runs a company called Nomad Concepts Group got stuck in Afghanistan with about 50 employees, most of whom are women. He wasn’t able to get a visa in time to airlifted out of the country. So...

US Diplomacy Moves On
Blinken: US Embassy Is Closed
Aug 30, 2021 8:15 PM CDT

Blinken: US Embassy Is Closed

Office in Qatar will handle relations with Afghanistan as a 'new chapter' opens

(Newser) - All American diplomats are out of Afghanistan, and the US Embassy is closed—signaling an abandonment not just of fighting but of long-held hopes for diplomacy. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the embassy announcement Monday in an address to the nation after the Defense Department said that its personnel...

Biden Promises More Attacks on ISIS
Biden Promises More
Attacks on ISIS
Aug 28, 2021 5:45 PM CDT

Biden Promises More Attacks on ISIS

Britain ends Kabul evacuations, saying it couldn't 'bring everybody out'

(Newser) - There will be more violence in Afghanistan before US forces are out, President Biden said Saturday. In a statement, Biden said that the situation there remains dangerous and that another terrorist attack at the airport in Kabul is "highly likely" in the next day or two, the Washington Post ...

Biden Tells Attackers: 'We Will Hunt You Down'

President suggests he might send more troops to Afghanistan

(Newser) - In addressing the nation on Thursday, President Biden expressed his resolve to not let the airport attack in Afghanistan stop evacuations even as US troops track down and punish the forces responsible. "To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this:...

Taliban: We Won't Allow Afghans to Leave

Biden is expected to stick with the deadline of Aug. 31 rather than extend it

(Newser) - The deadline for the US to be out of Afghanistan is a week away, and President Biden is unlikely to extend it. The president spoke to G7 leaders Tuesday and will make public remarks later in the day, but the Pentagon has recommended sticking to the Aug. 31 withdrawal date...

Taliban: US Deadline of Aug. 31 Is a 'Red Line'

Warning not to extend it comes as lethal chaos continues at Kabul airport

(Newser) - The new week brings a continuation of deadly chaos at the Kabul airport. Some of the new developments in Afghanistan:
  • Warning: A Taliban spokesman said Monday that foreign nations should not extend their deadlines to leave. "Otherwise, it is a clear violation," the spokesman told the BBC . The
...

Putin Doesn't Want Afghan Refugees in Central Asia

Some refugees are headed to Russia's neighbors Uzbekistan and Tajikistan

(Newser) - Russia's president has criticized Western nations for seeking to temporarily house Afghan refugees in Central Asian countries, citing security concerns for Russia. Speaking at a meeting with top officials of the Kremlin’s United Russia party on Sunday, Vladimir Putin blasted what he described as a “humiliating approach”...

Afghan Woman Gives Birth on US Evacuation Plane

One refugee baby made an exciting debut on an Air Force base in Germany

(Newser) - One Afghan mom has quite a birth story to tell. A pregnant woman who had been evacuated from Afghanistan to what the military called an “intermediate staging base in the Middle East,” then flown to Ramstein Air Base in Germany went into labor on a US Air Force...

US Orders Airliners Into Afghan Service

Pentagon invokes rarely used emergency program to take over planes

(Newser) - The Defense Department on Sunday ordered US airlines to contribute planes for use in evacuating Afghan refugees. The 18 aircraft will transport evacuees to and from military bases in Germany, Qatar and Bahrain, the Wall Street Journal reports. They will not go into Kabul. So far, C-17 cargo planes have...

Homes in US Open to Refugees
Americans' Doors
Open to Refugees
Aug 21, 2021 5:30 PM CDT

Americans' Doors Open to Refugees

Groups ask for more volunteers to prepare for arrivals from Afghanistan

(Newser) - As refugees from Afghanistan begin arriving in the US, Americans are offering to take them in. Jacqueline Buzas of Refugee Services of Texas said the organization has never seen a response like this, the Washington Post reports. "We have people calling to say, 'I have an extra bedroom....

Biden's Message: 'We Will Get You Home'

President addresses Americans still stuck in Afghanistan, along with Afghan allies

(Newser) - As critics slammed his administration for not starting evacuations sooner , President Biden told Americans in Afghanistan on Friday that "we will get you home.” Tens of thousands of Americans and Afghan allies are still waiting to leave the country as the Aug. 31 deadline looms, the AP reports....

Blinken's Own Staffers Warned Him of Quick Afghan Collapse

State Department chief received internal document on July 13

(Newser) - The White House says nobody anticipated that Afghanistan would fall so quickly. But the Wall Street Journal is out with a scoop about an internal State Department cable dated July 13 that warned things were about to get very bad in a hurry:
  • Warning: The cable, signed by 23 staffers,
...

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