Afghanistan war

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Biden: 'I Stand Squarely Behind My Decision'

'I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces'

(Newser) - With the Taliban in control of Afghanistan and desperate Afghans clinging to US planes amid chaos at Kabul's airport, President Biden is defending his decision to pull American troops out of the country. "I stand squarely behind my decision,” he said at the White House Monday, per...

Afghans Cling to US Plane, Fall to Their Deaths

Disturbing footage shows people pressed against a US Air Force C-17 as it takes off

(Newser) - The videos are unbearable to watch. In one, people desperate to flee Afghanistan cling to the side of a US Air Force plane as it tries to take off. "How petrified does an individual have to be to risk everything and just try to physically crush yourself onto the...

Taliban Have Seized the Presidential Palace
Taliban Have Seized
the Presidential Palace
the rundown
Aug 16, 2021 1:20 AM CDT

Taliban Have Seized the Presidential Palace

Government collapses as Taliban declare the war 'over'

(Newser) - Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on Sunday fell to the Taliban, completing the militant group's takeover of the country so quickly that even the Taliban's co-founder admitted in an evening video statement the group was surprised at the speed. Hours earlier, the Taliban had entered Kabul as Afghanistan'...

Afghan President Leaves Nation as Taliban Reach Kabul

Ashraf Ghani flies out with militants on brink of total takeover of Afghanistan

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s embattled president left the country Sunday, joining his fellow citizens and foreigners in a stampede fleeing the advancing Taliban and signaling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan, per the AP . The Taliban, which for hours had been in the outskirts of Kabul, announced...

After Afghan Cities Fall Without a Fight, Biden Announces New Deployment

Another 1K Americans will go for a 'safe drawdown'

(Newser) - The Taliban advance through Afghanistan rolled on Saturday unchecked, with government forces surrendering territory without a fight. When the central province of Daykundi fell, a lawmaker said, only two gunshots were fired in the capital. President Biden announced a series of steps, while reiterating that he will not "pass...

Americans Don&#39;t Seem to Care About Afghanistan (For Now)
Biden's Tone
on Afghans'
Plight Is
'Strikingly Cold'
the rundown
Aug 13, 2021 1:21 PM CDT

Biden's Tone on Afghans' Plight Is 'Strikingly Cold'

President is resolute about withdrawal, but criticism mounts as Taliban keeps advancing

(Newser) - President Biden is enduring the harshest criticism of his presidency to date in the wake of the Taliban's swift spread throughout Afghanistan. As of Friday afternoon, the group had completed its takeover of the south and now controls two-thirds of the nation, reports the AP . All eyes are now...

Panic, Disbelief in Kabul as More Cities Fall to Taliban

Group has completed sweep of southern Afghanistan

(Newser) - The Taliban's offensive in Afghanistan continued with terrifying speed Friday, with another three provincial capitals falling to the militants. Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province, was under Taliban control Friday after weeks of heavy fighting. Lawmakers in Uruzgat and Zabul provinces say their capitals have fallen to the Taliban,...

US Sends Troops to Help Evacuate Embassy

With Taliban closing in on Kabul, administration asks that its diplomatic post be spared

(Newser) - If the Taliban successfully storm Kabul, the US is asking that they please spare the American Embassy. In the meantime, troops are being sent to Afghanistan to help evacuate Americans stationed at the embassy. Other diplomatic stations in the country already have been closed as the Taliban overrun the nation...

Report: Pentagon Fears Kabul Could Fall in 30 Days

Taliban seizes 10th provincial capital

(Newser) - Less than a week ago, the Taliban seized their first provincial capital since the withdrawal of US troops began. On Thursday, they seized their tenth, raising their flag in the city of Ghazni, just 80 miles southwest of Kabul, the AP reports. Another three of the country's 34 capitals...

Book: US Lied About Cheney's Close Call With Taliban

Suicide bomber nearly killed him at Bagram base, according to 'The Afghanistan Papers'

(Newser) - Back in 2007, a Taliban suicide bomber struck at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan and killed 23 people. As it turns out, Vice President Dick Cheney was at the base at the time on an unannounced visit, and while he wasn't injured, the Taliban said he had been...

Pentagon: 'It's Their Country to Defend Now'

US will not step up airstrikes in Afghanistan despite Taliban advance

(Newser) - The US showed no sign Monday of stepping up airstrikes in Afghanistan despite accelerating Taliban gains there. A Pentagon spokesman emphasized that Americans now see the fight as one for Afghan political and military leaders to win or lose. "When we look back, it’s going to come down...

Taliban Assassinate Country's Top Media Official

Fighters overrun capital of Nimruz province

(Newser) - The deputy governor of Nimruz province in southwest Afghanistan says its capital city has fallen to the Taliban, making it the first provincial capital to be overrun by Taliban fighters since American forces began their withdrawal. The attack on Zaranj marks an escalation in the Taliban campaign, which has mainly...

Emergency Money for Capitol Security Passes

Half of the $2.1B measure will go toward resettling Afghan refugees who helped US

(Newser) - With few dissents, Congress on Thursday approved spending $2.1 billion to cover Capitol security costs and the evacuation and resettlement of Afghans who helped US forces during the 20-year war. The Capitol spending will repay costs incurred because of the Jan. 6 riot, as well as provide for security...

As Evacuations Near, Taliban Behead Translator

US has promised to evacuate translators but won't protect Afghans trying to reach planes

(Newser) - Sohail Pardis was last seen trying to run a Taliban checkpoint on a desert road. The Taliban opened fire, CNN reports. When the car stopped, Pardis was dragged from it and beheaded. He had been threatened after the Taliban learned he had served as a translator for US troops for...

Pulitzer-Winning Journalist Killed in Afghanistan

Danish Siddiqui was embedded with Afghan troops in covering the US withdrawal

(Newser) - Danish Siddiqui, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist who documented war, the toll of the pandemic and the violent plight of refugees, was killed in a Taliban attack Friday in Afghanistan. He was 38. Siddiqui, who was based in Mumbai as Reuters' chief photographer in India, was embedded with Afghan forces to...

US to Evacuate Translators This Month

Bush says he fears for Afghan women and girls

(Newser) - The Biden administration said Wednesday that it is prepared to begin evacuation flights for Afghan interpreters and translators who aided the US military effort in the nearly 20-year war. The Operation Allies Refuge flights out of Afghanistan in the last week of July will be available first for special immigrant...

Taliban Go After Air Force By Assassinating Its Pilots

Afghan military pilots are being tracked down in their neighborhoods

(Newser) - The Taliban have been rolling through Afghanistan on the ground as US forces leave, seizing territory sometimes without resistance. But Afghanistan's government still has a tactical advantage, something it has that the Taliban don't: an air force. In an apparent campaign to eliminate that advantage, Taliban forces have...

Taliban: We Now Control Almost All of Afghanistan

Group says it has 85% of territory amid American withdrawal

(Newser) - The Taliban claimed Friday that they now control 85% of Afghanistan's territory amid a surge in wins on the ground and as American troops complete their pullout. The announcement came at a press conference at the end of a visit by a senior Taliban delegation to Moscow this week—...

Biden Poses Question to Critics of Afghan Strategy

'How many more thousands of American daughters and sons are you willing to risk?'

(Newser) - President Biden on Thursday said the US military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on Aug. 31, adding that “speed is safety” as the United States seeks to end the nearly 20-year war, per the AP . “We did not go to Afghanistan to nation build,” Biden said in...

US Left Bagram Without Notifying New Commander

3.5M items were left behind at Afghanistan base

(Newser) - The US 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. The US announced Friday...

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