US to lift Afghan visa limit under Biden, Congress deal
Washington DC, US Reuters US President Joe Biden’s administration has reached a compromise deal with Republicans in House of Representatives to lift the number of resettlement visas for Afghans who worked for the United States, US lawmakers said on Tuesday. The congressionally-authorised limit of 38,500 Special Immigration Visas (SIVs), which offer a path to US […]
State Department review of 2021 Afghanistan evacuation critical of Biden, Trump
Washington DC, US Reuters A US State Department report on Friday criticised the handling of the 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan, saying decisions by President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump to withdraw troops had “serious consequences for the viability” and security of the former US-backed government. Adverse findings in the report also reflected badly […]
Biden Afghanistan report mostly blames Trump for chaotic US withdrawal
Washington DC, US Reuters President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday released a summary of classified reports that mostly blamed the chaotic August, 2021, US pullout from Afghanistan on his predecessor, Donald Trump, for failing to plan for the withdrawal he had agreed on with the Taliban. The Democratic administration’s summary, drawn from top-secret State Department […]
Afghanistan: Taliban mark year in power that has provided security but little hope
MOHAMMAD YUNUS YAWAR and CHARLOTTE GREENFIELD, of Reuters, report on what’s happened in Afghanistan in the year since the Taliban takeover…
A year after Biden’s Afghanistan exit, accountability in short supply
Washington DC, US Reuters As weary US military planners wrapped up the evacuation and pullout from Afghanistan one year ago, officials across the government steeled themselves for intense public scrutiny into how America’s longest war ended in shambles with the Taliban retaking power. But as the United States marks the first anniversary of the withdrawal […]
UNHCR chief asks world not to forget Afghanistan during Ukraine crisis
Kabul, AfghanistanReuters The dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan should not be forgotten as the world’s attention is focused on the conflict in Ukraine, the United Nation’s High Commissioner for Refugees said on Tuesday ahead of a key donor conference set to take place this month. During a visit to the Afghan capital, UN high commissioner […]
Afghan refugees in UAE protest at halt to US relocation process
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters Hundreds of Afghans have launched a rare protest at a United Arab Emirates facility where they have been housed since fleeing their homeland last year, holding banners pleading for freedom and demanding to be sent to the United States to be resettled. Thousands of Afghans were last year evacuated to the […]
Essay: Calculating the costs of the Afghanistan War in lives, dollars and years
Following the completion of the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, NETA CRAWFORD, co-director of the Costs of War Project, reflects – in an article published on The Conversation – on 7,268 days of American involvement in the conflict…
Biden says Afghanistan exit marks the end of US nation-building
Reuters Facing sharp criticism over the tumultuous US withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday it was the best available option to end both the United States’ longest war and decades of fruitless efforts to remake other countries through military force. Biden portrayed the chaotic exit as a logistical success that would have […]
US strikes at Islamic State militants in Kabul; Pope calls for prayer
Reuters A US drone strike on Sunday hit a suicide bomber in a vehicle who was aiming to attack Kabul airport as US forces worked to complete a withdrawal that will end two decades of military involvement in Afghanistan, US officials said. The strike was the second by the US military since an Islamic State […]