Archiv: Afghanistan


16.12.2024 - 16:36 [ Middle East Monitor ]

The FBI‘s mysterious case against Dr Aafia Siddiqui

The website of America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is brimming with advice and useful information should you need help. There’s even a bright red button to press if you want to report a crime. I pressed it and reported the crime of perjury involving the complex case of US Prisoner Dr Aafia Siddiqui who is currently serving 86 years in a Texas prison for attempting to kill US soldiers. She didn’t do anything of the sort. Yes, there was a shooting incident in Ghazni Province’s National Police station in Afghanistan, but it was the soldiers who nearly killed her.

(…)

During the past 20 years, some very powerful senior figures in America, Pakistan and elsewhere have lied to and deceived the US authorities to ensure that the rather brilliant academic Dr Aafia Siddiqui remains behind bars. In 2023, her sister described her as looking like a “living corpse”.

13.11.2024 - 13:35 [ New York Times ]

Trump Picks Pete Hegseth, a Veteran and Fox News Host, for Defense Secretary

The choice of Mr. Hegseth was outside the norm of the traditional defense secretary. But he was a dedicated supporter of Mr. Trump during his first term, defending his interactions with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, embracing his “America First” agenda of trying to withdraw U.S. troops from abroad and energetically taking up the cause of combat veterans accused of war crimes.
(…)
He served in the Army in Afghanistan and Iraq and at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

A Minnesota native, Mr. Hegseth graduated from Princeton University, where he was the publisher of The Princeton Tory, a conservative magazine, for which he wrote about seeing the statue of Saddam Hussein toppled in Baghdad in 2003.

11.09.2024 - 13:45 [ ABC News ]

Obama: `This War, Like All Wars, Must End`

(23. Mai 2013)

Now, the speech:

The president who dramatically expanded the CIA secret drone war, ordered a troop surge in Afghanistan and aggressively prosecuted leakers made a forceful defense of his actions and an even more forceful case for winding down the war on terrorism.

The key line: „This war, like all wars, must end. That‘s what history advises. That‘s what our democracy demands.“

28.08.2024 - 14:04 [ Daniel Neun / Radio Utopie ]

Die “Authorization For Use of Military Force” vom 14. September 2001 im Wortlaut

(29. August 2014)

Seit Beginn des weltweiten Terrorkrieges in 2001 herrschten in den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika zwei Personen als Kriegspräsidenten und “mächtigste Männer der Welt”, George Bush Junior und Barack Obama. Der Kern ihrer Legitimation für

– fast jede seit dem 14. September 2001 angeordnete militärische Aktion, Operation und Invasion, wie der Eroberung von Afghanistan (2001), Irak (2003), Libyen (2011), Luftangriffen bzw Bodenoperationen z.B. in Somalia, Jemen, Pakistan, Kenia, etc, etc, pp,

– den versuchten Aufbau einer “Totalen Informationskenntnis” (“Total Information Awareness”) über alle Menschen, Gruppen, Strömungen und Organisationen im Macht- bzw Einflussbereich der U.S.A. (also dem, was die Gesellschaft heute als “Totalüberwachung” versteht),

– die folgende Erschaffung eines informationstechnologischen, Privatleben fressenden Frankensteins, eines weltweit vernetzten Golem der “Nationalen Sicherheit AG” bzw dem “sicherheitsindustriellen Komplex”, der allein 800.000 Personen (Stand: 2010) Zugang zu “streng geheimen” Informationen und damit Zugang zu praktisch allen u.a. aus Telekommunikationssystemen wie dem Internet gesammelten bzw geraubten Daten von Bürgerinnen und Bürgern in ungezählten Datenbanken und Tauschbörsen der Spione, Militärs und (Geheim)Polizeien und Behörden allein in den U.S.A. gibt, samt einer bis heute nicht verifizierten Zahl assoziierter Kräfte und Stellen, z.B. in der Republik Deutschland,

– die Errichtung des Lagers Guantanamo, sowie einer unbekannten Zahl geheimer Folterkammern und Kerker auf eigenem Territorium, in Besatzungszonen und / oder in kollaborierenden Staaten, in denen Menschen willkürlich eingesperrt, gequält oder ermordet wurden,

sowie weitere offene oder klandestine Maßnahmen, wie z.B. die “Uminterpretation” von geltendem Recht zu faktischem geheimen Kriegsrecht in ungezählten Staaten, ist ein am 14. September 2001 bei alleiniger Gegenstimme von Barbara Lee durch den Kongress gejagter und, zumindest in der Geschichte der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika, präzedenzloser Gesetzestext: die “Authorization for Use of Military Force”.

Hier dessen gerade einmal 60 Worte und keinerlei zeitliche oder räumliche Einschränkung enthaltende Wirkungstext, beschlossen am 14.09.2001 von beiden Kammern des Kongresses, Repräsentantenhaus und Senat:

20.03.2024 - 22:55 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

05.03.2024 - 00:05 [ New York Times ]

Commando Network Coordinates Flow of Weapons in Ukraine, Officials Say

(June 25, 2022)

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the Army’s 10th Special Forces Group, which before the war had been training Ukrainian commandos at a base in the country’s west, quietly established a coalition planning cell in Germany to coordinate military assistance to Ukrainian commandos and other Ukrainian troops. The cell has now grown to 20 nations.

04.02.2024 - 08:10 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

04.02.2024 - 08:00 [ OneVoicePAC / Youtube ]

Barbara Lee‘s 9/14/01 Speech

Barbara Lee explains her rationale for voting against the Authorization to Use Military Force in Afghanistan, citing the overly broad nature of the bill.

04.02.2024 - 07:50 [ Yahoo.com ]

‘I wish I had been wrong,’ says Barbara Lee, lone congresswoman who voted to oppose Afghan war in 2001

(August 18, 2021)

In the days after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, just one member of Congress voted against giving President Bush authority to go to war in Afghanistan.

Barbara Lee, a Democratic representative from California, warned at the time that approving the so-called Authorisation for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) could mean the US would be embarking “on an open-ended war with neither an exit strategy nor a focused target.”

17.01.2024 - 20:32 [ Daniel Neun / Radio Utopie ]

Die “Authorization For Use of Military Force” vom 14. September 2001 im Wortlaut

(29. August 2014)

Seit Beginn des weltweiten Terrorkrieges in 2001 herrschten in den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika zwei Personen als Kriegspräsidenten und “mächtigste Männer der Welt”, George Bush Junior und Barack Obama. Der Kern ihrer Legitimation für

– fast jede seit dem 14. September 2001 angeordnete militärische Aktion, Operation und Invasion, wie der Eroberung von Afghanistan (2001), Irak (2003), Libyen (2011), Luftangriffen bzw Bodenoperationen z.B. in Somalia, Jemen, Pakistan, Kenia, etc, etc, pp,

– den versuchten Aufbau einer “Totalen Informationskenntnis” (“Total Information Awareness”) über alle Menschen, Gruppen, Strömungen und Organisationen im Macht- bzw Einflussbereich der U.S.A. (also dem, was die Gesellschaft heute als “Totalüberwachung” versteht),

– die folgende Erschaffung eines informationstechnologischen, Privatleben fressenden Frankensteins, eines weltweit vernetzten Golem der “Nationalen Sicherheit AG” bzw dem “sicherheitsindustriellen Komplex”, der allein 800.000 Personen (Stand: 2010) Zugang zu “streng geheimen” Informationen und damit Zugang zu praktisch allen u.a. aus Telekommunikationssystemen wie dem Internet gesammelten bzw geraubten Daten von Bürgerinnen und Bürgern in ungezählten Datenbanken und Tauschbörsen der Spione, Militärs und (Geheim)Polizeien und Behörden allein in den U.S.A. gibt, samt einer bis heute nicht verifizierten Zahl assoziierter Kräfte und Stellen, z.B. in der Republik Deutschland,

– die Errichtung des Lagers Guantanamo, sowie einer unbekannten Zahl geheimer Folterkammern und Kerker auf eigenem Territorium, in Besatzungszonen und / oder in kollaborierenden Staaten, in denen Menschen willkürlich eingesperrt, gequält oder ermordet wurden,

sowie weitere offene oder klandestine Maßnahmen, wie z.B. die “Uminterpretation” von geltendem Recht zu faktischem geheimen Kriegsrecht in ungezählten Staaten, ist ein am 14. September 2001 bei alleiniger Gegenstimme von Barbara Lee durch den Kongress gejagter und, zumindest in der Geschichte der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika, präzedenzloser Gesetzestext: die “Authorization for Use of Military Force”.

Hier dessen gerade einmal 60 Worte und keinerlei zeitliche oder räumliche Einschränkung enthaltende Wirkungstext, beschlossen am 14.09.2001 von beiden Kammern des Kongresses, Repräsentantenhaus und Senat:

17.01.2024 - 20:21 [ Buzzfeed.com ]

60 Words And A War Without End: The Untold Story Of The Most Dangerous Sentence In U.S. History

(Jan 17, 2014)

By the end of the meeting, it was clear that this was the resolution, a single sentence and 60 words:

That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.

That was it. After more than a day of negotiations between the White House and Congress, Republicans and Democrats, this is what had emerged. Congress could take it or leave it. There would be no going back to the drawing board.

23.10.2023 - 14:34 [ Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht ]

Mehr Zusammenarbeit, Souveränität und Frieden: Für ein neues Selbstverständnis in der Außenpolitik

Eine Militärallianz, deren Führungsmacht in den zurückliegenden Jahren fünf Länder völkerrechtswidrig überfallen und in diesen Kriegen mehr als 1 Million Menschen getötet hat, schürt Bedrohungsgefühle und Abwehrreaktionen und trägt so zu globaler Instabilität bei. Statt eines Machtinstruments für geopolitische Ziele brauchen wir ein defensiv ausgerichtetes Verteidigungsbündnis, das die Grundsätze der UN-Charta achtet, Abrüstung anstrebt, statt zu Aufrüstung zu verpflichten, und in dem sich die Mitglieder auf Augenhöhe begegnen. Europa benötigt eine stabile Sicherheitsarchitektur, die längerfristig auch Russland einschließen sollte.

Unser Land verdient eine selbstbewusste Politik, die das Wohlergehen seiner Bürger in den Mittelpunkt stellt und von der Einsicht getragen ist, dass US-amerikanische Interessen sich von unseren Interessen teilweise erheblich unterscheiden. Unser Ziel ist ein eigenständiges Europa souveräner Demokratien in einer multipolaren Welt und keine neue Blockkonfrontation, in der Europa zwischen den USA und dem sich immer selbstbewusster formierenden neuen Machtblock um China und Russland zerrieben wird.

15.09.2023 - 21:55 [ MisesInstitute.org ]

America Since 9/11: 22 Years of Lies and Despotism

Just last week, Dick Cheney took to social media to condemn Donald Trump as a threat „to our republic.“ This video echoes a similar condemnation from George W. Bush in 2021.

In a more reasonable world, people like Cheney, Rice, Bolton, et al, would all be forgotten, shamed, disgraced politicians. They all would have been forced into retirement and shunned years ago after overseeing multiple disastrous wars abroad and the creation of a surveillance state at home. Many of them would just now be emerging from prison for their crimes against both international law and the US Constitution.

Unfortunately, we don‘t live in a more reasonable world.

01.09.2023 - 05:55 [ voanews.com ]

Taliban Sign Multibillion-Dollar Afghan Mining Deals

(August 31, 2023)

Shahabuddin Dilawar, the Taliban minister of mines and petroleum, said the seven contracts cover the extraction and processing of gold, copper, iron, lead and zinc in four Afghan provinces — Takhar, Ghor, Herat and Logar.

The nationally televised signing ceremony occurred as the de facto Afghan authorities marked the second anniversary of the withdrawal of all U.S.-led NATO troops from the country after nearly 20 years of war with the then-insurgent Taliban.

01.09.2023 - 05:48 [ CNN ]

The Taliban are sitting on $1 trillion worth of minerals the world desperately needs

(August 19, 2021)

Afghanistan is one of the poorest nations in the world. But in 2010, US military officials and geologists revealed that the country, which lies at the crossroads of Central and South Asia, was sitting on mineral deposits worth nearly $1 trillion.

Supplies of minerals such as iron, copper and gold are scattered across provinces. There are also rare earth minerals and, perhaps most importantly, what could be one of the world’s biggest deposits of lithium –

01.09.2023 - 05:25 [ Daniel Neun / Radio Utopie ]

Afghanistan: Der Kupfer-Krieg

(29. November 2006)

Im Süden werden demnächst die Abbau-Rechte für Kupfererz im Werte von 1.6 Billionen Dollar an internationale Konzerne vergeben.

Aynak (Ainak), nördliches Ende der Provinz Logar, 35 Kilometer südlich von Kabul: hier im wüsten Landes des Kriegsgebietes von Südafghanistan sind nicht nur Opium, Waffen und Krieg als Geld-oder Gewinnquelle zu haben – hier liegen laut Sondierungen durch US- und britischen Behörden 240 Millionen Tonnen Kupfererz mit einem Kupfergehalt von 2.3%, dicht unter der Erdoberfläche und leicht abzubauen.

01.09.2023 - 04:50 [ ORF.at ]

Taliban: Neue Abkommen für Betrieb von sieben Bergwerken

Welche Firmen den Zuschlag erhielten und aus welchen Ländern die Investitionen genau stammen, war nicht klar. Laut einer Mitteilung des Taliban-Wirtschaftsministeriums handelt es sich um den Abbau von Gold, Kupfer, Blei und Eisenerz. Die Investitionen stammen demzufolge aus Asien und Europa. Genauere Details nannte das Ministerium zunächst nicht.

25.08.2023 - 19:50 [ Nachdenkseiten ]

Kanzler-Entgleisung: Pazifisten sind „gefallene Engel, die aus der Hölle kommen“

(21.08.2023)

Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz hat bei einer kürzlichen Wahlkampfrede in München anwesende Kritiker des Kurses der Bundesregierung schwer beleidigt, wie Medien berichten. Im Laufe der Rede sagte Scholz an die Bürger gewandt, die für Waffenstillstand und Verhandlungen im Ukrainekrieg eintreten:

„Und die, die hier mit Friedenstauben rumlaufen, sind deshalb vielleicht gefallene Engel, die aus der Hölle kommen, weil sie letztendlich einem Kriegstreiber das Wort reden.“

In diesem Screenshot eines Videos der FAZ sind einige dieser „Höllen-Kreaturen“ zu sehen. Sie fordern etwa „Verhandeln statt Schießen!“ und setzen sich für „Waffenstillstand und Friedensverhandlungen“ ein:

05.07.2023 - 17:04 [ Chris Hedges / Zerohedge ]

Chris Hedges: They Lied About Afghanistan. They Lied About Iraq. And They Are Lying About Ukraine.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine was a war crime, although one that was provoked by NATO expansion and by the United States backing of the 2014 “Maidan” coup which ousted the democratically elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych wanted economic integration with the European Union, but not at the expense of economic and political ties with Russia. The war will only be solved through negotiations that allow ethnic Russians in Ukraine to have autonomy and Moscow’s protection, as well as Ukrainian neutrality, which means the country cannot join NATO. The longer these negotiations are delayed the more Ukrainians will suffer and die. Their cities and infrastructure will continue to be pounded into rubble.

08.06.2023 - 01:27 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

08.06.2023 - 01:00 [ Nachdenkseiten ]

Urteil wegen „Billigung des russischen Angriffskriegs“: Vorsicht – eine falsche Meinung kann jetzt kriminell sein

Das Kölner Amtsgericht hat eine 48 Jahre alte Frau wegen „Billigung des russischen Angriffskriegs auf die Ukraine“ schuldig gesprochen, wie Medien berichten. Die Richterin verurteilte die Frau am Dienstag zu einer Geldstrafe von 30 Tagessätzen zu je 30 Euro. Nach Überzeugung des Gerichts hatte die Ukrainerin am 8. Mai 2022 „bei einer pro-russischen Demonstration“ in Köln den Krieg „für andere wahrnehmbar gutgeheißen und befürwortet“, wie es in der Urteilsbegründung hieß.

Laut Medienberichten hatte die Frau in einem Fernseh-Interview, das in der Verhandlung in Augenschein genommen wurde, gesagt: „Russland ist kein Aggressor“. Zudem habe sie gesagt, das Vorgehen Russlands sei „alternativlos“. Das Gericht war überzeugt, dass die Äußerungen der Frau geeignet seien, „den öffentlichen Frieden zu stören“.

07.06.2023 - 08:49 [ New York Times ]

Commando Network Coordinates Flow of Weapons in Ukraine, Officials Say

(June 25, 2022)

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the Army’s 10th Special Forces Group, which before the war had been training Ukrainian commandos at a base in the country’s west, quietly established a coalition planning cell in Germany to coordinate military assistance to Ukrainian commandos and other Ukrainian troops. The cell has now grown to 20 nations.

07.06.2023 - 08:42 [ Military Watch Magazine ]

The CIA and NATO’s ‘Stealth Network’ in Ukraine: American Boots on the Ground Coordinating a Proxy War Against Russia

(June 28th 2022)

The extent of Western material support was perhaps best symbolised by Ukrainian special forces operating in the contested Donbas regions, which the Times highlighted had American flag patches on their equipment and carried new Western-supplied portable surface to air missiles and both Belgian and American assault rifles. Efforts on the ground in Ukraine were supplemented by considerable support provided to Ukrainian personnel in NATO member states themselves, an example being training for Ukrainian commandos in Germany provided by the U.S. Army’s 10th Special Forces Group. At Ramstein Air Base in Germany, U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard personnel simultaneously trained the Ukrainian Air Force.

06.06.2023 - 09:30 [ theGuardian.com ]

David Petraeus‘ bright idea: give terrorists weapons to beat terrorists

(2.9.2015)

Former CIA director David Petraeus is advocating giving arms to members of al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaida off-shoot, to beat Isis. That is madness

25.04.2023 - 16:09 [ ABC News ]

Obama: ‚This War, Like All Wars, Must End‘

(23. Mai 2013)

Now, the speech:

The president who dramatically expanded the CIA secret drone war, ordered a troop surge in Afghanistan and aggressively prosecuted leakers made a forceful defense of his actions and an even more forceful case for winding down the war on terrorism.

The key line: „This war, like all wars, must end. That‘s what history advises. That‘s what our democracy demands.“

06.04.2023 - 05:02 [ Robert F. Kennedy Jr / Nitter ]

The collapse of U.S. influence over Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom’s new alliances with China and Iran are painful emblems of the abject failure of the Neocon strategy of maintaining U.S. global hegemony with aggressive projections of military power.

(04.04.2023)

China has displaced the American Empire by deftly projecting, instead, economic power. Over the past decade, our country has spent trillions bombing roads, ports, bridges, and airports. China spent the equivalent building the same across the developing world. The Ukraine war is the final collapse of the Neocon‘s short-lived “American Century.” The Neocon projects in Iraq and Ukraine have cost $8.1 trillion, hollowed out our middle class, made a laughingstock of U.S. military power and moral authority, pushed China and Russia into an invincible alliance, destroyed the dollar as the global currency, cost millions of lives and done nothing to advance democracy or win friendships or influence.

01.04.2023 - 22:22 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

12.02.2023 - 11:29 [ Daniel Neun / Radio Utopie ]

Tornados, Afghanistan: Ist Deutschland eine NATO-Kolonie?

(8. Februar 2007)

Das erbärmliche, historisch in so manche Rolle einordbare Spiel von “Gewerkschaften” und der sogenannten “Linkspartei” ist, nichts zu tun, einfach nichts – nur weiter an der Weltwirtschaftsordnung zu partizipieren. Sich wie Lafontaine für´s Interview zum drohenden Tornadoeinsatz vor ein Plakat zu stellen, auf dem der wahrhaft umgemünzte Spruch “Vernunft ist das Einzige, was zählt” steht, zeigt, was die “Linkspartei” schon immer war – eine Polizeistaatspartei. Dazu passen auch die Folter-Wünsche Lafontaines und seine Sprüche von den “Fremdarbeitern”. Mit solchen reaktionären, hinterwäldlerischen Xenophobikern hält man eine Republik weder im Frieden, noch im Spielfeld des Grundgesetzes.

24.11.2022 - 10:51 [ Meta - fb.com ]

Meta’s Adversarial Threat Report, Third Quarter 2022

This quarterly threat report includes our findings about three networks we took down in the United States, China and Russia. The latter two we originally reported on September 27, 2022.

The US network — linked to individuals associated with the US military — operated across many internet services and focused on Afghanistan, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

24.11.2022 - 10:41 [ theHill.com ]

Meta links phony accounts to people ‘associated with the US military’

It marks a rare instance of the Silicon Valley-based company tying an influence campaign to the U.S. rather than a foreign nation.

Meta said that the people behind the operation “attempted to conceal their identities,” but the company’s investigation “found links to individuals associated with the US military.”

22.11.2022 - 15:10 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

18.11.2022 - 12:02 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

07.11.2022 - 06:07 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

06.10.2022 - 15:42 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

03.10.2022 - 16:16 [ Radio Utopie ]

McChrystal raus, Petraeus degradiert: Die “Warlord AG” Afghanistan bekommt einen neuen Geschäftsführer

(23.06.2010)

Der Präsident der Republik USA, Barack Obama, zitiert seinen Afghanistan-Kommandeur Stanley McChrystal erst nach Washington, um ihn dort zu feuern. Angeblich geht es um harsche Worte gegen die zivile Regierung im „Rolling Stone“. Am gleichen Tag erscheint ein Bericht des Kongress-Unterausschusses für Nationale Sicherheit und Auswärtige Angelegenheiten, welcher unter der Überschrift „Die Warlord AG“ minutiös belegt, dass die Militärs des von den USA angeführten Nordatlantikpaktes jeden einzelnen Versorgungstransport in ihre Besatzungszone von Kriegsfürsten bewachen lassen, Milizen finanzieren und dass diese Gelder eine „signifikante potentielle Quelle für die Finanzierung der Taliban“ darstellen.

Dann stellt sich der Präsident in die mittwöchentliche Abendsonne – sein Generalstabschef Michael Mullen darf am Rande stehen – und verkündet die Degradierung seines bisherigen Militärdiktators David Petraeus vom Chef des Zentralkommandos zum Nachfolger seines bisherigen Untergebenen McChrystals in Afghanistan.

28.09.2022 - 06:58 [ ORF.at ]

Taliban unterzeichnen Handelsabkommen mit Russland

Russland solle nun jährlich etwa eine Million Tonnen Benzin, eine Million Tonnen Diesel, 500.000 Tonnen Flüssiggas (LPG) und zwei Millionen Tonnen Weizen an Afghanistan liefern.

11.09.2022 - 19:40 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

28.08.2022 - 14:44 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

07.08.2022 - 06:22 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

02.08.2022 - 15:04 [ ndtv.com ]

A Kabul Safe House – How CIA Identified, Killed Al Qaeda Chief Zawahiri

Zawahiri had been in hiding for years and the operation to locate and kill him was the result of „careful patient and persistent“ work by the counter-terrorism and intelligence community, a senior administration official told reporters.

Until the US announcement, Zawahiri had been rumored variously to be in Pakistan‘s tribal area or inside Afghanistan.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official provided the following details on the operation:

20.07.2022 - 15:42 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

20.07.2022 - 15:36 [ taz ]

Russlands Angriffskrieg: Gibt der Westen auf?

Innerhalb von Staaten wurden das Böse und die Gewalt in der Geschichte der Zivilisation über Kriege, Leichenberge und Verwüstungen hinweg allein durch die Herrschaft der Gesetze und ein staatliches Gewaltmonopol tabuisiert und eingedämmt. Nach außen gibt es zwar das Völkerrecht, das den friedlichen Umgang aller Staaten miteinander regeln soll. Aber genau besehen gibt es das Völkerrecht nur, weil die freiheitlichen Demokratien hochgerüstete Armeen unterhalten. Sie signalisieren damit, dass sie bereit sind im Falle überzogener Bedrohungen für die eigene Sicherheit in den Krieg zu ziehen.

22.06.2022 - 15:43 [ ORF.at ]

Mehr als 1.000 Tote: „Großes Grauen“ nach Beben in Afghanistan

„Wir rufen die Hilfsorganisationen auf, den Opfern des Erdbebens sofortige Hilfe zu leisten, um eine humanitäre Katastrophe zu verhindern“, so der Kabuler Regierungssprecher Bilal Karimi am Mittwoch auf Twitter. Nach Angaben des Europäischen Zentrums für Erdbebenforschung im Mittelmeerraum (EMSC) waren die Erschütterungen in mehr als 500 Kilometer Entfernung in Afghanistan, Pakistan und Indien zu spüren.

16.05.2022 - 19:38 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

25.04.2022 - 12:54 [ Nachdenkseiten ]

US-Verteidigungsminister lädt nach Ramstein ein – und keiner fragt, wo da unsere Souveränität bleibt

Der Umgang mit solchen Vorgängen, der Umgang mit der Begrenzung und Beschädigung unserer Souveränität ist in den letzten 30 Jahren nicht besser, sondern schlechter geworden.

20.04.2022 - 20:57 [ Zarah Sultana MP / Twitter ]

Julian Assange exposed US crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. That‘s why the US wants to punish him and send a message to all journalists: Expose the truth and you‘ll be made to regret it. Priti Patel must stand-up for freedom of speech and refuse his extradition.

17.04.2022 - 22:29 [ Hindustan Times ]

Over 40 civilians including children killed in Pakistan airstrikes in Afghanistan

Over 40 Afghan civilians, including children, were killed after Pakistani aircraft launched airstrikes in different parts of Khost and Kunar provinces on Friday night, according to Habib Khan, a journalist and the founder of Afghan peace watch, Afghanistan‘s independent peace watchdog.

17.04.2022 - 21:30 [ ORF.at ]

Afghanistan meldet fast 50 Tote durch pakistanische Luftangriffe

Durch pakistanische Luftangriffe sind in Afghanistan nach Angaben der Behörden fast 50 Menschen getötet worden, die meisten von ihnen Frauen und Kinder. Wie ein Behördenvertreter heute der Nachrichtenagentur AFP sagte, wurden in der Provinz Khost im Osten des Landes bei den Angriffen am Vortag 41 Zivilisten getötet und mehr als 20 weitere verletzt. Aus der ebenfalls im Osten Afghanistans gelegenen Provinz Kunar wurden sechs Todesopfer gemeldet.

11.04.2022 - 11:03 [ Nicolas J.S. Davies / Mintpress.com ]

Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen: Calculating the Millions-High Death Toll of America’s Post-9/11 Wars

(26.4.2018)

As Barbara Lee presciently warned her colleagues before she cast her lone dissenting vote in 2001, we have “become the evil we deplore.” But these wars have not been accompanied by fearsome military parades (not yet) or speeches about conquering the world. Instead they have been politically justified by “information warfare” to demonize enemies and fabricate crises, and then waged in a “disguised, quiet, media free” way, to hide their cost in human blood from the American public and the world.

After 16 years of war, about 6 million violent deaths, 6 countries utterly destroyed and many more destabilized, it is urgent that the American public come to terms with the true human cost of our country’s wars and how we have been manipulated and misled into turning a blind eye to them – before they go on even longer, destroy more countries, further undermine the rule of international law and kill millions more of our fellow human beings.

30.03.2022 - 16:45 [ GlobalTimes.cn ]

Russian, US officials to attend meeting in China on Afghan situation, amid China’s efforts to mediate heated issues

While the third Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan‘s Neighboring Countries is scheduled in China‘s Anhui Province on Wednesday and Thursday, China will also host a Troika Plus meeting there with Russia, the US and Pakistan over the Afghan situation. Observers said that against the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis, the upcoming meetings on Afghanistan will help congregate the stake-holding parties to help Afghanistan despite their grudges, which showcases China‘s efforts to promote regional stability and its capability to mediate heated issues.

30.03.2022 - 16:32 [ Radio China International ]

Wang Yi trifft Außenminister Russlands und Pakistans

Zur Ukraine-Frage sagte Wang, diese Frage habe eine komplexe Geschichte und sei sowohl das Ergebnis eines langjährigen europäischen Sicherheitskonflikts als auch das Ergebnis einer Mentalität des Kalten Krieges und der Konfrontation zwischen den Blöcken. In der gegenwärtigen Situation unterstütze China Russland und die Ukraine dabei, die Friedensgespräche fortzusetzen, unterstütze die bisher erzielten positiven Verhandlungsergebnissen, die schnelle Abkühlung der Lage vor Ort sowie die Bemühungen Russlands und aller Parteien, eine humanitäre Krise größeren Ausmaßes zu verhindern.

17.01.2022 - 06:00 [ Radio Utopie ]

Gelder für illegales Spionage-Netzwerk von US-Militär abgezweigt

(15. March 2010)

Bergdahl war im Juni 2009 in Afghanistan verschwunden und tauchte dann in recht mittelmässigen psychologischen Operationen der „Taliban“ als Geiseldarsteller in Videos auf. Immer wieder wurde in den Videos die jahrelang verschwundene Wissenschaftlierin Aafia Siddiqui erwähnt und in Zusammenhang gebracht. Siddiqui, eine in den USA ausgebildete Wissenschaftlerin, war mit ihren Kindern im März 2003 in Pakistan verschleppt worden und tauchte erst am 18.Juli 2008 mit einer Schusswunde im US-Stützpunkt Bagram wieder auf. Bagram enthält ein berüchtigtes Geheimgefängnis für „Verdächtige“. Angeblich war die Frau am 17.Juni auf der Strasse durch afghanische Polizei verhaftet worden, hatte einen Tag später US-Soldaten überwältigt, ihnen die Waffe entrissen und auf sie geschossen ohne sie zu treffen. Daraufhin sei sie selbst durch US-Kugeln schwer verletzt worden, etc.

Mittlerweile ist Aafia Siddiqui in New York zu 60 Jahren Haft verurteilt worden – aber nicht wegen irgendwelcher terroristischer Aktivitäten, wegen denen sie jahrelang offensichtlich in Geheimgefängnissen verschwand, sondern wegen „versuchten Mordes“ an den Soldaten die sie fast erschossen; und dies obwohl ein FBI-Beamter ausgesagt hatte, dass die auf der Tatwaffe gefundenen Fingerabdrücke nicht von ihr stammten. Der Fall Siddiqui hat weltweit grosse Empröung ausgelöst, besonders in Pakistan. Millionen verlangen die Freilassung der Wissenschaftlerin und Heimkehr nach Pakistan.

04.11.2021 - 20:04 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Merkel und die Geheimdienste: Auf Sicherheitsabstand

Merkel und die Geheimdienste – welches Verhältnis pflegte die Kanzlerin in ihrer Amtszeit zu den Spionen? Ein Nicht-Verhältnis, könnte man vermuten, so wie viele Kanzler zuvor auch. Die meisten von Merkels Vorgängern sollen keine besonders enge Beziehung zum BND oder dem Verfassungsschutz gehabt haben. Sie sollen eher auf Sicherheitsabstand gegangen sein. Nur allzu verständlich, denn die Dienste haben nun einmal ein gewisses Skandalpotenzial.

27.10.2021 - 07:32 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Evaluierung der Hilfsprojekte: Irritationen bei Afghanistan-Aufarbeitung

Im Sondierungspapier einer möglichen künftigen Regierungskoalition von SPD, Grünen und FDP ist bereits festgehalten: Ein Parlamentarischer Untersuchungsausschuss soll im Bundestag die Geschehnisse rund um die militärische Evakuierung in Kabul durchleuchten. Und eine sogenannte Enquete-Kommission soll ergänzend die deutsche Afghanistan-Politik unter die Lupe nehmen. Braucht es da, zusätzlich, noch eine teure Ausschreibung?

21.10.2021 - 06:26 [ Al Jazeera ]

Regional powers back aid for Afghanistan as Russia hosts Taliban

On Wednesday, Russia, China, Pakistan, India, Iran and formerly Soviet Central Asian states Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan joined the Taliban in calling for the UN to convene such a conference as soon as possible to help rebuild the country.

29.09.2021 - 08:57 [ Zachary Cohen, National security reporter @CNN / Twitter ]

Gen. McKenzie again says he is responsible for drone strike that killed 10 civilians but seems to defend decision to fire, citing similar intel for other successful strikes. Still a lot of questions about what transpired before strike, including civilian casualty estimates.

It happened in my area of responsibility, so I‘m the responsible officer for that strike,” McKenzie said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

McKenzie said he was under “no pressure” and “no one in my chain of command below me was under any pressure to take that strike.”

29.09.2021 - 08:53 [ theHill.com ]

Five takeaways from the Senate‘s hearing on Afghanistan

Austin said military officials had discussed “a range of possibilities,” but no one planned for the possibility the Afghan government would collapse as quickly as it did.

“We certainly did not plan against a collapse of the government in 11 days,” Austin told lawmakers in response to a lawmaker question.

28.09.2021 - 20:13 [ C-SPAN / Youtube ]

Secretary of Defense & Joint Chiefs Chair and Others Testify on Afghanistan Withdrawal

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs Chair General Mark Milley, and General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, testify on the Afghanistan withdrawal.

16.09.2021 - 20:25 [ Xinhuanet ]

U.S.‘ crimes in Afghanistan must be thoroughly investigated: Chinese diplomat

Although the U.S. has ended its military presence in Afghanistan, its alleged crimes of killing civilians by the U.S. troops and its allies must be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators must be held accountable, a Chinese diplomat said in Geneva on Tuesday.

15.09.2021 - 00:00 [ Dave DeCamp / Antiwar.com ]

Blinken Pledges New Aid for Afghanistan, But Afghan Funds in the US are Still Frozen

“This aid will not flow through the government,” he said.

09.09.2021 - 05:20 [ Bloomberg Law ]

To End a War, Start at the Beginning

(27.08.2021)

The seemingly chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years is the result not of poor last-minute planning but of the broad and vague mandate in the original authorization for the use of military force in 2001, argues Karen J. Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at the Fordham University School of Law. The U.S. must learn the lessons of this AUMF before passing any new authorizations, she says.

09.09.2021 - 05:15 [ businessinsider.com ]

The only congressperson to vote against a forever war days after 9/11 is still fighting to convince Congress to finally do its job

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) speaks during the „No War With Iran“ Rally for Moveon.org at the U.S. Capitol on January 9, 2020 in Washington, DC.

This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers.

09.09.2021 - 05:06 [ theHil.com ]

Who authorized Afghanistan in the first place?

(31.05.2021)

When Congress passed the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), they went far beyond initiating war in Afghanistan against Al Qaeda. Congress gave near limitless and indefinite authorization for the executive branch to wage war against anyone, anywhere in the world. This broad grant of war-making power was counterproductive to the mission of justice for the 9/11 attacks, setting the stage for 20 years of mission creep in Afghanistan and multiple sequels.

04.09.2021 - 18:48 [ France24 ]

Taliban celebratory gunfire turns deadly, Pakistan’s spy chief arrives in Afghanistan

Amid reports of intense fighting in the Panjshir, Pakistan‘s powerful intelligence chief made a surprise visit to Kabul on Saturday.

Hameed arrived in Kabul Saturday morning, leading a delegation of „senior Pakistani officials“, to discuss security, economic and trade issues, according to Pakistani media reports.

03.09.2021 - 12:21 [ theDrive.com ]

The Story Of The Mysterious White 727 That Appeared In Kabul After The Bombing Of Abbey Gate

While all-white airframes aren‘t supposed to attract much attention, that paint scheme is also synonymous with clandestine operations, including „whitewashed“ aircraft often used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) for low-profile operations abroad. With that reality in mind, keen observers keeping an eye on traffic at Hamid Karzai International rightfully started thinking this may be some CIA asset that was slipping in on a unique mission. It turns out, that wasn‘t necessarily the case.

02.09.2021 - 10:50 [ CBS News / Twitter ]

The Pentagon has announced an investigation into the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan. @CBS_Herridge explains how the probe will look into the judgment calls made as the Taliban gained momentum ahead of the military‘s exit:

02.09.2021 - 09:29 [ ORF.at ]

Pentagon-Chef: Afghanistan-Abzug soll evaluiert werden

US-Verteidigungsminister Lloyd Austin will die Abläufe beim Truppenabzug aus Afghanistan evaluieren – aber ohne Eile. „Keine Operation ist je perfekt“, sagte Austin gestern in Washington auf die Frage, ob das US-Militär im Rückblick etwas hätte anders machen sollen.

01.09.2021 - 09:43 [ White House ]

Remarks by President Biden on the End of the War in Afghanistan

My fellow Americans, the war in Afghanistan is now over. I’m the fourth President who has faced the issue of whether and when to end this war. When I was running for President, I made a commitment to the American people that I would end this war. And today, I’ve honored that commitment. It was time to be honest with the American people again. We no longer had a clear purpose in an open-ended mission in Afghanistan.

After 20 years of war in Afghanistan, I refused to send another generation of America’s sons and daughters to fight a war that should have ended long ago.

After more than $2 trillion spent in Afghanistan — a cost that researchers at Brown University estimated would be over $300 million a day for 20 years in Afghanistan — for two decades — yes, the American people should hear this: $300 million a day for two decades.

01.09.2021 - 09:34 [ USA Today ]

My fellow Americans, the war is over

After the last flight carrying United States forces departed Afghanistan on Monday, the country entered a new era as the 20-year war with the U.S. came to a close. In an address to the nation on Tuesday, a defiant President Biden defended both his decision to end military operations and his handling of the evacuation that left some Americans behind. „I was not going to extend this forever war and I was not extending a forever exit,“ Biden said. „My fellow Americans, the war in Afghanistan is now over.“

31.08.2021 - 15:48 [ Informationsstelle Militarisierung e.V. ]

Afghanistan: Inszenierung militärischer Evakuierung

Die Inszenierung erreichte ihren Höhepunkt mit der Ankunft eines Großteils des Deutschen Kontingents der „Evakuierungsmission“ auf dem Fliegerhorst Wunstorf, wo die ankommenden Militärtransporter A400M von Wasserfontänen der Flughafenfeuerwehr begrüßt wurden, die Verteidigungsministerin Kramp-Karrenbauer (die bereits von Taschkent aus mitgeflogen war) dem Brigadegeneral Arlt vermeintlich spontan um den Hals fiel und dieser mit umgehängten G36 vor Kameras und Mikrofon trat.

31.08.2021 - 11:04 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Deutschlands Rolle in der Welt: Mehr Anspruch als Wirklichkeit

Der Afghanistan-Einsatz und sein Ende haben erneut die militärische Abhängigkeit Deutschlands und Europas von den USA aufgezeigt. Mit dem selbsterklärten Anspruch hat die Wirklichkeit wenig zu tun.

31.08.2021 - 10:59 [ White House ]

Statement by President Joe Biden

I want to thank our commanders and the men and women serving under them for their execution of the dangerous retrograde from Afghanistan as scheduled – in the early morning hours of August 31, Kabul time – with no further loss of American lives. The past 17 days have seen our troops execute the largest airlift in US history, evacuating over 120,000 US citizens, citizens of our allies, and Afghan allies of the United States. They have done it with unmatched courage, professionalism, and resolve. Now, our 20-year military presence in Afghanistan has ended.

31.08.2021 - 07:28 [ Washington Post ]

America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan ends as last U.S. military cargo plane lumbers into the sky over Kabul

The United States ended its longest war in history, and its 20-year presence in Afghanistan, as the last U.S. aircraft took off at one minute before midnight from Kabul airport Monday carrying all remaining American troops and diplomats.

30.08.2021 - 10:23 [ ORF.at ]

Lage in Afghanistan: USA laden zu Außenministergipfel

Das US-Außenministerium hat angesichts der Lage in Afghanistan für heute zu einem virtuellen Außenministergipfel eingeladen.

Die USA werden Gastgeber des Treffens „wichtiger Partner“ sein, darunter Deutschland, Frankreich, Großbritannien sowie EU und NATO, wie das Außenministerium in der Nacht auf heute mitteilte.

30.08.2021 - 10:12 [ ABC News ]

Biden tells Israeli PM he‘ll try diplomacy first with Iran

(28.08.2021)

“We‘re putting diplomacy first and seeing where that takes us,” Biden said during an Oval Office meeting that was delayed by the suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan. “But if diplomacy fails, we‘re ready to turn to other options.”

Bennett arrived at the White House aiming to dissuade Biden from returning to the Iran nuclear deal that was brokered during the Obama administration and later scrapped by President Donald Trump.

30.08.2021 - 09:45 [ Reuters Pictures ]

Civilian evacuees and military personnel begin the final flights out of Kabul airport, ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline for the U.S. military to leave Afghanistan. More photos:

30.08.2021 - 09:30 [ Al Jazeera ]

Afghanistan: Children among civilians killed in US drone attack

The United States’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said it was aware of “reports of civilian casualties” following the drone attack, which it said hit “multiple suicide bombers” who were preparing to attack the ongoing evacuations at the Kabul airport.

29.08.2021 - 19:04 [ Al Jazeera ]

Erdogan says Turkey to maintain diplomatic presence in Kabul

The Turkish embassy in Kabul has returned to its building in the city and Ankara will maintain its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

NATO countries have been pulling out their diplomatic missions in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s victory two weeks ago.

29.08.2021 - 18:34 [ The Hill ]

Biden to mourn service members killed in Kabul bombing at dignified transfer

The president and the first lady left early Sunday for Dover Air Force Base, where they will meet with the families and participate in a dignified transfer.

29.08.2021 - 18:09 [ Tagesschau ]

Kabul: US-Militär fliegt Luftangriff gegen IS

Das US-Militär hat nach eigenen Angaben in der afghanischen Hauptstadt Kabul einen Luftangriff durchgeführt, um eine „unmittelbare Bedrohung“ für den Flughafenbetrieb durch Terroristen abzuwenden.

29.08.2021 - 03:09 [ ZDF ]

Bundeswehrsoldaten zurück in Deutschland

Verteidigungsministerin Kramp-Karrenbauer hat die aus Afghanistan heimgekehrten Einsatzkräfte der Bundeswehr am Luftwaffenstützpunkt Wunstorf empfangen.

28.08.2021 - 08:43 [ Tagesschau.de ]

Nach Anschlag in Kabul: US-Drohnenangriff gegen den IS

Luftaufnahme des US-Verteidigungsministeriums | picture alliance/dpa
Nach Anschlag in Kabul US-Drohnenangriff gegen den IS

Stand: 28.08.2021 04:30 Uhr

Die Antwort der USA kam schnell: Als Reaktion auf den Anschlag am Flughafen von Kabul hat die US-Armee einen Drohnenangriff auf einen mutmaßlich Beteiligten der Terrormiliz IS geflogen.

28.08.2021 - 08:32 [ theHill.com ]

US conducts military strike against ISIS-K planner

Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said in a statement that military forces conducted an “over-the-horizon counterterrorism operation today against an ISIS-K planner” in the Nangahar Province of Afghanistan.

ISIS-K is based in the Nagarhar and Kunar provinces east of Kabul, according to NBC News.

27.08.2021 - 17:41 [ Glenn Greenwald / Rumble ]

Permanent War Advocates Exploit the Kabul Bombing to Demand More War

Glenn Greenwald analyzes the reactions to the horrific terror attack in Kabul this morning, and debunks the propagandistic talking points used by Deep State operatives and their media allies to push the US into indefinite war.

27.08.2021 - 17:29 [ The Lead CNN / Twitter ]

Amb. Ryan Crocker, former US ambassador to Afghanistan: “That‘s one way to end a war: surrender. It‘s real quick, but the war is yet to come. This whole withdrawal announcement and process has been an enormous morale boost for Islamic radicals everywhere.”

27.08.2021 - 17:12 [ Elijah J. Magnier, Veteran War correspondent Lived for over 35 yrs in Bosnia, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, Sudan . / Twitter ]

The #Taliban are not angels. However, be aware of suicide attacks, assassinations et al because the „Islamic State“ #ISIS and the CIA are the two sides who benefit the most in destabilising #Afghanistan. /+

(25.08.2021)

27.08.2021 - 17:04 [ Matt Taibbi / Twitter ]

Chait overlooks that the negative press for Biden this week is passing through the same loophole that allowed Trump to be praised by CNN when he bombed Syria – the overriding constant in American corporate media is fealty to the Pentagon.

27.08.2021 - 17:00 [ Lucas Tomlinson / Twitter ]

“We’re probably going to have to go back in” to Afghanistan to get ISIS, former defense secretary and CIA director Leon Panetta tells CNN

27.08.2021 - 16:51 [ The Post Millennial / Twitter ]

Glenn Greenwald @ggreenwald weighs in on the media’s response to the Afghanistan withdrawal: “That is the political party to which the media is most loyal when it comes to foreign affairs … it’s the military, and the CIA.”

27.08.2021 - 04:24 [ White House ]

Remarks by President Biden on the Terror Attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport

Q And you said that you still — a few days ago, you said you squarely stand by your decision to pull out.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I do. Because look at it this way, folks — and I’m going to — I have another meeting, for real. But imagine where we’d be if I had indicated, on May the 1st, I was not going to renegotiate an evacuation date; we were going to stay there.

I’d have only one alternative: Pour thousands of more troops back into Afghanistan to fight a war that we had already won, relative — is why the reason we went in the first place.

I have never been of the view that we should be sacrificing American lives to try to establish a democratic government in Afghanistan — a country that has never once in its entire history been a united country, and is made up — and I don’t mean this in a derogatory — made up of different tribes who have never, ever, ever gotten along with one another.

And so, as I said before — and this is the last comment I’ll make, but we’ll have more chance to talk about this, unfortunately, beyond, because we’re not out yet — if Osama bin Laden, as well as al Qaeda, had chosen to launch an attack — when they left Saudi Arabia — out of Yemen, would we have ever gone to Afghanistan? Even though the Taliban completely controlled Afghanistan at the time, would we have ever gone?

I know it’s not fair to ask you questions. It’s rhetorical. But raise your hand if you think we should have gone and given up thousands of lives and tens of thousands of wounded.

Our interest in going was to prevent al Qaeda from reemerging — first to get bin Laden, wipe out al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and prevent that from happening again.

As I’ve said 100 times: Terrorism has metastasized around the world; we have greater threats coming out of other countries a heck of a lot closer to the United States.

We don’t have military encampments there; we don’t keep people there. We have over-the-horizon capability to keep them from going after us.

Ladies and gentlemen, it was time to end a 20-year war.

27.08.2021 - 04:12 [ Fox News ]

Biden warns ISIS-K after Kabul terror attacks, but sticks to Aug. 31 Afghanistan withdrawal deadline

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pressuring Biden not to withdraw until evacuations were complete

25.08.2021 - 17:44 [ MDR ]

Bundestag stimmt Evakuierungsmission der Bundeswehr in Kabul zu

In einer Sondersitzung stimmten 539 Abgeordnete für den Einsatz von bis zu 600 Bundeswehrsoldaten. Neun Abgeordnete stimmten dagegen, 90 enthielten sich. Das Mandat ist bis zum 30. September befristet.

25.08.2021 - 11:35 [ Tagesschau.de ]

ARD-Korrespondentin: Ende der Evakuierungsflüge möglicherweise schon heute

Nach Informationen der ARD-Korrespondentin Isabel Schayani sollen die Evakuierungsflüge der Bundeswehr auf der Strecke Taschkent-Kabul-Taschkent wohl noch früher als gedacht beendet werden – nämlich möglicherweise schon heute. Zuvor hatte die ARD Informationen erhalten, dass die Mission am Freitag oder Samstag beendet werden sollte.

25.08.2021 - 11:25 [ Matthias Gebauer, Chief Correspondent Der Spiegel / Twitter ]

Update zur EvakOP #Bundeswehr: Nachdem USA die Deadline 31/8 bestätigt hat, wird das Ende der DEU Luftbrücke geplant. Da die Bw vor den USA #Kabul verlassen muss, wird bereits der kommende Freitag für den letzten A400M Flug angepeilt, um einen sicheren Abzug zu garantieren.