Category: Middle East

Sen. Menendez Floats Subpoena for Biden’s Defense Secretary

A Democrat senator on Tuesday floated issuing a subpoena for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after the Biden administration official didn’t show up to a congressional hearing. Austin was absent for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in Washington, stoking criticism from the top Democrats and Republicans on the panel. “I’m very disappointed that Secretary Austin…


Top CIA Official: al-Qaeda Terrorists Returning to Afghanistan

A senior CIA official on Tuesday acknowledged that terrorist network al-Qaeda is starting to return to Afghanistan, just a few weeks after the U.S. military withdrew from the country. “We are already beginning to see some of the indications of some potential movement of al-Qaeda to Afghanistan,” David Cohen, deputy director of the CIA, said…


US Pledges $64 Million in Aid to Afghanistan, Promises to Respect Sanctions

The United States has promised to send about $64 million more in aid to Afghanistan, pledging to respect sanctions on the Taliban terrorist group that now controls the country. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of State are sending the aid through independent organizations like United Nations agencies and non-governmental…


Thousands Protest Against Taliban in Kandahar Over Evictions

Thousands of Afghans protested against the Taliban in the southern city of Kandahar on Tuesday, according to a former government official and local television footage, after residents were asked to vacate a residential army colony. Protesters gathered in front of the governor’s house in Kandahar after around 3,000 families were asked to leave the colony,…


Biden Admin Pulls Missile Defenses in Saudi Arabia: Photos

Satellite photos show that the United States has removed a significant number of its advanced missile defense systems and Patriot missile batteries from Saudi Arabia in recent days. Photos that were obtained and published by The Associated Press showed that the Prince Sultan Air Base previously had a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) unit,…


Countries Donate $1.2 Billion in Aid for Afghans, Smashing UN Appeal for $606 Million

The U.N. humanitarian chief on Sept. 13 announced that more than $1.2 billion dollars in humanitarian and development aid has been donated to assist Afghans facing a growing humanitarian crisis in the country since the Taliban takeover of Kabul and many other regions. The pledges, which were announced by undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths on Monday, by…


Countries Donate $1.2 Billion in Aid for Afghans, Eclipsing UN Appeal for $606 Million

The U.N. humanitarian chief on Sept. 13 announced that more than $1.2 billion dollars in humanitarian and development aid has been donated to assist Afghans facing a growing humanitarian crisis in the country since the Taliban takeover of Kabul and many other regions. The pledges, which were announced by undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths on Monday, by…


UN Official Slams Taliban Over Reprisal Killings

The U.N. human rights chief says her office has received credible allegations of reprisal killings against former Afghan security forces, and cases in which some former officials in the previous government and their relatives were arbitrarily detained—and later turned up dead. Michelle Bachelet, speaking Monday to the Human Rights Council, warned of a “new and…


Israeli Prime Minister Visits Egypt in First Official Trip for a Decade

CAIRO—Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday for talks on Israeli-Palestinian relations and bilateral ties in the first official trip by an Israeli head of government to Egypt for a decade. Bennett, who took office in June, was invited to visit by Sisi last month. Since May, Egypt has…


Analysis: As the West Ponders Aid for Afghanistan, China and Pakistan Are Quick to Provide Relief

ISLAMABAD—As international donors gather in Geneva on Monday to discuss humanitarian relief for Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban terrorist group, neighbors China and Pakistan have already reached out with aid and discussions of future assistance. The economy in the war-torn country is in crisis and a humanitarian crisis is looming, experts say. Yet…