Tag: Afghanistan

In Symbolic End to War, US General Departs Afghanistan

KABUL —The U.S. general leading the war in Afghanistan, Austin Miller, relinquished command at a ceremony on Monday and quietly left the country, a symbolic end to America’s longest conflict while Taliban terrorists gain momentum. Miller, America’s last four-star commander to serve on the ground in Afghanistan, climbed aboard a helicopter and lifted off from…


All Australian Troops Now Withdrawn From Afghanistan

Australian Defence Minster Peter Dutton has confirmed that all of the nation’s defence troops have now been withdrawn from Afghanistan. Dutton said there had been 1,500 troops in the country, which was recently reduced to 80, and now they have all been withdrawn under the advice of the chief of defence, earlier than the original…


Australia Has ‘Moral Obligation’ to Assist Afghan Interpreters: Former PM

Former Prime Minister John Howard has spoken out on the need to fast-track visas for Afghan workers who assisted U.S. and allied forces during the Afghanistan War. He made the comments amid growing concerns that thousands of Afghans will face violent retaliation from the Taliban, who are now advancing across the war-torn country. “Where it…


Taliban Says It Controls Most of Afghanistan, Reassures Russia

MOSCOW—A Taliban delegation in Moscow said on Friday that the group controlled over 85 percent of territory in Afghanistan and reassured Russia it would not allow the country to be used as a platform to attack others. Foreign forces, including the United States, are withdrawing after almost 20 years of fighting, a move that has…


Biden Says US Will End War in Afghanistan by End of August

President Joe Biden on Thursday said the United States will complete the war in Afghanistan by Aug. 31 and said the military will continue to provide funding, equipment, and humanitarian aid to the war-torn country. “Most critically … Afghan leaders have to come together to drive towards a future that the Afghan people want and deserve,”…


UK Troops Leave Afghanistan but Support Stays: Johnson

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday that a “terrorist” threat remains in Afghanistan but said Britain is “not about to turn away.” He added that the UK would continue to work towards a negotiated settlement in the country and it would have to include the Taliban. Johnson confirmed that most British troops have…


Guard Duty After the Afghan Deluge

Commentary As the Biden administration withdraws U.S. combat forces from Afghanistan, the prevailing media headline declares, with panicked certainty, that America has failed and suffered a strategic defeat. All is lost out there. Trillions of taxpayer dollars were squandered. Our killed and wounded in action suffered in vain. Etcetera. That loser narrative ignores the historical…


Looters Ransack Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base After US Troops Leave

Dozens of looters ransacked the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan early on Friday in the hours between when U.S. troops left the premises covertly under cover of night and Afghan forces took control. Afghanistan’s district administrator for Bagram, Darwaish Raufi, told The Associated Press that the American departure was conducted overnight without specific coordination with…


US Military Withdrawal From Afghanistan More Than 90 Percent Complete

The U.S. military said on Tuesday that it completed approximately more than 90 percent of its withdrawal from Afghanistan. In a statement, U.S. Central Command said that United States had officially handed over seven facilities to the Afghan ministry of defense. The Pentagon said last Friday that a final withdrawal will be completed by the…


Russia Drills Attack Helicopters, Pledges Help to Secure Tajik-Afghan Border

MOSCOW—Russian military helicopters based in Tajikistan fired air-to-surface missiles during a training exercise on Tuesday as Moscow said its forces in the Central Asian nation were fully equipped to help secure the border with Afghanistan. Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon on Monday ordered the mobilization of 20,000 military reservists to bolster the border with Afghanistan after…