Joe Biden says US troops may remain in Afghanistan past 31 August as it continues to evacuate US citizens. Biden told ABC News: "If there’s American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out." The comments came after Biden denied the withdrawal of troops could have been handled better. Large crowds continue to arrive at Kabul's airport, creating a logistical hurdle as countries try to evacuate citizens. The US says it is unable to escort citizens to the airport but can continue to secure airstrip, enabling flights to take off
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‘There was never a good time’: was Biden’s Afghanistan speech fair or accurate?
Analysis: US president’s TV address blamed others for the Taliban takeover and tried to distance himself from past administrations
In a televised speech on Monday, Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan and his handling of a crisis that has seen the Taliban capture the country in a lightning offensive. Blaming Afghan politicians and the country’s security forces for the calamitous collapse, he also sought to distance himself from previous administrations. But how much of it was fair or even accurate?
Biden: We went to Afghanistan almost 20 years ago with clear goals: get those who attacked us on September 11, 2001, and make sure al-Qaida could not use Afghanistan as a base from which to attack us again. We did that. We severely degraded al-Qaida in Afghanistan. We never gave up the hunt for Osama bin Laden and we got him.
Continue reading...Swift Taliban takeover proves US and UK analysis badly wrong
Analysis: Joe Biden and Boris Johnson five weeks ago claimed Afghan government would not fall so easily
Joe Biden could not have been clearer: a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was “not inevitable”, the US president said on 8 July. Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, was equally confident – “there is no military path to victory for the Taliban” – he told MPs earlier that day, five weeks ago.
The president said he trusted “the capacity of the Afghan military”, who were better trained, better equipped and “more competent in terms of conducting war”. The prime minister agreed: “I do not believe that the Taliban are guaranteed the kind of victory that we sometimes read about.”
Continue reading...A tale of two armies: why Afghan forces proved no match for the Taliban
Poorly led and riddled with corruption, the Afghan army was overrun in a matter of weeks
The Taliban have 80,000 troops in comparison with a nominal 300,699 serving the Afghan government, yet the whole country has been effectively overrun in a matter of weeks as military commanders surrendered without a fight in a matter of hours.
It is a tale of two armies, one poorly equipped but highly motivated ideologically, and the other nominally well-equipped, but dependent on Nato support, poorly led and riddled with corruption.
Continue reading...What does the Taliban’s return mean for al-Qaida in Afghanistan?
UK defence secretary is worried that ‘al-Qaida will probably come back’ – but it is already there
As the Taliban prepare to rule Afghanistan after sweeping across the country in less than a week, an obvious question is what does this mean for the future of al-Qaida and other extremist Islamist groups committed to waging a global jihad.
There is no doubt that the astonishing rapidity of the Taliban’s victory will deliver a tremendous boost to Islamist extremists everywhere – whether al-Qaida, Islamic State, fighters in Mozambique or Syria, or jihadi fanboys in bedsits in Birmingham or Manila.
Continue reading...Biden in an impossible bind as Afghanistan blame game begins
The president has been condemned by Republicans as the Taliban advance – but the roots of the crisis date back years
The words of political leaders can come back to haunt them. “None whatsoever, zero,” Joe Biden said last month when asked if he saw any parallels between the US withdrawals from Vietnam and Afghanistan.
“The Taliban is not the North Vietnamese army. They’re not remotely comparable in terms of capability. There’s going to be no circumstance where you see people being lifted off the roof of the embassy of the United States from Afghanistan. It is not at all comparable.”
Continue reading...Taliban seize four more provincial capitals in Afghanistan
Insurgents’ seemingly unstoppable advance continues as they close in on Kabul
The Taliban’s seemingly unstoppable advance across Afghanistan continued on Friday, as insurgents took control of four more provincial capitals after their seizure on Thursday of Kandahar and Herat, the country’s second and third biggest cities.
With Afghan government forces in disarray, and amid reports that the country’s vice-president has fled, the Taliban are heading inexorably towards Kabul. They control more than two-thirds of the country, just as the US plans to pull out its last remaining troops.
Continue reading...UK and US send troops to aid evacuation from Afghanistan as Taliban advance
Pentagon aims to send in 3,000 soldiers to ‘aid reduction’ of nationals and Afghans with visas
The US and UK have scrambled reinforcements to Kabul to help evacuate their diplomats, soldiers and citizens as well as thousands of Afghans who have worked with them, as the Taliban advance towards the capital.
The Pentagon announced it would send three battalions, about 3,000 soldiers, to Kabul’s international airport within 24 to 48 hours of the announcement on Thursday. The defence department spokesman, John Kirby, said the reinforcements would help the “safe and orderly reduction” of US nationals and Afghans who worked with the Americans and consequently had been granted special immigrant visas.
Continue reading...Taliban take strategic Ghazni city as Afghan army chief is replaced
Insurgents capture city 95 miles south of Kabul, the 10th provincial capital to fall in less than a week
The Taliban have captured the strategic city of Ghazni, 95 miles (150km) south of Kabul, as they continued to tighten their grip on the Afghan capital and the country’s president replaced his army chief.
The insurgent group had control of the entire city on Thursday morning and had broken into a prison and released about 400 inmates, a senior local official confirmed to the Guardian.
Continue reading...FBI offer to release some Saudi files not enough, 9/11 families say
Victims’ families demand comprehensive declassification review of all documents, particularly into Saudi Arabia’s role in attacks
Families of 9/11 victims say an FBI offer to release some documents from its investigation into the attack has not gone far enough, and are demanding a comprehensive declassification review of all relevant material, particularly on Saudi Arabia’s role.
The FBI offer on Monday followed a call by some victims’ families and first responders for Joe Biden to stay away from ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary of the attack next month, if the president failed to honour a campaign pledge to lift the secrecy surrounding the multi-agency investigations.
Continue reading...Biden grants ‘safe haven’ to Hongkongers in US amid China crackdown
President signs memo allowing people from Hong Kong currently residing in US to live and work in country for 18 months
Joe Biden has granted temporary refuge to people from Hong Kong amid the Chinese government’s effort to crush the pro-democracy movement and tighten its control on a city once known for its freedom.
Related: Hong Kong singer and activist arrested over ‘corrupt conduct’
Continue reading...Resurgent Taliban escalates nationwide offensive in Afghanistan
Afghan forces defend western city of Herat and Lashkar Gah in south as Kandahar airport hit by rockets
The Taliban escalated its nationwide offensive in Afghanistan on Sunday, renewing assaults on three major cities and rocketing a major airport in the south amid warnings that the conflict was rapidly worsening.
As Afghan government forces struggled with a resurgent Taliban after the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces, hundreds of commandos were deployed to the economically important western city of Herat, while authorities in the southern city of Lashkar Gah called for more troops to rein in the assaults amid fierce fighting.
Continue reading...Biden’s political appointments for ambassador posts rile career diplomats
Progressives had hoped for fewer Biden allies, more foreign service professionals
Joe Biden is sticking to tradition as he slowly fills the vacancies in the ranks of ambassadors across the world, focussing on mixing longtime career diplomatic officials with figures with strong ties to himself and the Democratic party.
Among Biden’s expected picks is Caroline Kennedy, former US ambassador to Japan, daughter of the former president, and longtime Biden friend, ally and donor, to be ambassador to Australia. He has picked the Los Angeles mayor, Eric Garcetti, who was a prominent Biden surrogate on the presidential campaign trail, to be ambassador to India, despite a relative lack of foreign policy experience. And the president is also widely expected to name the former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel ambassador to Japan.
Continue reading...China’s talks with Taliban could be a positive thing, US says
Delegation from militants meets Chinese foreign minister as Beijing seeks to extend influence in Afghanistan
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said that Beijing’s interest in Afghanistan could be a “positive thing”, after China gave a warm and very public welcome to a senior Taliban delegation.
Nine officials from the militant group, which is eager for political recognition to bolster the impact of its military victories across much of Afghanistan, met China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, in the coastal city of Tianjin on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Biden and Kadhimi seal agreement to end US combat mission in Iraq
- President and PM meet at Oval Office and announce timetable
- After US troops leave Afghanistan, what will policy look like?
Joe Biden and the Iraqi prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, have sealed an agreement formally ending the US combat mission in Iraq by the end of 2021, more than 18 years after troops were sent to the country.
Coupled with Biden’s withdrawal of the last American forces in Afghanistan by the end of August, the Democratic president is completing US combat missions in the two wars that George W Bush began under his watch.
Continue reading...Biden races to unite allies against China knowing sooner or later an explosion will occur
US president is being much tougher than expected on Beijing, but a lack of solidarity will undermine his policy’s success
It’s generally accepted in Washington that once-buoyant hopes for the emergence of a free, democratic China, initially sparked by Richard Nixon’s groundbreaking 1972 visit, have sunk without trace. President Xi Jinping’s regime is now described as a “systemic rival”, “strategic competitor” or outright “threat”. The EU, Nato, the UK, and regional allies broadly agree: the era of engagement is over.
What’s lacking is agreement over what comes next. The hole where common policy and joint action should be gapes ever more dangerously amid almost daily collisions on multiple fronts with Xi’s aggressive, authoritarian one-party state. If it’s not about human rights abuses, cyberhacking, or trade, it’s Taiwan, visas, spying, maritime disputes, the Indian border, or alleged hostage-taking.
Continue reading...Low-key US-China meeting will address high tensions in relationship
Visit by deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman on Sunday follows reported standoff over diplomatic protocol
Amid escalating diplomatic tensions, the US deputy secretary of state, Wendy Sherman, will travel to China this Sunday to meet with senior Chinese diplomats in the highest-level visit since the US climate envoy John Kerry’s trip to Shanghai in April.
Sherman’s upcoming trip will not have the trappings of a fully fledged official visit. She will – according to a Chinese statement – “hold talks” with Xie Feng, a vice-minister in charge of the bilateral relations, and “meet” with Wang Yi, China’s state councilor and foreign minister.
Continue reading...US sanctions Cuban security chief and special forces over crackdown on protests
Biden moves to pressure government over alleged human rights abuses amid biggest demonstrations in decades
The US has imposed sanctions on a Cuban security minister and an interior ministry special forces unit for alleged human rights abuses in a crackdown on anti-government protests this month.
The move marked the first concrete steps by Joe Biden’s administration to apply pressure on Cuba’s Communist government as it faces calls from US lawmakers and the Cuban American community to show greater support for the biggest protests to hit the island in decades.
Continue reading...US condemns China for ‘malicious’ cyberattacks, including Microsoft hack
Justice department charged four Chinese nationals with hacking as Washington accused Beijing of threatening national security
The US has led allies in a sharp condemnation of China for “malicious” cyberattacks, including a hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software that compromised tens of thousands of computers around the world earlier this year.
Related: UK and allies accuse Chinese state-backed group of Microsoft hack
Continue reading...Joe Biden: six months on, cold, hard reality eclipses early euphoria
The president reset the tone from the Trump era and passed a huge Covid relief bill but other priorities have hit formidable political obstacles
Angela Merkel thrice called him “dear Joe”. He pledged unity in taking on “democratic backsliding, corruption, phony populism”. But he also warned: “If we don’t leave right now, we’re going to miss dinner” – one that included crispy sea bass, black pepper tagliatelle and kabocha squash.
Joe Biden’s meeting with German chancellor last week offered comfort food for anyone nostalgic for the old global order. But as Merkel leaves the stage after 16 years, certain of her legacy as a towering figure in European politics, Biden is still striving to make his mark.
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