Russia is ready to protect its ally Tajikistan in the event of any incursions from neighbouring Afghanistan, a senior diplomat was quoted on Friday as saying, amid Russian media reports of a militant Tajik group preparing a cross-border attack.
Tajiks are the second largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and make up a majority of the population in some northern areas close to the border with Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic.
According to Russian media reports, the predominantly ethnic Pashtun Taliban have struck an alliance with one particular Tajik militant group which may be planning an incursion into Tajikistan.
“All necessary assistance will be provided to Tajikistan if required, both within the (Moscow-led) Collective Security Treaty Organisation framework and bilaterally,” Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying.
Tag: Afghanistan
Taliban To Deploy Suicide Bombers At Afghanistan Borders: Report
NDTV:
“The defeat of the US would not be possible if not for this battalion. These brave men would wear explosive waistcoats and would detonate the US bases in Afghanistan. These are people with literally no fear who devote themselves for the consent of Allah,” said Ahmadi, according to Khaama Press.
The publication said that along with the Lashkar-e-Mansoori, Badri 313 is another battalion that is known as one of the most equipped and modern military groups that are deployed in Kabul International Airport.
See also: Pakistan Army Says Militants Kill 5 Troops Near Afghanistan
U.S. Military Concedes It’s Unready To Fight Terrorism From ‘Over The Horizon’
What is just as troublesome, experts say, is that U.S. Central Command—which will be saddled with the main counterterrorism task in Afghanistan—has had a mixed record at best over the last 20 years. Even when it had thousands of troops on the ground in Afghanistan, Centcom did a poor job of differentiating terrorists from innocents, according to civilian organizations that closely tracked those efforts, and often it did not even bother to investigate civilian deaths.
The forthcoming challenge in Afghanistan “is unlike anything we’ve seen in any other theater,” said Seth Jones, a counterterrorism expert and former U.S. defense official, who calls the Biden administration’s assertions about currently having over-the-horizon capability “fictitious.”
See also: US Plans To Keep Al-Qaeda In Check In Afghanistan With Air Strikes
Taliban, Tajikistan Embroiled In Battle Of Words, Saber-Rattling
Over a handful of days, representatives of the new regime in Afghanistan have made public statements condemning the Tajik government over what it has described as meddling in internal Afghan affairs.
The verbal barbs are in part a response to repeated demands from Dushanbe that a future Afghan government include more ethnic Tajiks in its ranks.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon doubled down on his criticism of the Taliban in an address to the UN General Assembly on September 23, warning that “various terrorist groups are actively using the unstable military-political situation in Afghanistan in order to strengthen their positions.”
As long as Tajikistan hosts the Afghan Republic’s government-in-exile, the Taliban will have a legitimate complaint about the government of Tajikistan meddling in Afghanistan.
The Pashtuns and the Tajiks are the first and second largest ethnicities in Afghanistan. The Afghan government holed up in Tajikistan is led by Acting President Amrullah Saleh, and military leader Ahmad Massoud. Both Saleh and Massoud are ethnic Tajiks. Their stated goal is to take Afghanistan back from the Taliban. The Taliban is essentially the Pashtun national guard. The Taliban will commit atrocities against the Tajiks, just to make a point. The government of Tajikistan understands who the Taliban are.
Neither side has a lot of room to give.
See also:
–Russia Urges Calm Between Ally Tajikistan, Afghanistan
–‘Useless’: Taliban Say Amrullah Saleh’s ‘Govt In Exile’ Won’t Be Able To Deceive World
Taliban Says U.S. Drones Must Stop Entering Afghanistan
“We call on all countries, especially United States, to treat Afghanistan in light of international rights, laws and commitments … in order to prevent any negative consequences.”
U.S. officials were not immediately available to comment.
We are just begging the Taliban to invite the Chinese in to set up an air defense grid. Good luck, India.
Pentagon Leaders Contradict Biden Over Troops In Afghanistan
Both Milley and McKenzie acknowledged that the agreement struck between the Trump administration and the Taliban in February 2020 had severely diminished the morale of the Afghan National Army, leading to wholesale defections during this year’s onslaught by the Taliban. McKenzie acknowledged that he had recommended maintaining 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, worried that a wholesale withdrawal would hasten the collapse of the Afghan military, remarks which were echoed by Milley. Austin later confirmed that their recommendations were received by President Joe Biden.
But Austin also said later that any residual U.S. troop presence after the Aug. 31 deadline could have led to renewed clashes with the Taliban. “Had we stayed past that date that was agreed early on, the Taliban would begin to attack our forces,” he said.
Afghanistan Probably Never Stood A Chance, Reports Show
On July 29, the Pentagon’s independent inspector general for Afghanistan told a group of reporters that with 20 years in and trillions dollars spent, Afghan security forces were not confident enough to do basic route clearance or checkpoint management.
Two weeks later, the Taliban had taken nearly all of Afghanistan and was preparing to launch its campaign into Kabul, the capital. Video would show Afghan forces laying down their weapons as the insurgents rolled into city after city, shocking many, but certainly not everyone.
“Probably.”
Collapse Of Afghan Security Forces Was Not Abrupt But Slow, Painful: Report
More than a month after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, a new report has revealed that the collapse of Afghan security forces was not abrupt. On the contrary, it was a “slow, painful breakdown” that began months before the fall of Kabul on August 15.
About 100 U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents Still Waiting To Leave Afghanistan -Official
The State Department was working to get those people on flights out of Afghanistan, said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.
“Our highest priority in Afghanistan, of course, remains helping those American citizens who wish to leave the country now to do so,” the official said.
Lawmakers Set To Grill Top Military Leaders On Afghanistan For First Time Since Troop Withdrawal
CNN:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley are set to testify publicly before Senate lawmakers Tuesday, marking the first time that top military officials will appear before Congress since the full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
Austin and Milley will be joined by the leader of US Central Command, Gen. Frank McKenzie, who played an integral role in facilitating the evacuation from Kabul — an effort that has been the focus of immense bipartisan criticism since the last American military aircraft departed the Afghan capital.
All three officials will undoubtedly face questions about the chaotic nature of the withdrawal, be pressed to explain the Biden administration’s plan for conducting counter-terrorism missions in the country going forward and be called upon to answer for the failures that led to a drone strike killing 10 civilians, including seven children, in Kabul during the final days of the evacuation.Milley may also be grilled about new reporting in “Peril,” a book by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, which details the military leader’s phone conversations to reassure a nervous Chinese general and his efforts to limit then-President Donald Trump from potentially ordering a dangerous military strike.
Milley’s actions, which were reported by CNN and others earlier this month ahead of the book’s release, spawned sharp criticism from Trump and his allies, including calls for Milley’s resignation and that he be tried for treason.
I want to know who first recommended that we botch the May 1 deadline, and wait until fighting season to start the withdrawal.
John Bolton Warns Taliban May Get Nuclear Weapons Amid Afghanistan Withdrawal
“The Taliban in control of Afghanistan threatens the possibility of terrorists taking control of Pakistan … that means maybe 150 nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists,” Bolton told John Catsimatidis in an interview on his WABC 770 radio show on Sunday.
“China, which already has a lot of influence in Pakistan, is going to increase its influence and put more pressure on India. This is a big development in that part of the world,” he continued.
The chickenhawks cannot let go of Afghanistan. They will not rest until our troops are bogged down there in yet another forever war.
See also: War In Afghanistan Isn’t Over — It’s Taking The Form Of Illegal Drone Strikes
How Afghanistan’s Security Forces Lost The War
By late July, the Taliban was closing in on nearly all the country’s provincial capitals. Afghan security forces that hadn’t been killed by the Taliban had deserted or repeatedly fled, steadily retreating from remote outposts into city centers.
Those who remained on the country’s front lines were some of the least capable.
“The Taliban are everywhere now, even inside the city,” said Obidullah Bilal, a wounded policeman in Kandahar’s central hospital. He was driving an unarmored police truck through eastern Kandahar to resupply a checkpoint when he was caught by a Taliban ambush.
“It’s because of our leadership that we are in this position,” he said, referring to the massive territorial losses the government had suffered in a matter of weeks. “Our leaders sell our checkpoints,” he said. “They’ve already sold our blood.”
One police commander said the only men from his unit willing to hold positions against the Taliban were drug addicts.
“It keeps them awake,” said Mirza Wali, a police commander attending the funeral for one of his men, Nik Mohammad, who had been killed by the Taliban ambush the night before.
Mohammad was estranged from his family because of his meth addiction, but his sister and mother, Taj Bibi, attended the funeral. They both sat in the shade of a truck a few meters from where Mohammad’s coffin was being covered with earth.
“The addicts are the only one who can stand being on the front line,” Wali said. “If they weren’t using drugs, they would go crazy.”
US Won’t Be Asking Taliban Permission To Strike Terror Groups In Afghanistan
While the U.S. generally negotiates agreements with countries where it conducts strikes, the Pentagon considers Afghanistan essentially a free space, following the collapse of its elected government in August.
US Leadership Was Aware Of Real Situation In Afghanistan, Says Russia’s Intel Chief
TASS:
“What happened in Afghanistan with the hasty departure and escape of the puppet government is a result of the destructive policy of America, which had attempted to impose its own social development model on Afghanistan,” [Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey] Naryshkin said.
“The truth is that the United States can no longer play the role of a global hegemon,” he stressed.
Taliban Founder Says Strict Punishment, Amputations To Return To Afghanistan
“Now we know instead of reaching just hundreds, we can reach millions,” he said, adding that if executions and amputations are approved for public viewing, then people could record those instances and share them as a deterrent for what Taliban officials consider criminal offenses.
Top Republican Calls On Biden Administration To Share Pre-Withdrawal Intelligence Reports On Afghanistan
Congress needs to have access to the intelligence reporting on Afghanistan “to understand how the situation deteriorated so quickly and why the Administration made the decisions they did regarding the disastrous evacuation,” Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote in a letter to the administration that was obtained by NBC News.
Addressing Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Intelligence Director Avril Haines, McCaul wrote that Congress is interested in the U.S. intelligence assessments and diplomatic messages “to see exactly how these products were reflected in the Biden Administration’s contingency and worst-case scenario planning.”
After Renegade Province’s Fall, Panjshir Resistance Leaders Surface In Tajikistan
Indeed, if there is a logical next step for the Panjshir “resistance,” it appears to be a political rather than a military one. Massoud has hired a Washington lobbyist to represent his case on Capitol Hill; he has also spoken with several prominent legislators, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), an outspoken supporter of the resistance against the Taliban. Several prominent Republicans, including Graham and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), have called on President Joe Biden to recognize Saleh and Massoud as Afghanistan’s rightful leaders—with Waltz even asserting that he would use his position to bankroll an anti-Taliban insurgency.
The Afghan Republic is dead. We do not need to bankroll any more death in Afghanistan.
See also: Panjshir Resistance Folds Up For Now; Saleh Reportedly In Tajikistan, Massoud In France
Ghani’s Escape Deep-Sixed Afghanistan’s High Council Deal With Taliban, Says Top Official
TASS:
The government of ex-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has discarded an agreement reached by Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation with members of the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) over the establishment of a cabinet that would be in line with the interests of all political and ethnic country’s groups, Leader of the Hezb-e Wahdat Islami Afghanistan party Karim Khalili said on Wednesday.
“Under Ashraf Ghani’s presidency, we maintained a peaceful policy towards the Taliban. I was one of the founding architects of the peaceful approach promoted by Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation. We [reached an agreement] to create a government which would respect the rights of all ethnic and political groups, the Taliban side agreed with that. However, Ghani’s government deep-sixed this deal. Having fled and left everything to the Taliban, he thus paved the way for its domination,” Khalili noted.
Basically what Zalmay Khalilzad said.
FBI Director Says Afghanistan Could Become Terrorist Sanctuary After U.S. Withdrawal
The Biden administration has assured that it can still conduct reconnaissance over Afghanistan to monitor growing threats, likely by operating bases in neighboring countries. However, military officials have acknowledged that U.S. surveillance capabilities are restricted without a presence stationed on the ground in Afghanistan. To bridge the intelligence gap created by U.S. departure, some U.S. security personnel have suggested entering into intelligence- or base-sharing deals with nations in proximity to Afghanistan, such as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, or Tajikistan, the New York Times reported.
Lawmakers Storm Out Of Classified Afghanistan Briefing After Questions Go Unanswered
CNN:
Multiple lawmakers angrily stormed out of a classified briefing with members of the Biden administration on Afghanistan on Wednesday morning, according to three sources familiar with the briefing.
The Republican and Democratic lawmakers grew frustrated after State Department, Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security, and Office of the Director of National Security officials failed to answer their basic questions during the briefing for members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the sources told CNN.