INSIDER
Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for 2020 Democratic nomination, endorses Trump against former foe Harris
Read full article: Tulsi Gabbard, who ran for 2020 Democratic nomination, endorses Trump against former foe HarrisFormer Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has endorsed Donald Trump’s presidential bid, furthering her shift away from the party she sought to represent in the presidential race four years ago.
Trump rebukes Harris and Biden on anniversary of Afghanistan bombing that killed 13 service members
Read full article: Trump rebukes Harris and Biden on anniversary of Afghanistan bombing that killed 13 service membersFormer President Donald Trump is tying Vice President Kamala Harris to the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal on the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members.
Afghans celebrate their men's cricket team reaching first Twenty20 World Cup semifinals
Read full article: Afghans celebrate their men's cricket team reaching first Twenty20 World Cup semifinalsThousands of jubilant Afghans are celebrating their country’s most iconic sporting moment after their men's national cricket team reached the Twenty20 World Cup semifinals for the first time.
Air Force: Crew not at fault for Afghan deaths in evacuation
Read full article: Air Force: Crew not at fault for Afghan deaths in evacuationThe Air Force has concluded that air crew members acted appropriately and were not at fault for some tragic deaths during the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan last year, when desperate Afghans clung to a military plane as it was taking off and fell to their deaths or were caught in the wheels.
Security concerns leave Afghan evacuees stuck in Balkan camp
Read full article: Security concerns leave Afghan evacuees stuck in Balkan campSome Afghans who were evacuated from their country as it fell to the Taliban last summer have found their journey to the United States stalled at a cluster of tents and temporary housing at a military base in the Balkans.
Finding solace through helping a TV show understand war
Read full article: Finding solace through helping a TV show understand warWhen Associated Press journalist and Marine Corps veteran James LaPorta agreed to advise the NBC-TV show “This Is Us” about depicting the military authentically, he found more than he'd bargained for.
Ex-Afghan president: Biden order on frozen funds an atrocity
Read full article: Ex-Afghan president: Biden order on frozen funds an atrocityAfghanistan’s former president has called a White House order to unfreeze $3.5 billion in Afghan assets held in the U.S. for families of 9/11 victims an atrocity against the Afghan people.
Biden tells Erdogan that US and Turkey must avoid crises
Read full article: Biden tells Erdogan that US and Turkey must avoid crisesU.S. President Joe Biden has told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that their countries must cooperate more and better manage disagreements after their partnership was tested by Turkey's threat to no longer recognize the American envoy and its purchase of a Russian missile defense system.
Colin Powell: A trailblazing legacy, blotted by Iraq war
Read full article: Colin Powell: A trailblazing legacy, blotted by Iraq warA child of working-class Jamaican immigrants in the Bronx, Colin Powell rose from neighborhood store clerk to warehouse floor-mopper to the highest echelons of the U.S. government.
Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban
Read full article: Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on TalibanRussia's foreign minister says the United States, China, Russia and Pakistan are working together to ensure that Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers keep their promises, especially to form a genuinely representative government and prevent the spread of extremist groups.
Taliban special forces bring abrupt end to women's protest
Read full article: Taliban special forces bring abrupt end to women's protestTaliban special forces in camouflage fired their weapons into the air, bringing an abrupt and frightening end to the latest protest march in the capital by Afghan women demanding equal rights from the new rulers.
Victorious Taliban focus on governing after US withdrawal
Read full article: Victorious Taliban focus on governing after US withdrawalThe Taliban are reveling in their victory after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, while reiterating their pledge to bring peace and security to the country after decades of war.
As Taliban tighten their grip, Kabul airport only way out
Read full article: As Taliban tighten their grip, Kabul airport only way outA Taliban offensive is encircling the Afghan capital and there’s increasingly only one way out for those fleeing the war, and only one way in for U.S. troops sent to protect American diplomats still on the ground: Kabul’s international airport.
After troops exit, safety of US Embassy in Kabul top concern
Read full article: After troops exit, safety of US Embassy in Kabul top concernAmerica’s “forever war” in Afghanistan is rapidly winding down and the U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic missions in Kabul are looking at a worsening security situation and how to respond.
Taliban wins close consulates; Tajikistan reinforces border
Read full article: Taliban wins close consulates; Tajikistan reinforces borderA surge of Taliban wins in northern Afghanistan has caused some countries to close consulates in the area, while Tajikistan is calling up reservists to reinforce its southern border.
US left Afghan airfield at night, didn't tell new commander
Read full article: US left Afghan airfield at night, didn't tell new commanderThe U.S. left Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield after nearly 20 years by slipping away in the night without notifying the base’s new Afghan commander, who discovered the Americans’ departure more than two hours after they left.
As troops leave, US to keep airstrike option in Afghanistan
Read full article: As troops leave, US to keep airstrike option in AfghanistanU.S. officials say the U.S. military will remain involved in the Afghanistan war into September, keeping the option of launching airstrikes against the Taliban to defend Afghan forces.
US to keep about 650 troops in Afghanistan after withdrawal
Read full article: US to keep about 650 troops in Afghanistan after withdrawalU.S. officials tell The Associated Press that about 650 U.S. troops are expected to be kept in Afghanistan to provide security for the American diplomatic presence after the Pentagon completes its military withdrawal, which is set to be largely done in the next two weeks.
Biden vows 'sustained' help as Afghanistan drawdown nears
Read full article: Biden vows 'sustained' help as Afghanistan drawdown nearsPresident Joe Biden has promised Afghanistan’s top leaders a “sustained” partnership even as he moves to accelerate winding down the United States’ longest war amid escalating Taliban violence.
AP Interview: Former president says US failed in Afghanistan
Read full article: AP Interview: Former president says US failed in AfghanistanAfghanistan’s former president says the United States came to his country to fight extremism and bring stability to his war-tortured nation and is leaving nearly 20 years later having failed at both.
Russia hosts Afghan peace conference, hoping to boost talks
Read full article: Russia hosts Afghan peace conference, hoping to boost talksTaliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, center, arrives with other members of the Taliban delegation for an international peace conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)MOSCOW – Russia hosted a peace conference for Afghanistan on Thursday, bringing together government representatives, the Taliban and international observers in a bid to help jump-start the country's stalled peace process. Moscow’s attempt at mediation comes as talks in Qatar between the Afghan government and the Taliban, still waging an insurgency, have stalled. Washington and Kabul have been pressing for a cease-fire while the Taliban say they will negotiate it as part of peace talks with the Afghan government. Zamir Kabulov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for Afghanistan, told reporters that the Afghan participants in the talks showed willingness to negotiate peace.
AP Interview: Karzai says US plan catalyst for Afghan peace
Read full article: AP Interview: Karzai says US plan catalyst for Afghan peaceFormer Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, March 11, 2021. Afghans are eager for peace and a recently floated U.S. draft for a deal between Taliban insurgents and the Afghan government is the best chance to accelerate stalled peace talks, ex-president Hamid Karzai said in an interview Thursday. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)KABUL – A recently floated U.S. draft for a deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government is the best chance to accelerate stalled peace talks between the country's warring sides, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview Thursday. Karzai, considered a key player in the talks going forward, told the AP that the proposed U.S. peace plan contains important provisions that could help bring peace to Afghanistan — with some revisions by both sides. AdDespite Karzai's optimistic assessment, the Washington plan could encounter serious opposition from President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban.
Efforts ramping up to get intra-Afghan peace talks started
Read full article: Efforts ramping up to get intra-Afghan peace talks startedOfficials on both sides of Afghanistan's protracted conflict say efforts are ramping up for the start of intra-Afghan negotiations, a critical next step to a U.S. negotiated peace deal with the Taliban. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)KABUL Officials on both sides of Afghanistans protracted conflict say efforts are ramping up for a start to intra-Afghan negotiations, a critical next step to a U.S.-negotiated peace deal with the Taliban. The peace deal, which calls for the intra-Afghan negotiations, was signed by the U.S. and the Taliban in February and was seen at the time as Afghanistans best hope at peace after four decades of war. President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who heads the High Council for National Reconciliation, the umbrella organization overseeing the government talks, says a reduction of violence or cease-fire will top their agenda. The group has reportedly completed its agenda and its 20-member negotiation team reports directly to Taliban chief Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Afghan president names council for peace deal with Taliban
Read full article: Afghan president names council for peace deal with TalibanThe negotiations were envisaged under a U.S.-Taliban peace agreement signed in February as intra-Afghan talks to decide the war-torn countrys future. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree late Saturday establishing the 46-member council, led by his former rival in last years presidential election, Abdullah Abdullah, who is now in the government. The council will have the final say and will ultimately decide on the points that the negotiating team takes up with the Taliban. Among them is Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who signed a peace deal with Ghani in 2016 but previously was declared a terrorist by the U.S. The Taliban team answers only to the insurgents' leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhunzada.