(2021-08-17). Biden Forfeits His Afghan Victory by Defending His Deep State Advisors. counterpunch.org President Biden put a popular flag-waving wrapping on America's forced withdrawal from Afghanistan in his 4 PM speech on Monday. It was as if all this was following Biden's own intentions, not a demonstration of the totally incompetent assurances by the CIA and State Department as recently as last Friday that the Taliban was over a month away from being able to enter Kabul.
(2021-08-17). Evacuation flights taking off at Kabul airport, crowds cleared: reports. ecns.cn Military planes evacuating diplomats and civilians from Afghanistan started taking off from Kabul airport on Tuesday morning, after the airport runway and tarmac were cleared of crowds, media reports said.
(2021-08-17). The Only Truth About Afghanistan War Is That It Was All Based On Lies. popularresistance.org The stunning victory of the Taliban over the US-backed Afghan government raises more questions than it answers as to how this happened. In the search for answers, however, don't ask the generals who fought the war — they all lied. | Let me begin with full disclosure — I have never set foot in Afghanistan. I have zero skin equity in this current debacle. I have lost very close friends to the conflict that tore that country apart these past 20 years, and I do mourn their loss. What I lack in on-the-ground warfighting resume entries, however, is somewhat compensated by a more intellectually based approac…
(2021-08-17). US must stop fighting limited wars. asiatimes.com 
The U.S. should never again engage in a limited war. The families of American servicemen, the people of Asia, and the judgment of history will be far better for it.
(2021-08-17). The United States, Afghanistan, and the Doctrinal Boundaries of Permissible Reflection. counterpunch.org One of the doctrinal principles behind U.S. corporate-imperial news coverage and commentary and mainstream US politics is that the United States is a fundamentally benevolent force for good facing difficulties created by evil others and challenging situations not of Washington's own making. Debate is permissible on immediate strategy and tactics but is not allowed on these core American Exceptionalist positions. | Hence, while there is contestation in U.S. media and political culture over how to respond to the flood of migrants seeking entrance to the United States on the nation's southern border, there is little…
(2021-08-17). Afghanistan And The US Imperial Project. popularresistance.org On August 16, 2021 President Biden addressed the nation to explain why the US military is pulling out of Afghanistan. To a lesser extent, he also tried to explain why the Afghan government and its 300,000 military forces imploded over the past weekend. With the Afghan State's quick disappearing act, in a puff of smoke up went as well the more than $1 trillion spent by the US in Afghanistan since 2001. | Biden glossed over the real answer to the first point why the US is now pulling out. The second he never really answered. | The real answer to the first point is simple: the USA as global hegemon can no longer aff…
(2021-08-17). Make no mistake, the U.S. military will continue to thrive after Afghanistan. mronline.org 
There are too many careers and too much money tied to American power projection. So expect it to shift, not recede from the stage.
(2021-08-17). A Chaotic US Exit from Afghanistan: American Emperors Have No Clothes. globalresearch.ca
(2021-08-17). Make No Mistake, the US Military Will Continue to Thrive after Afghanistan. globalresearch.ca
(2021-08-17). 'Hurried' withdrawal of US forces created more problems in Afghanistan, China says, calling Washington 'irresponsible'. rt.com 
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that the hastened pullout of US forces exacerbated the situation in Afghanistan and should serve as a lesson that attempts to impose "foreign models" on other countries end badly. | The dramatic developments in Afghanistan have "once again proven that it's difficult to gain a foothold by mechanically applying foreign models to countries with completely different history, culture, and national traditions," Wang was quoted by the Chinese media as saying. | "Using force and military means to resolve problems will just increase them. The lessons learned from this deserve s…
(2021-08-17). Shocking video appears to show body dangling from US plane out of Kabul, 'human remains' later found in landing gear. rt.com 
Human remains were reportedly found in the landing gear of a US military plane after it departed Kabul airport, with harrowing unverified footage purporting to show a person trapped on the plane's exterior as it took off. | Chaotic scenes emerged from the Kabul airfield in the wake of a full-blown Taliban takeover of the capital, seeing thousands of desperate Afghans flock to the airport in hopes of fleeing the country on Monday as US and other foreign diplomatic staff evacuated. | While
(2021-08-17). The Spoils of War: Afghanistan's Multibillion Dollar Heroin Trade. globalresearch.ca Since the US led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, the Golden Crescent opium trade has soared. According to the US media, this lucrative contraband is protected by Osama, the Taliban, not to mention, of course, the regional warlords, in defiance of the "international community".
(2021-08-17). Trudeau triggers Canadian election in midst of pandemic's fourth wave. wsws.org Trudeau's election launch unfolded against the backdrop of a surge in COVID-19 cases and the debacle of the US-led, Canadian-supported neocolonial occupation of Afghanistan.
(2021-08-17). UK Home Department slammed for insensitive policies on refugees and asylum seekers. peoplesdispatch.org UK home secretary Priti Patel has received widespread criticism for insensitive policies towards asylum seekers from Afghanistan, the handling of the refugee crisis in the English Channel, and controversial plans to open a new detention center for immigrant women…
(2021-08-17). The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Back with a Bang. globalresearch.ca
(2021-08-17). In Video: Taliban Fighters Have Fun Celebrating Victory. southfront.org 
Illustrative Image | After months of fierce fighting across Afghanistan, Taliban fighters are now celebrating victory in cities under their control. | Unverified footage shows Taliban fighters frolicking on a trampoline: |
(2021-08-17). New Horrifying Footage Emerges As Evacuation From Kabul Resumes (Videos, 18+). southfront.org 
This photo taken on May 8, 2018, shows people arriving at the domestic terminal of the Hamid Karzai International Airport of Kabul. (Photo by Dominique FAGET / AFP) (Photo credit should read DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP via Getty Images) | The evacuation of foreign and local civilians continues in Afghanistan that came under the Taliban's control on August 15th. Flights from the Kabul Airport were resumed day after they were suspended due to the crowd of people invading the airport. | According to a White House repres…
(2021-08-17). Afghanistan: Taliban Victories Explain the Wisdom of US Withdrawal. counterpunch.org As I write this column, the Taliban are on a roll. They've taken 12 of Afghanistan's 34 provincial capitals in a single week, including the country's second and third largest cities (Kandahar and Herat), and Ghazni, which sits astride the main highway connecting Kandahar to the national capital of Kabul. The US occupation's puppet president,
(2021-08-17). Russia, China can moderate crash landing of 'puppet Afghan government,' expert says. tass.com According to the professor of international law at the University of Illinois, "Russia and China are doing their best to moderate the situation"
(2021-08-17). Europe needs to create humanitarian corridors for Afghan refugees, EU official says. tass.com The EU countries' foreign ministers will hold emergency consultations on the situation in Afghanistan via videoconference on August 17…
(2021-08-17). Azerbaijani troops remain in Afghan capital. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com No threat to lives of Azerbaijani peacekeepers in Kabul — Defense Ministry Despite the tense situation in the region, the 120-man peacekeeping unit of the Azerbaijan Army together with the Turkish troops continues to carry out its duties….
(2021-08-17). As Afghanistan falls, what does it mean for the Middle East? juancole.com 
By Tony Walker |- In the 19th century, the phrase "The Great Game" was used to describe competition for power and influence in Afghanistan, and neighbouring central and south Asia territories, between the British and Russian empires. Neither side prevailed in what became known as the "graveyard of empires". Two centuries later, an American superpower …
(2021-08-17). Azmat Khan: Deadly U.S. Air War in Afghanistan Helped Taliban Gain New Recruits Who Wanted Revenge. democracynow.org 
Investigative journalist Azmat Khan, who has reported extensively in Afghanistan, says President Joe Biden has not yet addressed the chaos unleashed by the collapse of the Afghan government. In remarks on Monday, Biden "really focused on the decision to end the war" and ignored criticism about chaos at the Kabul airport and the abandonment of thousands of Afghans who helped the U.S. over the last 20 years. "None of that was really discussed in any detail," Khan says. She also discusses why the Afghan military fell so quickly to the Taliban, its overreliance on U.S. air power, how civilian casualties weakened supp…
(2021-08-17). UN calls for a united, inclusive and representative new government in Afghanistan. peoplesdispatch.org On Monday, August 16, a day after the Taliban's takeover of power in Kabul, the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting. During the meeting, the UN sought the formation of a new united and representative government in Afghanistan through inclusive negotiations. It also asked for the "full, equal and meaningful participation of women" in the new government. | The press statement also called for the end of all hostilities in the country and the restoration of order and a peaceful settlement through an "Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process of national reconciliation." | Speaking at the meeting, the UN…
(2021-08-17). Ret. Col. Ann Wright on Reopening U.S. Embassy in Kabul in 2001 & Why She Supports Troop Withdrawal. democracynow.org 
Retired U.S. Army colonel and former State Department official Ann Wright, who helped reopen the U.S. Embassy in Kabul in December 2001 and later resigned in protest, says the United States should reopen its embassy now and needs to maintain a diplomatic footprint in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. "If the United States really wants to help the people of Afghanistan … we've got to have a presence in Afghanistan," says Wright.
(2021-08-17). Afghanistan: Taliban victory the product of US-NATO intervention. greenleft.org.au If any proof was needed that the Afghani government was a puppet of Washington, it was shown by its quick collapse, writes Malik Miah.
(2021-08-17). Taliban declare amnesty for Afghan government officials — agency. tass.com Taliban members entered Afghanistan's capital of Kabul on August 15, meeting no resistance, and took control of the entire city…
(2021-08-17). Taliban Announce "General Amnesty", Call On Women To Take Part In Government. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | The Taliban announced a "general amnesty" across Afghanistan, they also urged women to join its government-to-be. | The group is trying to calm the situation in Kabul which just a day earlier saw chaos at its airport as thousands mobbed the city's international airport in a desperate attempt to flee. | The promises of amnesty from Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban's cultural commission, were the first comments on how the Taliban m…
(2021-08-17). Deutsche Welle: EU and NATO in state of shock. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Shock is what the people of the former Yugoslavia, Libya and Afghanistan felt over the past 22 years when NATO bombs and missiles landed at their workplaces and in their neighborhoods. EU and NATO in state of shock Chaotic scenes at Kabul airport…show that only military evacuation is still an option; civilian air traffic has …
(2021-08-17). Military Situation In Afghanistan On August 17, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On August 16, Taliban took control of Jaghuri district in Ghazni province | On August 16, Taliban took control of Balkhab district in Sare Pol province | On August 16, Uzbekistan shot down an Afghan military plane in its border areas. Two Afghan pilots survived the incident | MORE ON THE TOPIC: |
(2021-08-17). Headlines for August 17, 2021. democracynow.org Biden Defends U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan After Taliban Capture Kabul , Advocates Demand U.S. and Other Nations Open Doors to Afghan Refugees, Tropical Storm Adds to Haiti's Misery Two Days After Massive Earthquake Kills Over 1,400, Immigrant Advocates Denounce Biden Administration for Deporting Haitian Refugees, U.S. Will Recommend COVID Booster Shots After 8 Months, Despite Global Vaccine Inequity, Johnson & Johnson Ships Millions of Vaccine Doses from South Africa to Europe, U.S. Coronavirus Hospitalizations Soar, with Record Infection Levels in Five States, Republican Governors Erect New Barriers to COVI…
(2021-08-17). Afghan-Australian: 'Democracy and safety not a priority for West'. greenleft.org.au The West was never in Afghanistan to bring democracy or assure safety for ordinary Afghans. Riz Wakil said the warmongers orchestrated not only the occupation of Afghanistan but many parts of the Middle East: Iraq, Syria and also Libya.
(2021-08-17). NATO's North Atlantic Council to hold crisis talks. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Nato envoys to hold Afghan crisis talks on Tuesday ==== NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to President George W. Bush on June 1, 2005: "NATO has always been, and still is a value-driven organization; it's about values. The same values we have defended in the Cold War we are now defending in Afghanistan, …
(2021-08-17). Poland retreats from first war since WWII. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com It only took two years from Poland joining NATO in 1999 to deploying troops to Asia for NATO's war in Afghanistan. Polish evacuation planes fly to AfghanistanTwo Polish military evacuation planes are on their way to Afghanistan, a government official said on Tuesday [Prime minister spokesman Micha≈Ç] Dworczyk told reporters that "the situation in Afghanistan …
(2021-08-17). Afghan Scholar: The U.S. Can't Distance Itself from Chaos Unfolding Now After 20 Years of War. democracynow.org 
Thousands of Afghans who worked for the United States and other foreign countries remain stranded in Kabul two days after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan. Military flights out of the Kabul International Airport have resumed a day after thousands of Afghans raced to the airport with hopes of leaving the country. President Joe Biden has defended his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of occupation and criticized the U.S.-trained Afghan military for collapsing "without trying to fight" the Taliban in many cases. Afghan law professor Haroun Rahimi, who was en route to Kabul when he…
(2021-08-17). One Year of Afghanistan War Spending Could Fund Resettlement of 1.2 Million Refugees. commondreams.org
(2021-08-17). It is Government Weakness, Not Taliban Strength, That Condemns Afghanistan. counterpunch.org The victory of the Taliban in Afghanistan is looking unstoppable as they capture the big provincial cities of Kandahar, Herat and Ghazni without meeting effective resistance from Afghan government forces. Afghan soldiers and security forces are fleeing, surrendering or changing sides as they see no point in dying for a lost cause.
(2021-08-17). Last Charge for the Dead Enders: Blame Biden for Leaving Afghanistan. counterpunch.org It is becoming increasingly clear that the strategy of interventionist dead-enders is to blame President Biden for losing Afghanistan to the Taliban. If only he had kept U.S. troops there a bit longer or even indefinitely, their argument goes, the crooked and corrupt U.S.-installed Afghan puppet regime could have won the war and finally brought
(2021-08-17). Afghanistan & the American Imperial Project. zcomm.org The US is pulling out because, for the first time since 1945, it has decided to cut its costs in less strategic areas in order to be able to finance the growing costs of empire elsewhere…
(2021-08-17). Selected Articles: Don't Let Them Fool You: Afghanistan Has Been a "Tremendous Success" globalresearch.ca 
By Exposing this uncanny censorship of eminent voices is especially vital to the fate of children and youth, who are being aggressively targeted for low-benefit, sometimes lethal, …
(2021-08-17). The Afghanistan War And The Dissenters We Should've Listened To. thedissenter.org 
Vice President Joe Biden and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai in 2011 (Photo: US Embassy Kabul Afghanistan) | President Joe Biden delivered a speech where he stood by the withdrawal of United States military forces from Afghanistan, but he crudely blamed the people of Afghanistan for the chaos that has unfolded over the past several days. | It was a lie to assert the war in Afghanistan was never about nation-building. Neoconservatives in President George W. Bush's administration, who launched the war, deployed troops for an open-ended mission to establish a government that could secure the country against the T…
(2021-08-17). The Taliban's Return to Power & What Comes Next for Afghanistan. zcomm.org People are very doubtful that they will remain passive and not take revenge, not carry out revenge killings against, for example, soldiers, officers and people who have resisted the Taliban all this time…
(2021-08-17). The Taliban Takes Kabul as US Deploys More Troops. sputniknews.com On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Shane Stranahan talk about the takeover of Kabul and greater Afghanistan by the Taliban*, what this means for the official interference of the United States in that country, how European nations are preparing for a Taliban* government, and the upcoming elections in Germany.
(2021-08-17). "How Could They Not Hate You Forever?" dailyposter.com 
(2021-08-17). Afghans Desperate To Escape As The Reality Of "Regime Change" Settles In. southfront.org 
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(2021-08-17). US Treatment Of Afghanistan Should Be A Warning For Ukraine: Kiev MP. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | Ukraine needs to forget about the US guarantees in the framework of the Budapest Memorandum, according to Maxim Buzhansky, a member of Kiev's parliament from President Volodymyr Zelensky's party. | Earlier, Afghan media circulated footage showing people falling out of an American transport plane departing from Kabul — presumably, they were Afghans who were trying to escape by clutching to the chassis."I think now that we have seen how" the main allies outside NATO "are thrown out of th…
(2021-08-17). The Heat: Afghanistan crisis. america.cgtn.com 
In just over a week, the Tailban seized nearly all of Afghanistan and now forces control Kabul as residents desperately try to flee the country. We will take a look at the situation in Afghanistan.
(2021-08-17). Israel kills four in attack on Jenin refugee camp. electronicintifada.net Palestinians defend Jenin refugee camp from Israeli invasions.
(2021-08-17). Israeli forces kill 4 Palestinians during violent raid in Jenin refugee camp. peoplesdispatch.org Jenin and Beita have witnessed regular demonstrations since May against an illegal Israeli army outpost next to the recently evacuated illegal Israeli settlement of Eviatar…
(2021-08-17). Israeli Defense Ministry Seizes Chocolate Bound for Gaza. news.antiwar.com Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced Monday that Israel had For years, Israel had forbidden chocolate from even entering the Gaza Strip as a "luxury item." Recent, some limited imports have been allowed, though Israel tends to curb them whenever they feel like making a move against the Palestinians. | This was different…