(2021-08-19). Taliban Allowing 'Safe Passage' for US Citizens Heading to Kabul Airport. news.antiwar.com It's estimated that between 10,000 and 15,000 US citizens are still in Afghanistan. The US Embassy in Kabul, which is being run out of the airport, With the current situation, the US has to rely on a deal with the Taliban to allow US citizens to travel to the airport. While there have been reports of the Taliban stopping some Afghans, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Wednesday that the Tal…
(2021-08-19). Mass COVID-19 deaths continue in Indonesia. wsws.org Like governments around the world, the Indonesian administration is putting corporate profit before the health and lives of working people, with tragic consequences.
(2021-08-19). The Return of the Taliban 20 Years Later. counterpunch.org In recent years, the United States has failed to accomplish any of the objectives of its wars. The U.S. entered Afghanistan with horrendous bombing and a lawless campaign of extraordinary rendition in October 2001 with the objective of ejecting the Taliban from the country; now, 20 years later, the Taliban is back.
(2021-08-19). "Revelations of Carter's Former Advisor : 'Yes, the CIA entered Afghanistan before the Russians…'" (1998). mronline.org 
Question: The former director of the CIA, Robert Gates, stated in his memoirs that the American intelligence services began to aid the Mujahiddin in Afghanistan six months before the Soviet intervention. In this period, you were the national security advisor to President Carter. You therefore played a key role in this affair. Is this correct?>
(2021-08-19). Leading Russian official compares Ukraine to Afghanistan. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Excerpts from an interview with Secretary of Russia's Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, who has traditionally been one of the more perceptive Russian officials. [In December 2013 he said that Ukraine was Washington's payback for Syria; that the U.S. was punishing Moscow for intervening to prevent a U.S.-NATO war against Syria in the preceding months by …
(2021-08-19). Public Opinion largely Supportive of Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal, despite Angst over Chaotic Process. juancole.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) — The abrupt collapse of the government of President Ashraf Ghani and his supposed 300,000 security forces in the past two weeks clearly caught the Biden administration by surprise. It is the most serious crisis yet for the new administration, and has shaken public confidence in the president, giving him the …
(2021-08-19). Celebrate the Heroes Who Warned Us That Afghanistan Would Be a Disaster. counterpunch.org Thousands of dead Americans, tens of thousands of dead Afghans, $2 trillion down the toilet, a Taliban victory that leaves America's international reputation in shambles. This disaster didn't happen by itself. Political and military leaders, aided and abetted by the news media, are responsible and should be held accountable. Voters let themselves be led by
(2021-08-19). One million troops from NATO member, partner states fought in Afghan war. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com NATO Military Committee convenes special meeting with Resolute Support Mission Partners The RSM Partners are: Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Finland, Georgia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Sweden and Ukraine. From the text of Admiral Bauer's video message on the mission in Afghanistan on August 19: Dear troops from Allied and partner countries who have served the …
(2021-08-19). Kabul's Victors and the Vanquished. counterpunch.org Speculation abounds. The end of US-managed rule in the nation called Afghanistan has fueled a flood of warnings, blame, and just plain guessing about what comes next there. Liberal and neocon warmongers in the media wring their hands looking for someone/anyone to blame beside their failed imperial strategy. The far right in the US have yet to speak their piece on the so-called fall of Kabul. Perhaps they are waiting for their two primary impulses of libertarianism and military imperialism factions to fight it out.
(2021-08-19). Biden Admitted US War In Afghanistan Is Becoming A Somalia-Like Drone War. popularresistance.org In a Monday televised speech in which he defended his adherence to the withdrawal negotiated with the Taliban by his predecessor, Donald Trump, Biden said he'd always believed the US mission "should be narrowly focused on counterterrorism, not counterinsurgency or nation-building," and that the US wasn't giving up on that mission in pulling its roughly 12,000 troops out of Afghanistan.
(2021-08-19). 'Chaos was inevitable!' Biden shrugs off shock scenes of Afghans falling from US plane because 'that was five days ago'. rt.com 
US President Joe Biden defended his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, telling ABC News that it couldn't have gone any other way and vowing to keep troops in Kabul until all Americans who want to leave can do so. | Biden was in Camp David over the weekend when the US-backed Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban took over. He returned to Washington on Monday to give a speech, after harrowing videos of Afghans mobbing US transport planes and reportedly falling to their deaths began making rounds. He took no questions from the press, however. | "That was four days ago, five days ago!" Biden told George…
(2021-08-19). "The War is Worth Waging": Afghanistan's Vast Reserves of Minerals and Natural Gas. globalresearch.ca The war on Afghanistan is a profit driven "resource war".
(2021-08-19). 'US, NATO have clear obligation to compensate in Afghanistan'. en.mehrnews.com Stating that US and NATO invaded and occupied Afghanistan and elsewhere 'only' to pursue their own interests, but couldn't even achieve that, Iranian Foreign Minister said that they now have a clear obligation to compensate.
(2021-08-19). Afghanistan Was Based on Lies. Will the Militarists Apologize? globalresearch.ca
(2021-08-19). Turkey ready to repeat Syria, Libya, Karabakh model in Afghanistan. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Stability, peace appear out of reach in Afghanistan without Turkey [T]he only country that has proven strong and effective in establishing peace and stability in Libya and Syria…is Turkey. Turkey played a significant role in ending the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, ensured continuing cease-fires in Syria and Libya, and Afghanistan is an issue of interest …
(2021-08-19). Afghanistan's "Color Revolution"? Narcotics and the Opium Trade. globalresearch.ca
(2021-08-19). From Afghanistan to Syria: Women's Rights, War Propaganda and the CIA. globalresearch.ca Western heads of state, UN officials, military spokespersons will invariably praise the humanitarian dimension of the October 2001 US-NATO led invasion of Afghanistan, which allegedly was to fight religious fundamentalists, help little girls go to school, liberate women subjected to the yoke of the Taliban.
(2021-08-19). US backers in Beirut should consider Afghanistan experience. en.mehrnews.com Referring to Iran's unwavering supports for its allies, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said that those who rely on Americans and their embassy in Beirut should take the Afghanistan experience into consideration.
(2021-08-19). Afghanistan: Turkey to work with NATO, ensure "well-being of our Turkish kin" antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Turkey ready for any kind of cooperation with Afghanistan: Erdogan "[W]e are ready for all kinds of cooperation for the peace of the Afghan people, the well-being of our Turkish kin living in this country, and the protection of our country's interests," he [President Recep Tayyip Erdogan] stated. **** The continued military presence of Turkey …
(2021-08-19). A Mideast Nuclear War Spearheaded by Israel Would Make Afghanistan Seem Like a Local Conflict Between Armed Factional Groups. globalresearch.ca …
(2021-08-19). Did the NY Fed Confiscate $1.3 Billion in Afghan Gold: Striking Revelations from Afghanistan's Central Bank Chief. globalresearch.ca
(2021-08-19). US Expansionism in Eurasia, Control over Afghanistan. globalresearch.ca
(2021-08-19). Create Two, Three, Many Saigons. That Is the Watchword. towardfreedom.org The Afghans are largely glad to see the back of the U.S. occupation, to be one more Saigon in a long sequence. But this is not a victory for humanity. It will not be easy for Afghanistan to emerge out of these nightmare decades, but the desire to do so can still be heard.
(2021-08-19). Sporadic protests break out in Afghanistan on independence day. peoplesdispatch.org 
Amidst the news that millions in Afghanistan face the risk of severe hunger, the IMF suspended the country's access to its resources, citing a lack of clarity on the government. The US has already blocked Afghan assets worth billions since the Taliban took over…
(2021-08-19). Six Questions We Need to Ask About Afghanistan. globalresearch.ca
(2021-08-19). An Even More General Amnesty: Taliban Released Thousands Of Al-Qaeda, ISIS Terrorists From Prison. southfront.org Click to see full-size image | Thousands of inmates, including "former" ISIS and al-Qaeda fighters were released by Taliban from Pul-e-Charkhi prison in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan. | Afghan government troops surrendered Bagram airbase to the Taliban early on August 15th. The base houses Pul-e-Charki prison, which has around 5,000 prisoners. | It is the largest in Afghanistan and notorious for its poor conditions. A maximum-security cellblock held members of al Qaeda and Taliban, said reports. | F…
(2021-08-19). In Afghanistan, an Independence Day Drenched in Irony and Uncertainty. thenation.com In Afghanistan, an Independence Day Drenched in Irony and Uncertainty…
(2021-08-19). Taliban Open Fire On Protesters In Jalalabad, Asadabad Killing At Least 6 Total. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | In Afghanistan's Asadabad, the Taliban opened fire on a crowd trying to commemorate Independence Day, Reuters reported, citing eyewitnesses. | There are victims, their number has not yet been specified. | People took to the streets on the occasion of Independence Day, and as a result, a stampede began. | Asadabad is a city in the east of the republic, the capital of the Kunar province. It is located near Jalalabad, where protests against the Taliban took place the day before and, accordi…
(2021-08-19). Post-US Afghanistan: Can China Navigate a Way Through the Tombstones? counterpunch.org Beijing. Another name has been chiseled on the tombstone in the graveyard of empires. The United States of America. 2001-2021. From the swords of Alexander the Great, the British empire, the Russians before and after Lenin, and the US as the newest members of the Great Game, military powers have seen the Afghan sand swallow
(2021-08-19). Selected Articles: Afghanistan's "Color Revolution": Who Is Ali Ahmad Jalali? globalresearch.ca 
By The formation of a US sponsored interim regime should come as no surprise. US withdrawal from Afghanistan has been the object of extensive negotiations …
(2021-08-19). Military Situation In Afghanistan On August 19, 2021 (Map Update). southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On August 18, Ashraf Ghani, the former president of Afghanistan published a statement from UAE, denouncing his escape and money theft | On August 18, Anas Haqqani, a member of the Taliban negotiating team met with Hamid Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in Kabul city | On August 18, two people were killed and more than 10 others injured in Taliban firing on protesters in Jalalabad city who were trying to raise the Afghan flag in the city's central…
(2021-08-19). "The Afghanistan Papers": Docs Show How Bush, Obama, Trump Lied About Brutality & Corruption of War. democracynow.org 
We speak with Washington Post investigative reporter Craig Whitlock, author of the new book "The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War," which reveals how multiple U.S. presidents deceived the public about progress in the war despite widespread skepticism among defense and diplomatic officials about the mission. "The public narrative was that the U.S. was always making progress. All these presidents said we were going to win the war, and yet, in private, these officials were extremely pessimistic," says Whitlock. He also discusses miscalculations in the initial invasion of Afghanistan, the collapse of t…
(2021-08-19). "Uncertainty, Fear": How Afghan Women & Ethnic Minorities Feel About Taliban Takeover & U.S. War. democracynow.org 
We look at how the rights of women and ethnic minorities will be impacted by the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan with two Afghan women who fled their country. Mariam Safi, who left Kabul last month and is founding director of the Organization for Policy Research and Development Studies, says the Taliban's rapid advance across the country surprised many people who had been hoping for a negotiated end to the war. "We had felt that there would be some space for a political settlement," says Safi. "What has happened has certainly caught everyone by surprise." We also speak with journalist Zahra Nader, a member of the…
(2021-08-19). Before 2001 Invasion, Bush Admin Declared Taliban an Ally in the War on Drugs. truthout.org 
Just months before the Taliban became an enemy in the war on terror, President George W. Bush's administration declared the fundamentalist rulers of Afghanistan an ally in the global "war on drugs." | In early 2001, narcotics officials in the United States
(2021-08-19). Headlines for August 19, 2021. democracynow.org Two Die as Taliban Open Fire on Independence Day Celebration, Ashraf Ghani: I Fled to Prevent Afghanistan from Becoming "Bloodbath Like in Syria and Yemen", Biden: U.S. May Stay in Afghanistan Beyond Aug. 31, U.S. Announces Plans for Vaccine Boosters Despite Criticism from WHO, Biden Moves to Mandate Vaccines at Nursing Homes & Fight Mask Mandate Bans, Paralympics Report First Confirmed COVID Case in the Olympic Village, Death Toll from Haitian Earthquake Nears 2,200, Caldor Fire Destroys Most of Grizzly Flats in California, Texas Supreme Court Rules Absent Democratic Lawmakers Can Be Arrested, Appeals Court Upho…
(2021-08-19). Afghanistan: Mirage of the Good War. zcomm.org Rarely has there been such an enthusiastic display of international unity as that which greeted the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001…
(2021-08-19). Bush, Obama and Trump Deceived the Public About the Reality of Afghanistan War. truthout.org 
We speak with Washington Post investigative reporter Craig Whitlock, author of the new book The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War, which reveals how multiple U.S. presidents deceived the public about progress in the war despite widespread skepticism among defense and diplomatic officials about the mission. "The public narrative was that the U.S. was always making progress. All these presidents said we were going to win the war, and yet, in private, these officials were extremely p…
(2021-08-19). US Attempts to Conquer Eurasia, Control Over Afghanistan. orinocotribune.com By Shane Quinn — Aug 17, 2021 | The ex-Soviet states of the Caucasus and Central Asia have, following the early 1990s, been "all about America's energy security" according to Bill Richardson, the Clinton era diplomat and former American ambassador to the United Nations. | For seven decades, the Soviet Union's existence blocked the way to the vast fossil fuel sources of the Caucasus, Central Asia and also the Caspian Sea. This reality had been of ongoing frustration to Western strategic planners, but the Soviet collapse 30 years ago provoked jubilant scenes in Washington and London. | An oil rush ensued for m…
(2021-08-19). Selected Articles: Afghanistan's "Color Revolution" globalresearch.ca By The formation of a US sponsored interim regime should come as no surprise. US withdrawal from Afghanistan has been the object of extensive negotiations between Washington and the Taliban. …
(2021-08-19). US Policy Toward Afghanistan Was a Recipe for Collapse From the Start. zcomm.org While we should certainly hold Biden accountable, it's also important to refute spurious accusations from the right, which could lead future presidents to needlessly prolong unwinnable wars…
(2021-08-19). Adding to US Failures in Afghanistan, Taliban Have Grabbed Billions in Weaponry. commondreams.org "Now do the rest of the $1.8 trillion," said The Debt Collective.
(2021-08-19). Unvaccinated Covid-19 Patients Strain Alabama Hospitals Amid Warning of 'Potentially Apocalyptic' Crisis. commondreams.org As in Iraq, as in Libya, as in Mali. It is time to finally bury the doctrine of the so-called "responsibility to protect", which was coined at the time of the beginning of the Afghan war, and to brand it as what it was from the beginning: a neocolonial project.
(2021-08-19). Don't Use Girls as Justification for Bombing Afghanistan, Again. commondreams.org "During this recess our communities are letting our elected representatives know that the time for a historic, just, and equitable recovery is now."
(2021-08-19). Afghan Journalist Who Fled Kabul: Women Are "Hopeless" After U.S. War Ends with Taliban Takeover. democracynow.org 
Protests have broken out against the Taliban in Kabul and other cities across Afghanistan as the militant group, at war for 20 years, now finds itself in power. Evacuation flights are continuing from Kabul, but the Taliban is preventing many Afghans from reaching the airport, with some being shot or whipped as they attempt to flee the country amid fears that the Taliban will impose draconian restrictions on everyday life as they did during their last time in power. Women especially are terrified of the future, says journalist Nasrin Nawa, who fled the capital Friday and whose sister is still in the country. "They…
(2021-08-19). The Crimes of the West in Afghanistan and the Suffering That Remains. commondreams.org "Clearly, this is an indictment of the U.S. security cooperation enterprise broadly."
(2021-08-19). Lebanon Is Under Maximum Pressure, And The Target Is Hezbollah. popularresistance.org Lebanon is under unprecedented economic and social pressure, paying the price for Hezbollah's military capability that causes a threat to Israel. The options offered by those (US, EU and Israel) effectively participating in cornering Lebanon -notwithstanding decades of domestic corruption and mismanagement — are limited to two: either disarm Hezbollah or push Lebanon toward a failed state and civil war. However, the "Axis of the Resistance" has other options…
(2021-08-19). Hezbollah Leader Warns Israel, US Against Attacking Iranian Fuel Tanker En-Route To Lebanon. southfront.org 
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah as seen during his recent speech via al-Manar TV. | On August 19, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced that the first of several fuel tankers will sail from Iran to Lebanon within hours, warning the US and Israel against targeting it. | The leader made the announcement during a speech marking the tenth day of the holy Islamic month of Muharram in Beirut's southern suburb. | "Our first ship has completed all arrangements and will sail within hours from Iran to Leb…
(2021-08-19). Three Activists Arrested After Blockading Drone Factory. popularresistance.org Palestine Action have returned to Elbit System's drone factory in Braunstone Town, Leicester, and have once again disrupted the production of killer drones used for repressive purposes by Israeli forces. The factory — ran by Elbit-Thales joint venture UAV Tactical Systems — has been blockaded by Palestine Action activists. Two activists in a 'lock-on' and one activist who had D-locked their body to gates have been arrested, after placing their bodies in the way of Elbit's drone manufacture operations.
(2021-08-19). Why US Jews Turning Against Israel Is Good For Palestinians. popularresistance.org unique but critical conversation on Israel and Palestine is taking place outside the traditional discourse of Israeli colonialism and the Palestinian quest for liberation. It is an awkward and difficult — but overdue — discussion concerning American Jews' relation to Israel and their commitment to its Zionist ideology.
(2021-08-19). The Quiet Rebellion: Why US Jews Turning against Israel is Good for Palestinians. dissidentvoice.org 
A unique but critical conversation on Israel and Palestine is taking place outside the traditional discourse of Israeli colonialism and the Palestinian quest for liberation. It is an awkward and difficult — but overdue — discussion concerning American Jews' relation to Israel and their commitment to its Zionist ideology. For many years, Israel has conveniently …