(2021-12-16). Afghanistan's Labyrinth of Opportunity. journal-neo.org 
Four months after the withdrawal of the US and NATO troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban (movement is banned in the Russian Federation) attempts to shape the country on their image, despite the lack of recognition. Nevertheless, they have complete freedom from their neighbors to do whatever they want. They do not officially interfere but try …
(2021-12-16). The Chaotic Evacuation From Afghanistan Has Distracted From the UK's Deeper Failures During the War. strategic-culture.org By Patrick COCKBURN | They shall not return to us, the strong men coldly slain | In sight of help denied from day to day: | But the men who edged their agonies and chid them in their pain, | Are they too strong and wise to put away? | Shall we only threaten and be angry for an hour? | When the storm is ended shall we find | How softly but how swiftly they have sidled back to power | By the favour and contrivance of their kind? | Their lives cannot repay us — their death could not undo — | The shame that they have laid upon our race. | But the slothfulness that wasted and the arrogance that slew, | Sha…
(2021-12-16). Steve Coll on How the U.S. Pursued Withdrawal Over Peace in Afghanistan & Let the Taliban Take Over. democracynow.org 
As Afghanistan spirals into a humanitarian crisis after the abrupt U.S. withdrawal earlier this summer, we look at years of failed U.S. diplomacy that allowed the Taliban to seize power and leave the small nation in a state of disrepair. A New Yorker magazine investigation shows how the U.S. repeatedly undermined the Kabul-based government in a rush to leave the country. "I've been reporting in general and around Afghanistan for a long time. I was still shocked by the degree of cynicism that the United States often brought to this endeavor to seek peace, particularly during the Trump years," says New Yorker staff…
(2021-12-16). "No Food Available": Afghanistan Faces Catastrophe as Donors Cut Humanitarian Aid to Taliban Gov't. democracynow.org 
Afghanistan under the new Taliban government faces a humanitarian catastrophe this winter as the United States and other donors have cut off financial aid. The United Nations warns nearly 23 million people in Afghanistan — or more than half the population — face potentially life-threatening food shortages, with nearly 9 million already on the brink of famine. In addition, people face lack of proper healthcare, unemployment and housing shortages. "The international aid organizations, for them, it's just another country … where they take pictures and make their careers out of it," says Pashtana Durran…
(2021-12-15). Despite Appeals, US Denies Possibility Of Unfreezing Afghan Assets. popularresistance.org US White House press secretary Jen Psaki clarified on Tuesday, December 14 said that the government has no plan to unfreeze Afghanistan's assets. Psaki was responding to a public call by Afghanistan's foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi made a day earlier to unfreeze the assets. | The US government had announced a freeze of nearly USD 10 billion worth of Afghanistan's assets days after the Taliban took over power in the country on August 15, claiming the possibility of misuse of the funds. It also severed all diplomatic relations with Afghanistan after the complete withdrawal of its troops on August 30. | The Tali…
(2021-12-15). Despite repeated appeals, US denies possibility of unfreezing Afghan assets. peoplesdispatch.org The UN and several other countries including China have asked the US to release nearly USD 10 billion worth of Afghanistan's frozen assets to help the Taliban government deal with the humanitarian situation…
(2021-12-15). Afghanistan: Humanitarian crisis threatens basic human rights. moderndiplomacy.eu Respect for fundamental rights and freedoms by the de facto authorities in Afghanistan is critical to ensuring stability in the country, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday in Geneva. Briefing the UN Human Rights Council, Nada Al-Nashif detailed how the profound humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is threatening basic rights, with women, girls, and civil society among those most affected. Dignity or …
(2021-12-15). Audio: Cover-Up in Kabul Strike. davidswanson.org By Political Misfits, December 15, 2021 LISTEN HERE. David Swanson, activist, journalist, radio host and author of the book "Curing Exceptionalism," talks to us about how the Pentagon "cover-up" in the Kabul drone killing of a family continues, with the news that no US troops will be punished for deadly Kabul strike, how impunity is …