(2021-12-16). Stand up for Assange, stand up for press freedom. peoplesdispatch.org On December 10, Human Rights Day, a British court delivered a verdict that clears the way for the extradition of journalist and publisher Julian Assange to the United States. If the extradition goes through, Assange will face criminal prosecution in the US, including under the infamous Espionage Act, and if convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in jail. | Julian Assange and his organization WikiLeaks published vital information received from whistleblowers such as Chelsea Manning that chronicled US war crimes and atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan. These include 'Collateral Murder,' the horrifying video…
(2021-12-16). Max Boot: U.S. should use Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Afghan Mujahideen models against Russia. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com This is in response to an article from Max Boot, who is Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow in National Security Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and regular contributor to The Washington Post; in fact from that newspaper's edition of December 15 entitled To deter a Russian attack, Ukraine needs to prepare for guerrilla …
(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). "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…
(2021-12-16). 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). 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…