(2021-10-15). Afghanistan Tackles the Islamic State. counterpunch.org On October 8, a terrible blast struck the worshippers attending Friday noon prayers at the Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque in the Khan Abad district of Bandar, the capital of Kunduz, one of Afghanistan's largest cities in its northern belt. This is a mosque frequented by Shia Muslims, who were referred to as "our compatriots" by Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid. Forty-six
(2021-10-15). Endless Enemies and the Permanent War Economy. counterpunch.org President Biden took a predictable hit on the Afghan crisis, but the war's flawed beginnings and mis-guided execution were caused by many of his current critics who were pitchmen for deepening our involvement. This fiasco lasted twenty years because all presidents and power players were vested in this atrocity, willing to cover up its failure with deceptions and bureaucratic lies, insulating Americans from casualties in order to continue the war indefinitely.
(2021-10-15). Headlines for October 15, 2021. democracynow.org Bomb Attack on Mosque in Afghanistan's Kandahar Province Kills at Least 32, Lebanon Holds Day of Mourning After Beirut Violence Leaves Seven Dead, U.K. and EU Nations Block COVID Vaccine Patent Waiver at World Trade Organization, FDA Panel Recommends Moderna Vaccine Boosters for Some Groups, Biden Welcomes Kenyan President Kenyatta Amid Pandora Papers Scandal, Chilean Lawmakers Move to Impeach President Piñera over Pandora Papers Revelations, African Asylum Seekers File Civil Rights Complaint Against ICE Over "Cruel, Inhumane" Restraints, House Memo Shines Spotlight on Police Use of Tear Gas, a Chemical Banned in…
(2021-10-15). How Feminists Can Support Afghan Women Living Under the Taliban. counterpunch.org Since the Taliban took control of Kabul and the central government on August 15, efforts to support Afghan women have become extremely challenging. According to some prominent U.S. feminists with strong ties to Afghan women, the Taliban "has no legitimacy beyond the brutal force it commands," and governments, the United Nations and regional actors should
(2021-10-15). Ban the Use of Drones as Weapons. fpif.org Everyone who followed the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan was horrified by the drone attack, Zemari Ahmadi, who worked for Nutrition and Education International, a U.S.-based aid organization, became the target because he drove a white Toyota, went to his office, and stopped to pick up containers of clean water for his extended family. Those actions, deemed suspicious by the drone surveilla…
(2021-10-15). Washington strangles Afghanistan's economy as millions face starvation. wsws.org In an act of raw revenge for the debacle of its 20-year war, the US is denying Afghanistan access to its own financial reserves, threatening an economic and social collapse.
(2021-10-15). Polish parliament approves EU/NATO-backed "permanent barrier"on border with Belarus; chargé d'affaires summoned. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com On the second story, please to recall that Poland, under NATO obligations, was one of the main troop contributing countries for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. ==== Polish MPs back plan to build wall on Belarus border The government this week adopted a bill to construct a "permanent barrier" along Poland's eastern border with …
(2021-10-15). Against all reason and The Afghan Debacle. indybay.org Like the chaotic flight of the U.S. Army from Vietnam in 1975, the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 highlights the failure of the geopolitically based "war and nation-building concept" of the U.S. and NATO countries. The assumption, questionable from the outset, that it would be possible to impose the so-called "Western value system" on a country in which 50 languages are spoken.
(2021-10-15). Taliban Ban Logging in Afghanistan, Spokesman Says. sputniknews.com KABUL (Sputnik) – The Taliban* have outlawed logging and timber trade in Afghanistan, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban-run council of ministers, announced on Twitter.
(2021-10-15). Attack In Kandahar Shia Mosque Leaves At Least 33 Dead. southfront.org 
Click to see full-size image | On October 15th, a blast at a Shia Mosque in Kandahar, Afghanistan killed at least 33 people and wounding 73, officials said, the second massive attack in a week targeting worshippers from the minority sect. | Qari Saeed Khosti, the spokesman of the Taliban's new government's interior ministry said, the blast which took place during Friday prayers caused "heavy casualties", adding that authorities are collecting details of the explosion. | The latest incident came just…
(2021-10-14). Hiroshima 1945, Chile's 1973 Coup d'état, Afghanistan 2001, Iraq 2003: Four Key Anniversaries Glossed over by Western Media. globalresearch.ca
(2021-10-14). 11 wounded as explosion rocks provincial capital in E. Afghanistan. ecns.cn At least 11 people were wounded after an explosion ripped through a busy road in Asadabad, capital of eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province on Thursday, a witness said.
(2021-10-14). US Military Presence In The Middle East: The Less The Better. southfront.org 
Illustrative Image | Written by It may not have been planned or coordinated but efforts by Middle Eastern states to dial down tensions serve as an example of what happens when big power interests coincide. | It also provides evidence of the potentially positive fallout of a lower US profile in the region. | Afghanistan, the United States' chaotic withdrawal notwithstanding, could emerge as another example of the positive impact when global interests coincide. That is if the Taliban prove willing and capable of policing militant…
(2021-10-14). Heroes or Parasites: Europe's Self-serving Politics on Refugees. counterpunch.org Language is politics and politics is power. This is why the misuse of language is particularly disturbing, especially when the innocent and vulnerable pay the price. The wars in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern, Asian and African countries in recent years have resulted in one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes, arguably unseen since
(2021-10-14). Turkey: Taliban foreign minister leads high-level delegation in first visit to NATO nation. antibellum679354512.wordpress.com Taliban pays first visit to Turkey after takeover of Afghanistan A high-level delegation of Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers, led by the acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, has arrived in Ankara for meetings with Turkish officials, Foreign Ministry officials said on Oct. 14. *** NATO member Turkey maintained its embassy in Afghanistan after Western countries …
(2021-10-14). Afghan Interpreter Who Rescued Biden in 2008 Is Evacuated from Afghanistan with His Family. democracynow.org 
After weeks of pleading for help, an Afghan interpreter, who helped rescue then-Senator Joe Biden when he was stranded 13 years ago in Afghanistan, has finally escaped Afghanistan. Aman Khalili describes his journey out of the country, and we speak with the reporter who broke the story. "I was in the safehouse for 15 days," Khalili tells Democracy Now! Khalili is "representative of a group of people that are still appealing for help from America and anyone else that can help them," says Dion Nissenbaum, with The Wall Street Journal.
(2021-10-14). A Failure to Negotiate: How the US Lost Its War in Afghanistan. counterpunch.org How is it that the US lost its war with Afghanistan? This will be debated for years. The question is part of a larger question: how is it that this greatest of all superpowers has not gained clear victory in any major war since 1945? In addition to this general question there are factors that apply only to the Afghan war. One peculiarity is how that war began.
(2021-10-14). Thorny Experience Of US Uneasy Attitude Towards Some Of Their European Allies. southfront.org 
Illustrative ImageThe US has a long history of betrayals, when we recall the Middle-East, Afghanistan, or the Kurds in Syria, but the fact is that it betrayed its European allies as well. | Written by Sonja van den Ende, independent journalist. | To understand the immense scale of the betrayal by the US, I have to mention a very important case which happened a long time ago, to the Netherlands, the Netherlands are part of the so-called British Empire (like the US), the Netherlands always and still are the most loyal European ally of the US, the Dutch behave like a bad sect, loyal till the end, even if the master…
(2021-10-14). Solidarity with longtime antiwar activist Joe Lombardo! workers.org 
Antiwar Activist Joe Lombardo is a consistent, unequivocal and vocal opponent of all forms of U.S. imperialism. The following is a lightly edited statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression issued Oct. 2. On the heels of its defeat in Afghanistan, the U.S. government has made it clear it . . . |