Afghanistan

Taliban retakes power, but it faces mounting challenges ahead

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan last week, 20 years after it was removed from power in a US-led military invasion. Winning that war might just turn out to be the easy part, as maintaining peace and governing the conflict-wracked and impoverished country will be a tough nut to crack, …

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The history of the Taliban

On Sunday, the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan after a few weeks of stunning military victories. The armed group had been toppled in a US-led invasion in 2001 following the September 11 attacks on US soil, but it gradually regained strength, carrying out numerous attacks on foreign as well …

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Afghans need to accept Taliban rule, says Hashmat Ghani

Hashmat Ghani, whose brother – former President Ashraf Ghani – fled the country last week, tells Al Jazeera that it is necessary to accept the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan to avoid instability. Hashmat Ghani, brother of Afghanistan’s deposed President Ashraf Ghani, says he has accepted the Taliban’s takeover of the …

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Voice of jihad: Taliban spokesman in spotlight after shadowy fight

For years the Taliban’s top spokesman shunned the public eye, even as he amassed hundreds of thousands of followers online where he live-tweeted the insurgency. But days after the Taliban captured Kabul following the collapse of the US-backed government, Zabihullah Mujahid presented himself to the public for the first time …

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Shia Clerics: Taliban Must Ensure Equal Role for All

The Shia Ulema Council at a press conference on Tuesday urged the Taliban to ensure that they will treat all faiths and ethnicities with equality and justice. They said the next government should ensure the participation of all religions and ethnicities. The clerics called on the Taliban to ensure the …

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CIA Chief Held Meeting with Taliban Leader in Kabul: US Media

The head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns held a secret meeting with the Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden is expected to decide as soon as Tuesday on whether to extend an Aug. 31 …

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Taliban Rejects Proposal to Extend US Evacuation Process

The Taliban’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid at a press conference on Tuesday said they would not agree to an extension of a looming August 31 deadline to evacuate Afghans from Hamid Karzai International Airport, even as the US President Joseph Biden is expected to soon announce his decision on the extension …

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Taliban and Al Qaeda: If there’s no war, there won’t be an alliance

The U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan was about counterterrorism. Had it not been for a traumatic terrorist attack in the United States, 20 years of U.S. warfare in Afghanistan never would have occurred. Most Americans would have been oblivious to events there, and U.S. policymakers would have given the country …

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Sheikh Mohamed meets French foreign and defence ministers in Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, on Monday received Jean-Yves Le Drian, France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Florence Parly, Minister of Defence. During the meeting at Al Shati Palace in Abu Dhabi, they discussed the current developments in …

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The Taliban Haven’t Changed

Welcome back to “Forgotten Fact-Checks,” a weekly column produced by National Review’s News Desk. This week, we remind our leaders that the Taliban have not changed, highlight another shoddy smear job of Governor Ron DeSantis, and take note of more media misses. The Taliban Haven’t Changed For the first time …

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