The historical vectors are moving with conviction and purpose; the weak and lacking in conviction are in retreat and the gun is doing the talking. The government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, the security services and the Afghan National Army, seem to be either huddled in despair, capitulating or fleeing …
Read More »Ashraf Ghani and the Fate of Afghanistan
On August 11, 2021, Pakistan’s Prime Minster Imran Khan said, “I tried to persuade the Taliban… three to four months back when they came here…The condition is that as long as [Afghanistan’s President] Ashraf Ghani is there, we [Taliban] are not going to talk to the Afghan government.” Three days …
Read More »Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Leaves Country As Taliban Forces Enter Kabul
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Taliban has left Afghanistan, just hours after the insurgency’s forces surrounded the nation’s capital city of Kabul Sunday — all but ensuring the collapse of the national government and a return to rule by the insurgent group for the first time in two decades. Ghani and …
Read More »Afghan President Ghani Flees Country as Taliban Enter Kabul: ‘It’s Over’
Afghan president Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as Taliban militants entered the capital city of Kabul. Ghani flew to neighboring Tajikistan, a senior Afghan Interior Ministry official told Reuters. However, the Afghan president’s office said it “cannot say anything about Ashraf Ghani’s movement for security reasons.” “That’s it. …
Read More »Saudi Arabia to deport 800,000 Yemen workers, say sources
Leaks about the Saudi authorities’ request from local employers in the kingdom’s southern governorates to dispense with their Yemeni workers have raised fears of the imminent deportation of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis residing in these areas. A leaked “Classified” document was reported by local sources to have comprised a …
Read More »As Lebanon crumbles, Hezbollah becomes even more emboldened
Lebanon is falling deeper into an economic and social black hole. While Hezbollah is not immune to that crisis, it is still able to play with fire and attack Israel. It’s been a week since rocket-warning sirens alerted Israelis to the dangers of the collapse of Lebanon: a salvo of …
Read More »Palestinians warn: Israel, Hamas headed toward another war
Tensions and failed negotiations on Qatari aid are bringing Israel and Hamas closer toward another open conflict, according to Palestinian sources. Israel and Hamas are headed toward another round of fighting, as international mediators appear to have failed to achieve a breakthrough on bringing Qatari aid money to the Gaza …
Read More »Unpredictable consequences from the Afghan crisis
As China, Russia, Iran and others rise to the occasion, the ascent of the Taliban may signal a post-American world order The US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the rapid advance of the Taliban are not necessarily a simple cause and effect. The US had very few troops in Afghanistan, and …
Read More »Four More Provincial Capitals Fall to Taliban in Last 24 Hours
The centers of Logar, Paktika, Kunar and Paktia provinces and 10 districts fell to the Taliban in the last 24 hours, according to sources as the group’s advances continue. Sources said the Taliban has released all prisoners in these provinces while local officials have relocated to the army bases in …
Read More »A Viable – And Perhaps The Only – Path To Lasting Peace In Afghanistan – OpEd
As each day goes by, the Taliban’s forces edge closer to controlling all of Afghanistan. In the first week of August, the Taliban swept through the northern provinces of the country—Jawzjan, Kunduz, and Sar-e Pul—which form an arc alongside the borders of the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and …
Read More »