A NUMBER OF OBSCURE figures, largely unknown to Western observers, have been appointed to senior security and intelligence positions by the Taliban, just days after their return to power in Afghanistan. Some of the names of senior officials have been made public by news agencies in the Middle East. Others were publicized on Tuesday by Pajhwok Afghan News, an independent […]

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 in a surprise press conference in the Afghan capital. At […]

A thorough assessment of the situation would be carried out before India and Russia make any move on recognition for the Taliban, which has taken over Afghanistan. Combined teams of the foreign ministries of both countries wold be set up which in turn would conduct a detailed assessment of the situation in Afghanistan. Based on the assessment of the combined […]

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 of the US forces’ presence in Kabul. Mujahid called on […]

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 deadline to airlift Americans and their allies to safety. This […]

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 only the minimal attention it had received ever since U.S.-aided […]

Biden is getting attacked on all sides for putting its ‘credibility’ on the Taiwan issue at risk. Will he cave to it? In an interview on Wednesday, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked President Biden whether the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan called into question the credibility of America’s commitment to its allies and partners, particularly Taiwan. “Look, America cannot be […]

Germany, Turkey, the US and Taliban have discussed keeping the Kabul airport open beyond August 31 deadline to evacuate more Afghans from Afghanistan. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the media on Monday that leaders of G7 member countries should coordinate evacuation from Kabul airport and think about extending the evacuation deadline beyond August 31. He said that Germany, US, […]

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will host an emergency meeting of G-7 leaders Tuesday to address the chaotic situation in Afghanistan and what their next moves will be, a media report said on Tuesday. The G-7 countries — the UK, the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan — will attempt to formulate a plan for the immediate term and the […]

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 in nearly two decades, the Taliban control most of Afghanistan, […]