Source: Slate.com
It is now widely conceded that America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan, the longest in our history, was a tragic bungle of monumental proportions. However, we are just beginning to learn that the final phase of the war—not so much the frantic evacuation but the entire last three years, as we tiptoed toward the exits—was disgraceful in its own appalling way.
Source: Nature.com
Four months after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, academics say they feel marooned, and abandoned by the international community. With limited prospects for research, many scientists have left or are still trying to find routes out, so they can continue their careers.
Source: Voice of America
The Taliban takeover of neighboring Afghanistan in August forced more than 300,000 Afghans to take shelter in Pakistan but now most of them are being asked to go back.
Source: The Guardian
We return to the story of a journalist forced to flee as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August. Unable to return home without putting at risk everyone she loves and hounded by threatening calls, she remains in hiding in the country four months on
Source: Al Jazeera
The United Nations says it has received “credible allegations” of extrajudicial killings of more than 100 former Afghan national security forces and others associated with Afghanistan’s former government since its fall three months ago, with most taking place at the hands of the ruling Taliban.
Source: The Guardian
Large parts of Afghanistan’s health system are on the brink of collapse because of western sanctions against the Taliban, international experts have warned, as the country faces outbreaks of disease and an escalating malnutrition crisis.
Source: The Independent
The US has formally authorised personal remittance payments to Afghanistan, a crucial lifeline as millions in the country face extreme hunger after the Taliban takeover of the government and the international community continues to sanction the new regime.
Source: Tass
KABUL, December 12. /TASS/. The recognition of the Taliban [outlawed in Russia] government of Afghanistan depends on the international community, Ambassador of Pakistan to Kabul Mansoor Ahmad Khan told TASS Saturday.
Source: BBC
The UK Foreign Office’s handling of the Afghan evacuation after the Taliban seized Kabul was dysfunctional and chaotic, a whistleblower has said.
Raphael Marshall said the process of choosing who could get a flight out was arbitrary and thousands of emails with pleas for help went unread.
Source: The New Yorker
On April 14th, President Joe Biden ended the longest war in United States history, announcing that the last remaining American troops in Afghanistan would leave by September 11th. In the following weeks, the Taliban conquered dozens of rural districts and closed in on major cities. By mid-June, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan—the brittle democratic state built by Afghan modernizers, NATO soldiers, and American taxpayers after the 9/11 attacks—appeared to be in a death spiral. Yet its President, Ashraf Ghani, insisted to his cabinet that the Republic would endure. In every meeting, “he assured us, and encouraged us,” Rangina Hamidi, the acting minister of education, said. Ghani reminded them, “America didn’t make a promise that they would be here forever.”