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☆ Fact-checking night 3 of the Republican National Convention
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Night three of the Republican National Convention has kicked off in Milwaukee. From CNN’s Haley BritzkyRep. Ronny Jackson’s false claim of ‘record-high inflation’Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas claimed in his Republican National Convention speech on Wednesday that there has been “record-high inflation” under the Biden administration. From CNN’s Haley BritzkyRNC video falsely claims there was peace in the Middle East under TrumpA video played early in the Republican National Convention proceedings on Wednesday night claimed that the “strength” of President Donald Trump kept “the Middle East at peace.” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley had similarly claimed in his convention speech on Monday that the Middle East was “at peace” four years ago under Trump. Dana El Kurd, senior nonresident fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC think tank, also called that claim “false” when Trump made it. She said in a November email: “The Abraham Accords did not achieve peace in the Middle East.

Persons: Newt Gingrich, Trump, Biden, –, Jennifer Hansler, Richard Grenell, Joe Biden “, ”, Joe Biden, ” Grenell, Donald Trump’s, “, CNN’s Haley Britzky, Ronny Jackson’s, Ronny Jackson, Jackson, Biden –, Daniel Dale, Michael Whatley, “ They’ve, Charlie Dietz, Donald Trump, Abraham, Aaron David Miller, ” Miller, Dana El Kurd, Joe Biden’s Organizations: CNN, Republican National Convention, Trump Former Republican, Defense, Trump intel, National Intelligence, ISIS, United, Taliban, Afghanistan Reconstruction, Russian, Russian Navy, Pentagon, State Department, NATO, Trump, Republican, ” Republican National, Abraham Accords, United Arab Emirates, West Bank, Hezbollah, Carnegie Endowment, International, Arab Center Washington DC, The Defense News, Heritage Foundation Locations: Milwaukee, Afghanistan, United States, ”, Doha, Texas, Cuba, Russia, Ukraine, Havana , Cuba, Russian, Kazan, Havana, Bahrain, Israel, Morocco, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, China, “, America

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The watchdog for U.S. assistance to Afghanistan has warned that the Taliban are benefiting from international aid through the establishment of fraudulent nongovernmental organizations. The Taliban have exerted greater control over national and international NGOs since seizing power in August 2021. They have barred Afghan women from NGO work and sought to push out foreign organizations from the education sector. In May, a SIGAR report highlighted the Taliban’s interference with NGO work in Afghanistan. In another example, NGO officials told the watchdog that the Taliban coerce NGOs into hiring supporters or purchase goods from Taliban-owned companies.

Persons: weren't, SIGAR Organizations: U.S Locations: KABUL, Afghanistan, U.S, American

The audit has not changed the U.S. Treasury's view that the bank must make reforms before the department will support disbursements from the Afghan Fund to Da Afghanistan Bank, or DAB, as the central bank is known, said a U.S. Treasury official on condition of anonymity. It also must prove that it has "adequate" controls against money-laundering and terrorism financing and install a "reputable" independent monitor, said the Treasury official. A Taliban administration spokesman and a spokesperson for the Afghan central bank did not respond to request for comment. Afghanistan remains mired in grave humanitarian and economic crises that some experts say has been worsened by U.S. restrictions hampering DAB's ability to perform key central bank functions, such as ensuring stable exchange rates and prices. Calling the audit a "preliminary assessment," the Treasury official said its "limitations" suggested that "more comprehensive third-party assessment efforts may be needed."

Persons: ”, disbursements, Shah Mehrabi, Mehrabi, Anwar ul, Haq Ahady, Jonathan Landay, Charlotte Greenfield, Don Durfee Organizations: U.S ., Afghan, Da, Da Afghanistan Bank, Treasury, Federal Reserve Bank of New, DAB, U.S . Agency for International Development, USAID, U.S, Afghan Fund, State Department, The State Department, Reuters, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, ISLAMABAD, U.S, Da Afghanistan, Swiss, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Afghan, Washington, United States, Afghanistan, American

☆ The US military created an illusion of success in Afghanistan by handling tasks it was supposed to train Afghan troops to do, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A new watchdog report details how Afghanistan's security forces collapsed in August 2021. It said the US handled tasks that it was supposed to be training Afghan troops how to do. Washington lacked the political will and effort to actually develop an Afghan security force in a "war-torn and impoverished country," which is a monumental task. Additionally, the report placed blame on the Afghan government, which it said was riddled with corruption that trickled down into the military. "However, nothing affected morale more than the realization in February 2021 that US military forces were leaving."

☆ Watchdog Report on Afghan Collapse Points to Abrupt Withdrawal, Lack of Planning
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ben Kesling | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, whose Western-backed government collapsed in 2021 and the Taliban took over the country. A government watchdog said an abrupt, uncoordinated withdrawal from Afghanistan and years of problems with planning and oversight of U.S. assistance contributed to the collapse of the Western-backed government in Kabul and the Taliban takeover of the country soon after American forces departed, according to a forthcoming report. Poor accountability on weapons and equipment provided to Afghanistan and a lack of systemic planning were also important factors in the military collapse there, according to the report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The report, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, also calls out the Department of Defense for delaying answering official inquiries, missing deadlines and providing incomplete answers to questions.

☆ Exclusive: Afghan government officials helped smugglers sneak almost $1 billion in cash and gold out of Afghanistan as the US-backed government neared collapse, documents show
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | Edris Lutfi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

The office of Ashraf Ghani, the US-backed Afghan president, had been informed about the problem, insiders say. The smuggling flouted Afghan laws requiring travelers to declare cash or gold worth $10,000 or more and a strict ban on exporting $20,000 or more. The documents identify the two men as being part of the 2021 smuggling ring; they do not allege who was behind the $824 million smuggled in 2019 and 2020. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani meets with President Joe Biden in June 2021. The UAE is also the home of Ghani and Noor, the former provincial governor with alleged ties to the Hairatan smuggling ring.

In the wake of Greene’s statement and other Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump questioning the amount of U.S. aid delivered to Ukraine in recent weeks, Sens. A key supporter of Kyiv, Portman is the co-chair and co-founder of the Senate Ukraine Caucus and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His departure from Congress is seen as a potential blow for Ukrainian support. Some Ukrainian officials have expressed nervousness in recent weeks, as news stories indicated potential GOP opposition to continued support for Kyiv. Barry Reeger / AP fileYuriy Saks, adviser to Ukraine Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov, told NBC News on Monday that he hoped the results of the U.S. election would not affect the country’s continued support of Ukraine.

☆ Taliban test repaired helicopters, planes in flyover of capital
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-17 | by ( Mohammad Yunus Yawar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Taliban military aircraft roared over the Afghan capital on Wednesday as the group's defence ministry tested out recently repaired hardware, much of it left behind by foreign militaries and acquired since the Taliban seized power a year ago. Aircraft, including helicopters and at least one plane, flew low over Kabul skies near the airport, including what appeared to be at least one Russian-made MI-24 attack helicopter and two other American-made aircraft. A defence ministry spokesperson, Enayatullah Khowarazmi, told Reuters the Taliban had recently repaired some helicopters and were conducting the flyovers as a test. The defence ministry also said in a statement that its engineering team had recently repaired 35 tanks, 15 Humvee armoured vehicles and 20 U.S.-produced Navistar 7000 military vehicles. Some of the aircraft were flown into neighbouring Central Asian countries by fleeing Afghan forces a year ago, but the Taliban inherited left-over aircraft.

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