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Vance’s Republican National Convention speech capped a night Republicans spent prosecuting what they see as President Joe Biden’s biggest foreign policy failures and their consequences. Republicans used Wednesday night to introduce Vance and his life story to the nation. You owe President Trump answers!” Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn shouted at Cheatle, who continued to walk with her head down and ignore the senators’ criticism. Energy security and energy policy are in the governor’s comfort zone and that was on full display Wednesday night. When Trump finally did call Burgum, the former president told Burgum he would not be his running mate.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Ohio Sen, JD Vance, Republican Party —, Joe Biden’s, ”, William Pekrul, Trump, Kai Trump, Vance, –, Biden Vance, Trump’s MAGA, ” Vance, Usha, —, Sen, Biden, Vance’s, Usha Vance, wasn’t, Usha Vance’s, JD, Yale Law School –, humanize, he’d, “, Brett Kavanaugh, John Roberts, Peter Navarro, he’s, Navarro, Donald Trump, Paul Manafort, Manafort “, ” Trump, Cheryl Juels, Nicole Gee, ’, “ Joe Biden, ” Juels, Herman Lopez, Hunter Lopez, haven’t, Lopez’s, Alicia Lopez, Harris, ” Herman Lopez, Khizr, Ghazala Khan, ” Khizr Khan, Kimberly Cheatle, Tennessee Sen, Marsha Blackburn, Cheatle, ” Sen, John Barrasso, Blackburn, James Lankford, Kevin Cramer, Barrasso, Cheatle’s “, ” Cheatle, “ We’re, ” “, Cramer, Burgum’s, Doug Burgum’s, Achilles, Burgum, “ Hey, Treene, Morgan Rimmer Organizations: Wisconsin CNN, Republican Party, Republican, Convention, Gold Star, Jewish Harvard University, “, Republicans, Republican National, Marines, Yale Law School, Trump, North American Free, Ivy, Ohio State University, Michigan, China, Senate, Yale University, Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, Fox News, RNC, Trump White House, CNN Gold Star, Hamid, CNN, Biden, Secret, Fiserv, Tennessee, ”, Blackburn, Sens, North Dakota Gov, Energy, Republican National Convention Locations: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Afghanistan, Ohio, Washington, American, Mexico, China, Iraq, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ukraine, San Diego, Florida, America, Kabul, States, United States

☆ No music, no Western-style haircuts: UN report details life in Afghanistan under Taliban’s moral enforcers
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Lex Harvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Listening to music, smoking hookah, and getting a Western-style haircut are all punishable acts under the suffocating rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to a new UN report. The Taliban’s so-called morality police have curtailed human rights – disproportionately targeting women and girls – creating a “climate of fear and intimidation,” said the report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) published Tuesday. Moreover, the report said, the Taliban’s instructions are issued in a variety of formats – often only verbally – and are inconsistently and unpredictably enforced. However, reports from Afghanistan suggest the Taliban’s repressive control over women has led to a sharp rise in suicide attempts. Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP/Getty ImagesMedia is heavily restricted, and residents live in a surveillance state, the report added.

Persons: ”, Majid Saeedi, Ebrahim Noroozi, Bernat, Ahmad, Ahmad Sahel Arman, “, Rosemary DiCarlo Organizations: CNN, UN, legislating, Taliban, ”, Getty, Media Locations: Afghanistan, Zaranj, Afghanistan's Nimroz, Kabul, Afghan, Ahmad Sahel, AFP, Qatar, Doha

The administration and other Western governments are scrambling to keep up with the mounting danger ISIS-K poses. Before this year, U.S. and other Western officials believed ISIS-K had the intent but not the ability to orchestrate attacks abroad. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in Europe since 2004. ISIS-K also launched a major attack in Iran this year that killed dozens, and other plots were disrupted in Europe. The Taliban sees ISIS-K as a threat to its rule and has launched a series of attacks on the group.

Organizations: Biden, U.S ., Moscow's, Moscow's Crocus City Hall, ISIS, Embassy, Taliban, White House National Security Council Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, U.S, Moscow's Crocus, Europe, Iran, Africa, Khorasan, Washington, United States, Doha

Rights groups are furious the Taliban meeting is going ahead without Afghan women, and say it legitimizes Afghanistan’s leaders and fails to hold them to account for grave injustices. Whatever we had, we spent it,” Arzo’s brother Ahamad, a 27-year-old journalist under threat from the Taliban due to his occupation, told CNN in November. Arzo told CNN what drove her suicide attempt. Pakistan’s policy on “illegal foreigners” is no different to that of other nations, Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told CNN. CNNArzo doesn’t want a life like that for herself, her sister, or the women and girls still in Afghanistan.

Persons: ”, Arzo, Javed Iqbal, ” Richard Bennett, Zabihullah Mujahid, “, Richard Bennett, weren’t, – they’ll, They’re, Mahsa, Ahamad, Doctors, Arzo’s, CNN Arzo hadn’t, ” Mahsa, they’ve, can’t, Moniza Kakar, Rain, Kakar, Abbas, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Baloch, hadn’t, ” Amanullah, He’s, Amanullah, he’s, CNN Arzo, Heather Barr, ” Barr, “ It’s, Bennett, she’ll, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, Lifeline, International Association for Suicide Prevention, Befrienders Worldwide, Pakistan CNN —, United Nations, Human Rights, UN, Security, “ ACC ”, Afghan, ACC, Pakistani Ministry of Foreign, “, Taliban, Human Rights Watch, International Court of Justice, Criminal Court, ICC Locations: Karachi, Pakistan, Pakistani, Afghanistan, CNN Pakistan, Doha, Qatar, Afghan, Kabul, Islamabad, –, Soviet, ”, Canada, Israel, Gaza

☆ Fact checking the CNN presidential debate
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +69 min

CNN —President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump faced off during CNN’s presidential debate in Atlanta Thursday night. From CNN’s Daniel DaleFormer President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden debate at CNN's Atlanta studios on June 27, 2024. From CNN’s Daniel Dale and Ella NilsenFormer President Donald Trump, left, and President Joe Biden take part in the CNN presidential debate on Thursday, June 27. From CNN’s Alicia WallaceFormer President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden debate at CNN's Atlanta studios on June 27, 2024. Kpler found that China imported about 511,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude in December 2020, Trump’s last full month in office.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Trump “, “, ” Trump, ”, Trump, ” John Kelly, servicemembers, Kelly, Jim Sciutto, Daniel Dale, Kaanita Iyer, Roe, Wade, That’s, Wade ”, Kimberly Mutcherson, “ Donald Trump’s, Maya Manian, Trump’s, Mary Ziegler, Davis, Ziegler, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Roe should’ve, ’, Will Lanzoni, ” Biden, corpsman —, Hamid Karzai, CNN’s Haley Britzky, didn’t, Priscilla Alvarez, George Floyd, Tim Walz, Walz, Paul –, CNN’s Holmes Lybrand, Daniel Dale FACT, European Union won’t, Ella Nilsen, Jill Biden, Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, Adam Rose, CNN US Sen, Marco Rubio, CNN Trump, Austin Steele, CNN Biden, Tristen Rouse, CNN Tapper, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Kennedy, CNN MJ Lee, Mandel Ngan, Megan Varner, Reuters Kennedy, Burk Stringfellow, Iran “, Mike Pompeo, ” Pompeo, Tami Luhby Trump, CNN’s KFILE, weren’t, Hillary Clinton, affirmatively, it’s, what’s, –, Alicia Wallace, Obama, CNN’s Ella Nilsen, you’re, Biden’s, Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s, Viktor Shokin, Shokin, CNN’s Marshall Cohen, “ It’s, Rick Muskat, CNN.So, Morgan, Katie Lobosco, Alvin Bragg’s, Bragg, Jack Smith, Smith, General Merrick Garland, Garland, Matthew Colangelo, Colangelo, I’ve, there’s, Iran haven’t, ” Matt Smith, Ali Vaez, Kpler, Gary Engelhardt, Jason Richwine, ” Richwine, Tami Luhby, Confederate, Robert E, Lee, marchthat, “ I’m, Elle Reeve, Ralph Northam, Jen Christensen, ” Trump’s, Ronald Reagan’s, Barack Obama, George W, ‘, ’ ” Trump, CNN’s Jen Christensen, Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi, “ Nancy Pelosi, …, Alexandra Pelosi, Aaron Bennett, Cherry, Christopher Miller, Miller, Charis Kubrin, CNN’s Catherine Shoichet, ” Kubrin’s, Graham Ousey, College of William & Mary, Erwan, George Washington, Marshall Cohen, ” Howard Gleckman, Gleckman, Emmanuel Saez, Gabriel Zucman “, Howard Gleckman, ” Gleckman Organizations: CNN, Trump, Homeland Security, SSRS, Marquette Law School, NBC, Gallup, ” Rutgers Law, American University, university’s Health, University of California, Atlanta, US Navy, Border Patrol, Border Patrol Council, National Guard, Minneapolis Former, Minnesota Democratic Gov, Minnesota National Guard, Guard, EU, European Union, US, European Automobile Manufacturers ’ Association, CNN US, Biden, House, CNN Biden's, CNN Biden, White House, Getty, Reuters, State, Medicare, Black, of Labor Statistics, Republican, Burisma Holdings, International Monetary Fund, Republicans, House Republicans, US International Trade Commission, US Customs, Deer Stags, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Justice Department, DOJ, DC, federal, Department, Democrat, Americas, Crisis, Social Security, Social, General Internal Medicine, “, Syracuse University, Center for Immigration Studies, Electoral, White, Nazi, US Centers for Disease Control, Former Virginia Gov, United, China Former, China, Hamas, ISIS, Trump’s, Democratic, Congressional, Capitol, Colorado Supreme Court, US Food, Guttmacher Institute, California Democrat, Capitol Police Board, Senate, District of Columbia National Guard, College of William &, NATO, Atlantic Treaty Organization, George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, Transatlantic, Urban, Brookings Tax, Urban Institute, ”, Tax, Center Locations: Atlanta, France, Afghanistan, Kabul, Jordan, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Yakushima Island, Japan, Minneapolis, Portland, Minnesota , Minneapolis, St, EU, Georgia, CNN's, Washington ,, AFP, Lebanon, Israel, what’s, Paris, China, India, Russia, United States, Ukrainian, Ukraine, lockstep, American, Manhattan, New York , Georgia, Florida, Washington, New York, York’s, Mexico, Kpler, Malaysia, Charlottesville, Charlottesville , Virginia, White, Virginia, Northam, East, “, New York City, Saudi, al Qaeda, Texas, Colorado, California, Trump, Irvine, Germany, Berkeley

☆ Opinion | Do We Still Understand How Wars Are Won?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Bret Stephens | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the past 50 years, the United States has gotten good at losing wars. We won limited victories against Saddam Hussein in 1991 and Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011, only to fumble the endgames. If you’re on the left, you’d probably say that most if not all these wars were unnecessary, unwinnable or unworthy. Life in America would not have materially changed if, say, Kosovo were still a part of Serbia. We know how America fought such wars.

Persons: Saddam Hussein, Muammar el, What’s, you’d, “, ” Ron Chernow, Ulysses Grant Organizations: ISIS Locations: United States, Saigon, Beirut, Mogadishu, Kabul, Baghdad, Iraq, Grenada, Panama, Kosovo, America, Serbia, Vicksburg, ”

☆ Opinion | What Do I Owe the Dead of My Generation’s Mismanaged Wars?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-26 | by ( Phil Klay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

We passed row after row of pristine white tombs, the dead of all the just wars and unjust wars that made and remade this country, and my relative told us he found it quite moving; he hadn’t been expecting that. Perhaps he thought it’d be more bombastic, or obviously militaristic, and he was taken by the beauty and serenity and quiet dignity of the place. The Marines were trying to manage the chaos of the poorly planned evacuation of Afghans from Kabul — a humanitarian mission at heart, trying to help those we were abandoning. The blast killed the aid worker and his relatives, seven of whom were children. The sort of people those Marines died trying to help.

Persons: hadn’t, it’d, Nicole Gee, “, ” Organizations: Arlington National, Marine, Marines, ISIS Locations: Afghanistan, Arlington, Ireland, Kabul

☆ Opinion: We Germans are making Trump ‘thunderstorm’ plans
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Opinion Anna Sauerbrey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

That’s scary.” If Trump is elected, Jörg is convinced, he would withdraw American troops from Europe and stop aid to Ukraine. Jim Bourg/AFP/Getty ImagesSix months ahead of the vote, this soccer field conversation reflects the German view of the US elections quite well. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty ImagesIt’s an optimistic view, based on the assumption that Trump will act rationally, as a deal-maker, if elected. What if Trump tries to take America out of NATO or creates a “dormant NATO,” a NATO existent only in name? Another Trump presidency would not only put Germany’s security at risk, but also manifest this view of the US for another four years.

Persons: Thomas Ernst Editor’s, Anna Sauerbrey, Read, ’, ”, Jörg, Miguel, Donald Trump, “, “ Trump, Trump, “ I’m, Piero, Joe Biden, Jim Bourg, Europe’s, Russia “, Olaf Scholz, Michael Kappeler, ” Scholz, mums, Annalena Baerbock, Greg Abbott, Biden, Kirill Kudryavtsev, George H, Bush’s, Barack Obama, Obama, Heinz M, Schahina Gambir, Gambir, Roe, Wade, Bob Parent Organizations: Zeit, Berlin CNN —, Köpenicker FC, CNN, Biden, Trump, Getty, NATO, Republican, European Union, European Central Bank, EU, ”, Dallas Mavericks, Mavericks, LA Clippers, NBA, Green, Bundestag Locations: Berlin, America, Taiwan, Europe, Ukraine, Italy, AFP, Gaza, Germany, Russia, United States, Trump, Texas, China, Poland, France, Frankfurt, Kabul, New York City, New York

Heavy seasonal rains have set off flash floods across Afghanistan, killing at least 50 people in one province, leaving 100 more missing and displacing thousands of others on Friday, officials said. The flood’s toll in the northern province of Baghlan, which appeared to have suffered the worst devastation on Friday, was likely to rise, said Hedayatullah Hamdard, the director of the provincial disaster management department. Flooding on Friday also killed at least one person in Badakhshan, a mountainous eastern province, where it destroyed homes, small dams and bridges and killed 2,000 livestock, the provincial diaster management department said. Floods also occurred in the provinces of Ghor and Herat, in central and western Afghanistan, according to the Taliban government. Doctors were also being deployed in Parwan Province, north of Kabul, said Hekmatullah Shamim, the spokesman for the province’s governor, though details of the flood’s toll there were not immediately available.

Persons: Hedayatullah Hamdard, Hekmatullah Shamim Locations: Afghanistan, Baghlan, Badakhshan, Ghor, Herat, Parwan Province, Kabul

☆ The US military isn't ready for the coming drone war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-11 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

The Department of Defense is working on initiatives to face the drone threat, but the US military doesn't yet appear ready to confront this ever-evolving challenge, especially on the scale seen in Ukraine. AdvertisementA US military MQ-9 Reaper drone waits for take-off at Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan on March 9, 2018. US military leaders have repeatedly stressed there's no silver bullet to defeat small drones in battle. Shellie HallStudents there spend several weeks learning how to identify, engage, and defeat small drones. The drone threat draws certain parallels to fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, where hidden bombs posed a tremendous threat.

Persons: GENYA SAVILOV, Mick Ryan, hasn't, you've, Franz J, Marty, Samuel Bendett, Paul Scharre, that's, Mike Parent, Mark Schauer, Parent, Paul Butcher, Cpl, Doug Bush, Amber Osei, Moseph Sauda, doesn't, Sauda, America's, Bram Janssen, Scharre, Justin Bronk, Jack Watling, Ryan Organizations: Business, Troops, of Defense, Department of Defense, Getty, Australian Army, Islamic State, Kandahar Air Base, Defense Ministry, Karabakh . Defense Ministry, Azerbaijan, AP, Pentagon, US Army, Aircraft Systems, Solutions, 71st Jaeger Brigade, US Army Yuma, Technology, Army, sUAS University, US Marine Corps, Force, Central Command, Shellie, National Training Center, US Army Air Defense Artillery, Center, New, New American Security, Base, London's Royal United Services Institute Locations: Russian, Ukrainian, Ukraine, prowling, Jordan, Chasiv Yar, Donetsk, AFP, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Avdiivka, Yuma, East, Oklahoma's Fort Sill, California, Fort Sill, China, Luhansk Region, Europe, Iran, New American, Iraq, Washington, Bagram, Kabul, Australian

☆ Congressmen demand answers after CNN report contradicts Pentagon investigations into deadly Kabul airport attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | Mick Krever | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The reporting included a video obtained by CNN captured by a Marine’s GoPro camera that had not been seen publicly in full before. Much of the controversy about the Pentagon’s two investigations into the attack has focused on gunfire in the aftermath of the blast. “Lastly, why do journalists have this video footage and the Department does not? The recent discovery of new video released by CNN directly contradicts and exposes outright lies from our recent briefing last month from CENTCOM officials,” the Gold Star families said in a statement they sent to CNN. Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/FileThe evidence also suggests the Pentagon may have more video footage than it has acknowledged in public.

Persons: Defense Lloyd Austin, Austin “, –, ”, Mike Waltz, Darrell Issa, Tim Burchett, Brian Mast, Rich McCormick, Keith Self, Cory Mills, Chris Smith –, Sayed Ahmadi, Ahmadi, “, ” James Adams, Hamid, Jared Schmitz, Humberto Sanchez, Taylor Hoover, Nicole Gee, Kareem Nikoui, Hunter Lopez, Rylee McCollum –, Biden, Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM, I’m, Haroon Sabawoon, Rob Lodewick, ” Lodewick Organizations: CNN —, Defense, CNN, Pentagon, House Foreign Affairs, Command, Marines, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Department, Gold Star, Department of Defense, Biden Administration, “, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Army, DoD, Service Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, US

☆ Opinion: Russia can lose this war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Opinion Timothy Snyder | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And far too many of us, during Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, have believed that. Of its three most consequential foreign wars, the Red Army lost two. And the Russian army of today is not the Red Army. It was disproportionately Ukrainians who fought their war to Berlin in the uniform of the Red Army. Russia can lose this war, and should, for the sake of Russians themselves.

Persons: Timothy Snyder, Richard C, Levin, “, ”, Read, Leonid Brezhnev, Putin, Alexander Nemenov, Brezhnev, Vladimir Putin, Robert Nickelsberg Organizations: Global Affairs, Yale University, CNN, Russia, Getty, Red, Red Army, Soviet, Lease, Russian Empire, Russo, Fascism Locations: Nazi Germany, Russia, Ukraine, AFP, Poland, Afghanistan, USSR, Soviet Ukraine, Berlin, United States, Russian, Crimean, Japanese, Europe, Pacific, Kabul, Soviet Union, Crimea, Japan, Soviet, Ukrainian

☆ Opinion: I’ve seen too many young journalists pay the ultimate price. It’s them I’ll be thinking of today
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Opinion Jon Williams | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

When a journalist is killed, it is not just their voice that is silenced: Press freedom is your freedom. Over 30 years ago, the United Nations recognized May 3 as World Press Freedom Day: a global reminder of the importance of press freedom and an opportunity to assess its health around the world. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) found that at least 100 journalists and media workers have been killed since we last marked World Press Freedom Day. Tragically, on this World Press Freedom Day, our work is needed more than ever. On this World Press Freedom Day, the fallen who gave their lives for the truth should serve as a reminder as to why press freedom is really your freedom.

Persons: Jon Williams, Rory Peck, Read, Jon Williams Rory Peck, Bayeux, ”, Simon Cumbers, Simon, Al, Louise, Cumbers, Johnny Green, Thomas Jefferson, ” Jefferson, it’s, Dom Phillips, Phillips, Aldeia Maloca, Bruno Pereira, Joao Laet, don’t Organizations: Rory Peck Trust, BBC News, ABC News, CNN, 1st Cavalry, Canadian, BBC, The Washington Post, United Nations, Protect Journalists, Getty, United, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Bayeux, Northern France, France, Omaha Beach, Europe, Nazi Germany, Normandy, Paris, “, Saudi Arabia, Al Qaeda, Saudi, Riyadh, Ireland, London, South, Indonesia, Turkey, India, Madrid, Irish, Kabul, Afghanistan, Gaza, Ukraine, Honduras, Sudan, Philippines, Brazil, Aldeia, Roraima, AFP, Britain, United States, Israel, Egypt

☆ Kabul airport attack exclusive: New evidence challenges the Pentagon’s official account of a horrific incident as the US withdrew from Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | Mick Krever | Mark Baron | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

One told CNN he heard the first large burst of shooting come from where US Marines were standing, near the blast site. This is significantly more than the three “near simultaneous” bursts of gunfire that the Pentagon investigations have claimed occurred. The Supplemental Review found no new evidence of a complex attack, and uncovered no new assertions of outgoing fire post-blast. “They were targeting people,” another, Nazir, 16, told CNN. CNN spoke with about ten Marines anonymously, many of whom described hearing gunfire and feeling under attack from it.

Persons: Hamid, Akhter Gulfam, –, Wakil Koshar, Robert Maher, Sarah Morris, Morris, Maher, Rob Lodewick, ”, “, ” Shogofa Hamidi, Morsal, Nazir, ” Noorullah Zakhel, Read, Sayeed Ahmadi, ” Ahmadi, Ahmadi, Lodewick, Marcus Yam, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, “ You’ve, they’ve, It’s, Taylor Crul, Romel Finley, Finley, Barber, ‘, ” Finley, Christian Sanchez, Sanchez, Staff Mark Milley, Kenneth “ Frank ” McKenzie, Darrell Issa, Nick Paton Walsh, Sandi Sidhu, Julia Hollingsworth, Masoud Popalzai, Sitara Zamani, Abdul Basir Bina, Katie Polglase, Gianluca Mezzofiore Organizations: CNN, United, Pentagon, US, Airport, NATO, US Army Central Command, Getty, Montana State University, University of Southampton, Marines, British Ministry of Defense, U.S . Central Command, AP CNN, “, Los Angeles Times, Marine, ” Marines, Navy, US Air Force, . Air Force, Reuters, US Marines, YouTube, Investigators, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Central Command Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, United States, airport’s, American, British, AFP, Bozeman, England, US, Kabul airport's, U.S, Finland, ”

☆ Pentagon Reviews Events Before Attack That Killed 13 U.S. Troops in Kabul
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A new Pentagon review of the events leading up to the bombing that killed 13 American service members at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021, has reaffirmed earlier findings that U.S. troops could not have prevented the deadly violence. The review’s conclusions focus on the final days and hours at Abbey Gate before the attack, which also killed as many as 170 civilians. Some Marines who were at the gate have said they identified the suspected bomber — who became known to investigators as “Bald Man in Black” — in the crowds hours before the attack but were twice denied permission by their superiors to shoot him. But the review, building on a previous investigation made public in February 2022, rejected those accusations. The narrative of missed opportunities to avert tragedy has gained momentum over the past year among conservatives and has contributed to broader Republican criticisms of the Biden administration’s troop withdrawal and evacuation from Kabul in August 2021.

Organizations: Islamic State, Marines, Biden Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan

☆ A bloodthirsty ISIS branch is 'on the upswing' after the US left Afghanistan in a lurch, a former top commander says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

AdvertisementIn the years since the US and its NATO allies left Afghanistan, a particularly violent branch of the Islamic State terror group has grown stronger. During the first few years of its existence, ISIS-K attacks were mainly confined to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The first year under the Taliban's rule saw a sharp uptick in terror attacks inside Afghanistan. But that trend has changed in recent months; attacks inside the country declined while attacks beyond its borders have increased. Thus, the conditions inside Afghanistan have awarded the terror group space to develop a greater capacity to stage external attacks.

Persons: —, Joseph Votel, Hamid, Taylor Crul, Michael Kugelman, Kugelman, MARCUS YAM, Votel, that's, Doug Ellis, Qassem, STRINGER, Michael Kurilla, John Kirby, Biden, Kirby Organizations: Service, NATO, 82nd Airborne Division, U.S . Air Force, US Air Force, REUTERS ISIS, Islamic, ISIS, Department of Defense, Hamid, AP, South Asia Institute, Wilson, Kabul International Airport, ANGELES, US Central Command, Security Forces, Staff, Getty, White, National Security, Department, Defense Locations: Afghanistan, Moscow, Kabul, Handout, Khorasan Provence, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Washington, Darzab district, Jowzjan province, Mar, Iran, Central Asia, Iranian, Kerman, Europe, Russia, Islamic State, Crocus, American, Achin, Nangarhar Province

☆ Exclusive: State Department officials told House investigators they created Afghanistan withdrawal plans from scratch
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Kylie Atwood | Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The State Department has continued to publicly defend its decision making around the NEO as well as the ending of the war. Milley and retired Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who were in charge of the US military during the withdrawal, blamed the State Department for not ordering a NEO sooner. The State Department officials did not weigh in on whether calling a NEO sooner would have had a substantial impact, as this would have preceded their arrival in Afghanistan. Although the State Department has faced sharp criticism from the Defense Department – most recently in a congressional hearing with retired Gens. Coordination with the militaryAnd on the ground, as they grappled with the frenzied and fluid situation, State Department officials and service members at Hamid Karzai International Airport were regularly coordinating.

Persons: John Bass, Jim DeHart, Jayne Howell, Michael McCaul’s, McCaul, Biden, ”, Mark Milley, ” Howell, DeHart, ” Bass, Hamid, Bass, Wendy Sherman, Washington . Howell, I’m, Howell, “, Trump, Anna Moneymaker, Milley, Kenneth McKenzie, McKenzie, Vedant Patel, “ It’s, Defense Department –, Gens, Kenneth McKenzie –, ” DeHart, didn’t Organizations: CNN, State Department, House Foreign Affairs, Republican, Department, Foreign Affairs, Chiefs, House Foreign, ”, DC, State, Department of Defense, Airport, Foreign Service Institute, Pentagon, Biden, Joint Chiefs, Staff, US, US Central Command, ” State Department, Defense Department, Hamid Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghan, Ukraine, Kabul Afghanistan, Washington ., Turkey, Rayburn, Washington , DC, extremis

For all of the counterterrorism wins that the United States has had in its fight against the Islamic State — and there have been many — we still have not figured out how to defeat it. It served as the latest deadly reminder that the Islamic State — and particularly its Khorasan branch, ISIS-K, which is active in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan — remains a potent threat. Several ISIS-K plots in Europe have been disrupted, with arrests in Austria, France, Germany and the Netherlands. All of these events point to what we now know: Stripping the Islamic State of its self-proclaimed caliphate is not the same as beating it. Forced from this redoubt, ISIS has reconstituted itself in other countries, going underground in less detectable — but more dangerous — forms.

Persons: “ Organizations: Islamic, —, ISIS Locations: United States, Russian, Moscow, Khorasan, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Kabul, Turkey, Europe, Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Britain, State, Levant, Southeast Asia

☆ How ISIS has Europe and the US in sights after deadly Moscow attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

ISIS claimed responsibility for the Moscow attack. Maxim Shemetov/ReutersHe regards the Moscow attack as a “breakthrough success” for the group, demonstrating a level of planning not previously seen beyond south Asia. Russia’s support for authoritarian regimes in central Asia – which ISIS-K has described as Russia’s “puppets” – has deepened the animus. The attitude of the Russian government, both pre- and post- the Moscow attack, may not help it confront the threat. For ISIS-K, the Moscow attack is a coup.

Persons: Erik Kurilla, “, Sanaullah Ghafari, Edmund Fitton, Brown, Fitton, Amira Jadoon, ” Jadoon, Hans, Jakob Schindler, Christine Abizaid, ” Fitton, Maxim Shemetov, –, Gabriel Attal, ”, Jadoon, Putin, Abu Bakr al, Sinai, Vladimir Putin, Assad, Shamsidin, Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, Muhammadsobir Fayzov, Yulia Morozova, Shamil Hukumatov, ” Putin, ” Schindler, Alexander Bortnikov, they’ll, Rita Katz Organizations: CNN, Analysts, ISIS, Islamic, US Central Command, UN, Taliban, Russian, Clemson University, Counter, ”, K, US National Counterterrorism Center, –, Crocus City, US Defense Department, Paris, Central, Crocus City Hall, St, City, Tajik, Kyiv, SITE Intelligence Locations: State, Ukraine, Gaza, Moscow, Khorasan, Afghanistan, Europe, Asia, Russia, ‘, Islamic State, Pakistan, Iran, Crocus, United States, West, New York, Tajik, Kabul, Afghan, Kandahar, Central Asia, Baujur, Pakistani, Baluchistan, Iranian, Kerman, Germany, al Qaeda, Turkey, France, America, Russian, Sharm el, St . Petersburg, Syria, Kaluga, St Petersburg, Istanbul, Washington

☆ Kremlin’s security services were aware of ISIS threat to Russia before concert attack, new evidence from investigative body suggests
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Matthew Chance | Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The Kremlin’s security services were aware of an ISIS threat days before a deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow, Russian intelligence documents obtained by a UK-based investigative organization suggest. The Dossier Center is a Russian investigation group backed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled former Russian oil tycoon turned Kremlin critic. “Even before the attack on Crocus City Hall, a source close to the intelligence services told the Dossier Center about this,” it added. The following year, German police arrested several people from Tajikistan accused of plotting an attack on Cologne Cathedral, according to the Dossier Center. According to the Dossier Center, Russian law enforcement was monitoring all these reports and “considered the risk” to Russia.

Persons: Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Putin, “, ”, Adrienne Watson, Putin, ” Putin, Ilya Ponomarev, CNN’s Erin Burnett Organizations: CNN, ISIS, Crocus City Hall, Security, Crocus City, Central, Embassy, National Security, Kremlin Locations: Moscow, London, Russia, Crocus, Russian, Tajikistan, Washington, United States, Ukraine, Kabul, Cologne, Kyrgyzstan

☆ Who are ISIS-K, the group that claimed it carried out the Moscow terror attack?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It is a branch of ISIS, the terror group that emerged in Syria and Iraq and, at its peak, controlled a huge stretch of territory. By 2018, ISIS-K was ranked the world’s fourth-deadliest terror group, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace, which monitors global terrorism. Video Ad Feedback What we know about ISIS group claiming responsibility for Moscow terror attack 04:16 - Source: CNNWhat do they want? Russian state media reported on March 7 that the FSB, Russia’s security service, prevented an ISIS attack on a synagogue in Moscow, according to Reuters. It is the most active terror group in the country, responsible for 73 deaths in 2023, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace.

Persons: Kamala Harris, –, Joe Biden, Putin, ”, Daniel Byman, ” Byman, John Miller, Wakil Kohsar, Washington, Vladimir Putin Organizations: CNN, Islamic, ISIS, Sunday, US, Institute for Economics, The United Nations, Sharia, “, RIA Novosti, RIA, Reuters, Kabul University, CSIS, National Legal Training, US Central Command, National Intelligence, UN, Manchester Arena, State Department, Kyiv Locations: Moscow, Soviet, Tajikistan, Khorasan, Asia, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Africa, East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Kabul, Afghanistan’s Kunar, Nangarhar, United States, Britain, Europe, “ Russia, Georgetown, Caucasus, Pakistan –, Mastung, AFP, Germany, Paris, Ariana Grande, England, Orlando , Florida, Russian, Ukraine, Crocus

☆ ISIS-K, Group Tied to Moscow Attack, Has Grown Bolder and More Violent
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Few know better than the Taliban what a relentless foe the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan can be. Much of the West considers the Taliban, which reclaimed power in the country in 2021, to be an extremist Islamic movement. But the Islamic State Khorasan, the affiliate that took responsibility for a terrorist attack in suburban Moscow on Friday, has slammed the Taliban government, calling the group’s version of Islamic rule insufficiently hard-line. The Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, is one of the last significant antagonists that the Taliban face in Afghanistan. In the months after the Taliban seized power, ISIS-K carried out near daily attacks on their soldiers at roadside checkpoints and in neighborhoods that are home to the country’s Hazara ethnic minority.

Persons: Pakistan’s Organizations: West Locations: Afghanistan, State Khorasan, Moscow, Hazara, Russian, Kabul

☆ Opinion: ISIS is making a comeback
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —If ISIS was indeed responsible for the attack Friday at a Moscow-area concert venue that killed at least 133 people, it would suggest that, unfortunately, the terror group is making something of a comeback. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack; a US official told CNN the US has no reason to doubt it. Through that attack, ISIS-K showed that the group, which is very anti-Shia, could target a hostile state like predominantly Shia Iran. In March alone, a Russian state news agency said the country had thwarted multiple ISIS-related incidents, including a plan to attack a synagogue in Moscow. As for capability, the ISIS-K attack in Iran earlier this year demonstrated that the group could carry out a large-scale attack outside of its home base in Afghanistan.

Persons: Peter Bergen, Osama bin Laden, Biden, Qasem Soleimani, Vladimir Putin, ”, Bashar al Assad, Assad, Putin Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, ISIS, US, Kabul Airport, Democratic, US National Security Council, Government Locations: New America, Moscow, Iraq, Syria, United Kingdom, Europe, Paris, Orlando , Florida, Africa, Asia, Afghanistan, Kabul, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Iran, Russian, Russia, ”, Ukraine, Syrian

☆ Kyiv rebuffs Putin's claims that gunmen who killed 133 Russian concertgoers had links to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin linked Moscow concert hall attackers to Ukraine. At least 133 people were killed by gunmen, and 11 have suspects been detained, say Russian sources. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementRussian President Vladimir Putin claimed the gunmen who attacked a Moscow concert hall and killed 133 people had links to Ukraine, an allegation Kyiv completely rejected. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) had earlier claimed a link between Ukraine and the gunmen in a statement, said Russian news agency TASS.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, —, Putin, STRINGER, Hamid Karzai Organizations: Service, Crocus City, Russia's Federal Security Service, Putin, Main Intelligence, Ministry of Defense, Getty, Russia's, Islamic, Politico Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Crocus, Krasnogorsk, Russia's, Russian, Kyiv, Islamic State, Kabul

☆ What we know about the Moscow concert hall attack — and why ISIS-K is claiming responsibility
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-23 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A group of unidentified individuals opened fire at the Crocus City Hall, a music venue located on the western edge of Moscow, on Friday evening. The Ministry of Emergency Situations told the Russian news agency that a third of Crocus City Hall was engulfed. If ISIS-K is confirmed to have carried out the attack, the group may have done so on Friday simply because they were ready, Byman said. The warning was partly based on intelligence that indicated an ISIS-K presence in Russia, two US officials told The Washington Post. Three days before the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the warnings, calling them "provocative."

Persons: —, Mikhail Murashko, Amaq, Hamid Karzai, Daniel Byman, Byman, Michael Kugelman, Vladimir Putin, Colin P, Clarke Organizations: Service, Crocus City Hall, TASS, Federal Security Service, Business, Crocus City, Associated Press, Russian, Ministry, ISIS, CNN, The New York Times, Islamic, Center for Strategic & International Studies, CSIS, Wilson, Reuters, Washington Post, Soufan, New York Times, Kremlin Locations: Crocus, Moscow, Russian, Russia's, Khorasan Province, Afghanistan, Islamic State, Washington, DC, Pakistan, Kabul, Russia, Chechnya

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