Follow us on social

210210-o-zz999-001-1

Biden: US troops to stay in Afghanistan past withdrawal deadline

The president added that he doesn't expect US troops to remain there by next year.

Reporting | Asia-Pacific

President Joe Biden said Thursday that he “can’t picture” U.S. troops remaining in Afghanistan by next year, but it is “going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline” for withdrawal under the Doha peace agreement.

“It is not my intention to stay there for a long time,” the president told reporters at a press conference. “We will leave. The question is when we leave.”

Under a peace deal signed with the Taliban in Doha last year, U.S. forces are supposed to depart Afghanistan by May 2021. No U.S. troops have been killed in battle since the Doha agreement was signed, even as the war between the Taliban and the Afghan government has intensified in recent months.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D–Wash.) suggested on Wednesday that the Biden administration would ask the Taliban for a temporary extension, as first reported by Responsible Statecraft.

“It’s a general feeling that May 1 is too soon, just logistically,” he said, citing conversations with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “Job one is to try to get back in to talk to the Taliban about at least giving us more time.”

Smith said that the Biden administration wanted to explore its options for a longer-term counterterrorism deployment but was “skeptical” that the Taliban or a future Afghan unity government “could be comfortable with our presence” in the long run.

President Joe Biden speaks to members of the Defense Department during a visit to the Pentagon along with Vice President Kamala Harris, Feb. 10, 2021. Photo By: White House photo
Reporting | Asia-Pacific
Sen. Murphy wary of committing ‘American blood’ to Saudi Arabia

Sen. Chris Murphy on CNN, September 20 2023.

Sen. Murphy wary of committing ‘American blood’ to Saudi Arabia

QiOSK

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), one of the strongest critics of Saudi Arabia in the Senate, raised concerns Wednesday morning about the possibility of offering Riyadh a security guarantee in exchange for the normalization of relations with Israel.

Appearing on CNN, Murphy said that he supported the idea of the Biden administration brokering a deal in the Middle East, saying it would be “good for the United States if there is peace between the Gulf and in particular between Saudi Arabia and Israel,” but questioned the price that Washington is willing to pay to accomplish that objective.

keep readingShow less
'Bonapartism' infects, leads to military coups in Africa
Napoleon's Return from Elba, by Charles Auguste Guillaume Steuben. (1818)(Public Domain)

'Bonapartism' infects, leads to military coups in Africa

Africa

When Napoleon Bonaparte staged a coup d’état to oust the civilian government of the Directorate in France, he justified his actions as necessary to save the spirit of the Revolution. The army, in Napoleon’s view, had a solemn obligation to defend the nation against threats both at home and abroad.

The notion that a military, as guardians of a national spirit, has the right to seize the authority of the state became known as Bonapartism. This seemingly persistent belief in certain militaries in Africa emphasizes the need for comprehensive reform.

keep readingShow less
Mold, raw sewage, brown tap water found in US barracks
Mold in barracks found during visits from Government Accountability Office investigators. (Image via GAO)

Mold, raw sewage, brown tap water found in US barracks

QiOSK

Government investigators found mold, gas leaks, brown tap water, and broken sewage pipes in U.S. military barracks despite record-high Pentagon spending, according to a major report released by the Government Accountability Office on Tuesday.

“We found that living conditions in some military barracks may pose potentially serious risks to the physical and mental health of service members, as well as their safety,” the GAO reported, noting that the conditions also impact troop readiness.

keep readingShow less

Ukraine War Crisis

Latest