The US Congress has now approved a whopping 3.5 trillion dollar budget blueprint, setting the stage for the democrats to implement President Joe Biden's economic agenda.

United States House approves President Joe Biden's budget plan

The Supreme Court verdict refused to revoke Donald Trump's migration protection protocols which forced asylum seekers to stay in Mexico awaiting US hearings.

US Supreme Court requires Biden to revive Trump-era 'remain in Mexico' policy

With the Taliban warning the US of “consequences” if the August 31 deadline for evacuation process is delayed, the United Kingdom and Spain have said it would be impossible to evacuate all Afghans who worked with the western forces within the deadline.

Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles said the country will try to evacuate as many people as possible. “But there are people who will be left behind due to the dramatic situation on the ground”, she was quoted as saying by local media.

Earlier in the day, her UK counterpart Ben Wallace, too, issued a similar warning.

“Not everyone would be evacuated before the August 31 deadline agreed with the Taliban,” the BBC quoted Wallace as saying.

“We have taken out 2,000 people in the last 24 hours and 10,000 since April,” Wallace said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/watch-taliban-evade-wions-question-on-secret-meeting-between-mullah-baradar-and-cia-chief-408084">Watch | Taliban evade WION’s question on secret meeting between Mullah Baradar and CIA chief</a>

On Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said his group “will not accept” any extensions&nbsp;to the August 31 deadline set by United States President Biden for ending the airlift operation in Kabul.

Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns was alleged to have secretly met Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday to hold talks on extending the evacuation deadline, the Washington Post reported.

(With inputs from agencies)

With the Taliban warning the US of “consequences” if the August 31 deadline for evacuation process is delayed, the United Kingdom and Spain have said it would be impossible to evacuate all Afghans who worked with the western forces within the deadline.

With the Taliban warning the US of “consequences” if the August 31 deadline for evacuation process is delayed, the United Kingdom and Spain have said it would be impossible to evacuate all Afghans who worked with the western forces within the deadline. Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles said the country will try to evacuate as many people as possible. “But there are people who will be left behind due to the dramatic situation on the ground”, she was quoted as saying by local media. Earlier in the day, her UK counterpart Ben Wallace, too, issued a similar warning. “Not everyone would be evacuated before the August 31 deadline agreed with the Taliban,” the BBC quoted Wallace as saying. “We have taken out 2,000 people in the last 24 hours and 10,000 since April,” Wallace said. Watch | Taliban evade WION’s question on secret meeting between Mullah Baradar and CIA chief On Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said his group “will not accept” any extensions to the August 31 deadline set by United States President Biden for ending the airlift operation in Kabul. Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns was alleged to have secretly met Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday to hold talks on extending the evacuation deadline, the Washington Post reported. (With inputs from agencies)

Not everyone will get out of Afghanistan within August 31 deadline, warn UK, Spain

With the Taliban warning the US of “consequences” if the August 31 deadline for evacuation process is delayed, the United Kingdom and Spain have said it would be impossible to evacuate all Afghans who worked with the western forces within the deadline.

Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles said the country will try to evacuate as many people as possible. “But there are people who will be left behind due to the dramatic situation on the ground”, she was quoted as saying by local media.

Earlier in the day, her UK counterpart Ben Wallace, too, issued a similar warning.

“Not everyone would be evacuated before the August 31 deadline agreed with the Taliban,” the BBC quoted Wallace as saying.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/watch-taliban-evade-wions-question-on-secret-meeting-between-mullah-baradar-and-cia-chief-408084">Watch | Taliban evade WION’s question on secret meeting between Mullah Baradar and CIA chief</a>

“We have taken out 2,000 people in the last 24 hours and 10,000 since April,” Wallace said.

On Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said his group “will not accept” any extensions&nbsp;to the August 31 deadline set by United States President Biden for ending the airlift operation in Kabul.

Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns was alleged to have secretly met Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday to hold talks on extending the evacuation deadline, the Washington Post reported.

(With inputs from agencies)

With the Taliban warning the US of “consequences” if the August 31 deadline for evacuation process is delayed, the United Kingdom and Spain have said it would be impossible to evacuate all Afghans who worked with the western forces within the deadline. Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles said the country will try to evacuate as many people as possible. “But there are people who will be left behind due to the dramatic situation on the ground”, she was quoted as saying by local media. Earlier in the day, her UK counterpart Ben Wallace, too, issued a similar warning. “Not everyone would be evacuated before the August 31 deadline agreed with the Taliban,” the BBC quoted Wallace as saying. Watch | Taliban evade WION’s question on secret meeting between Mullah Baradar and CIA chief “We have taken out 2,000 people in the last 24 hours and 10,000 since April,” Wallace said. On Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said his group “will not accept” any extensions to the August 31 deadline set by United States President Biden for ending the airlift operation in Kabul. Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns was alleged to have secretly met Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday to hold talks on extending the evacuation deadline, the Washington Post reported. (With inputs from agencies)

According to the American defence official, President Joe Biden is expected to make the decision on extending the August 31 deadline for the US troops withdrawal today (August 24).

US Prez Biden expected to decide whether to extend August 31 deadline

President Joe Biden once again defended the decision of US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan. He said that changes had been made in Kabul to ease the ability of Americans and Afghan allies to flee the country amid emerging threats, and admitted there are discussions about extending the August 31 deadline for US troops to leave Afghanistan.

Biden says US troops widened 'safe zone' in Kabul airport

The worsening situation in Afghanistan is the not the only problem that the US is concerned about right now. <o:p></o:p>

US President Joe Biden has invited Israel’s newly elected Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to make his first official trip to Washington to discuss Iran and Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians.<o:p></o:p>

Bennett is expected to meet Biden on August 26. The PM told a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that he will tell "Biden that now is the time to halt the Iranians, to stop this thing, not to give them a rescue line in the form of re-entering a nuclear deal that has already expired and is not relevant, even to those who thought it was once relevant. But we are not satisfied only by this, we will present an organized plan that we have built in the past two months to stop the Iranians in the nuclear dimension and in regards to its regional aggression."

<o:p>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/israeli-jets-conduct-airstrikes-on-gaza-after-border-clashes-407543">Israeli jets conduct airstrikes on Gaza after border clashes</a></o:p>

His visit also comes amid a backdrop of heightened tension between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, which has been following a truce after an 11-day long conflict that ended in May.<o:p></o:p>

The visit has been announced a few hours after the Israeli military bombed Palestinian militant weapons sites in the Gaza strip on Saturday. As per local reports, a violent clash also took place immediately after the bombing that left at least one Israeli police office critically injured.<o:p></o:p>

However, Bennett has said that the Israeli military is ready for any scenario and the soldiers “will settle the score with those who harm our soldiers and Israeli civilians”.<o:p></o:p>

"Last week I held a situation assessment at the southern command along with Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi. I can report to you that the army, southern command and Gaza Division are prepared and ready for any scenario," he added.<o:p></o:p>

The Gaza health ministry claims at least 24 Palestinians, including a 13-year-old, were injured by Israeli gunfire.

<o:p>(With inputs from agencies)</o:p>

The worsening situation in Afghanistan is the not the only problem that the US is concerned about right now. US President Joe Biden has invited Israel’s newly elected Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to make his first official trip to Washington to discuss Iran and Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians.

The worsening situation in Afghanistan is the not the only problem that the US is concerned about right now. US President Joe Biden has invited Israel’s newly elected Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to make his first official trip to Washington to discuss Iran and Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians. Bennett is expected to meet Biden on August 26. The PM told a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem that he will tell "Biden that now is the time to halt the Iranians, to stop this thing, not to give them a rescue line in the form of re-entering a nuclear deal that has already expired and is not relevant, even to those who thought it was once relevant. But we are not satisfied only by this, we will present an organized plan that we have built in the past two months to stop the Iranians in the nuclear dimension and in regards to its regional aggression." Also read | Israeli jets conduct airstrikes on Gaza after border clashes His visit also comes amid a backdrop of heightened tension between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, which has been following a truce after an 11-day long conflict that ended in May. The visit has been announced a few hours after the Israeli military bombed Palestinian militant weapons sites in the Gaza strip on Saturday. As per local reports, a violent clash also took place immediately after the bombing that left at least one Israeli police office critically injured. However, Bennett has said that the Israeli military is ready for any scenario and the soldiers “will settle the score with those who harm our soldiers and Israeli civilians”. "Last week I held a situation assessment at the southern command along with Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Army Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi. I can report to you that the army, southern command and Gaza Division are prepared and ready for any scenario," he added. The Gaza health ministry claims at least 24 Palestinians, including a 13-year-old, were injured by Israeli gunfire. (With inputs from agencies)

Naftali Bennett to meet Biden in Washington soon to discuss Iran and Israel-Palestine relationship

US President Joe Biden revealed that Washington has a deal with the Taliban. Biden says the US has an agreement that the Taliban will allow Americans to leave Afghanistan. In yet another attempt to defend America's withdrawal from Afghanistan, US president Joe Biden also rejected criticism of his handling of the chaotic pullout.

Afghanistan Crisis: Cannot guarantee 'final outcome' - Joe Biden

US President Joe Biden revealed that Washington has a deal with the Taliban. Biden says the US has an agreement that the Taliban will allow Americans to leave Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: In constant contact with the Taliban leadership, says US President Joe Biden

US President Joe Biden on Friday addresses the US evacuation from Afghanistan, as he tried to navigate the biggest crisis of his administration. Biden said that the US will continue anti-terror operations.

US President Joe Biden addresses crisis in Afghanistan and evacuation efforts

The&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;called on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity when they hold their first Friday prayers since the Islamist group seized control of the country, as protests against the takeover spread to more cities on Thursday, including the capital, Kabul.

Several people were killed when&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;militants fired on a crowd in the eastern city of Asadabad, a witness said. Another witness reported gunshots near a rally in Kabul, but they appeared to be&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;firing into the air.

On the day Afghanistan celebrates its independence from British control in 1919, a social media video showed a crowd of men and women in Kabul waving black, red and green national flags.

"Our flag, our identity," they shouted.

At some protests elsewhere, media reported people tearing down the&nbsp;Taliban's white flag.

A&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Some demonstrations were small, but combined with the desperate scramble of thousands of people seeking to flee the country they underline the challenge the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;face in governing.

Kabul has been largely calm, but 12 people have been killed in and around the airport, NATO and&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;officials said.

The US&nbsp;military said&nbsp;more than 5,200 American troops were guarding Kabul airport, where multiple gates to the facility are now open, while US&nbsp;fighter jets were flying over the city to ensure security for the evacuation operation for diplomats and civilians including some Afghan citizens.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said 6,000 "fully processed" people were currently at the Kabul airport and would soon be boarding planes. A source told Reuters that White House officials told a congressional briefing that the United States already had evacuated 6,741 people, including 1,792 American citizens and legal permanent residents.

The&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;swiftly conquered Afghanistan as the US&nbsp;and other foreign troops withdrew, surprising even their own leaders and leaving power vacuums in many places.

The&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;urged unity ahead of Friday prayers, calling on imams to persuade people not to leave Afghanistan.

Since seizing Kabul on Sunday, the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;have presented a more moderate face, saying they want peace, will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women&nbsp;within the framework of Islamic law.

When in power from 1996-2001, they severely restricted women's rights, staged public executions and blew up ancient Buddhist statues. They were ousted in a 2001 US-led invasion.

BLACKLIST

A report by a Norwegian intelligence group said the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;had begun rounding up Afghans on a blacklist&nbsp;of people linked to Afghanistan's previous administration or US-led forces that supported it. Complaints by some Afghan journalists&nbsp;have cast doubt on assurances that independent media would be allowed.

A US&nbsp;lawmaker said the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;were using files from Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, to identify Afghans who worked for the United States.

"They are methodically ramping up efforts to round those folks up," said Representative Jason Crow, who has been leading efforts in the US&nbsp;Congress to accelerate the evacuation of American-affiliated Afghans. "I've had people send me pictures of&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;outside their apartment complexes, searching for them."

Crow voiced concern that the U.S. government may end the evacuation operation on Aug. 31, leaving more than 100,000 at-risk Afghans and family members in danger of&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;reprisals.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said they had moved to secure the accounts of Afghan citizens to protect them from being targeted amid the&nbsp;Taliban's takeover.

It was unclear if the Asadabad casualties resulted from&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;firing or from a stampede.

"Hundreds of people came out on the streets," witness Mohammed Salim said. "At first I was scared and didn't want to go, but when I saw one of my neighbours joined in, I took out the flag I have at home. Several people were killed and injured in the stampede and firing by the&nbsp;Taliban."

Protests flared in the city of Jalalabad and in Paktia province, also in the east.

First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who said on Tuesday he was the "legitimate caretaker president" after President Ashraf Ghani fled, wrote on Twitter: "Salute those who carry the national flag and thus stand for dignity of the nation."

Ahmad Massoud, son of guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed by suspected al Qaeda militants in 2001, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that he is "ready to follow in my father's footsteps, with mujahideen fighters who are prepared to once again take on the&nbsp;Taliban."

LIMITED LEVERAGE

US&nbsp;President Joe Biden said the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;must decide if they want international recognition.

"Do they want to be recognized by the international community as being a legitimate government? I'm not sure they do," Biden said in a TV interview.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with NBC News that the United States is "laser-focused" on "the potential for a terrorist attack" by a group like Islamic State amid the evacuation.

"We will get any American who wants to get to the airport and who we get in contact with who says: 'I want to get out and get on a plane,' we will make that happen," Sullivan said.

About two dozen US&nbsp;diplomats in Afghanistan sent an internal cable last month warning Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the potential fall of Kabul to the&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;as US&nbsp;troops withdrew from the country, The Wall Street Journal reported.

G7 foreign ministers called for a united&nbsp;international response to prevent the crisis from worsening, in comments echoed by countries including Russia.&nbsp;China said the world should support, not pressure, Afghanistan.

A&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;official said they could not be blamed for the chaos at Kabul airport. In one scene captured on social media, a small girl was hoisted over the airport's perimeter wall and handed to a US&nbsp;soldier.

Under a pact negotiated by former President Donald Trump's administration, the United States agreed to withdraw its forces in exchange for a&nbsp;Taliban&nbsp;guarantee not to attack departing foreign forces or let Afghanistan be used for terrorist attacks.

The Taliban called on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity when they hold their first Friday prayers since the Islamist group seized control of the country, as protests against the takeover spread to more cities on Thursday, including the capital, Kabul.

The Taliban called on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity when they hold their first Friday prayers since the Islamist group seized control of the country, as protests against the takeover spread to more cities on Thursday, including the capital, Kabul. Several people were killed when Taliban militants fired on a crowd in the eastern city of Asadabad, a witness said. Another witness reported gunshots near a rally in Kabul, but they appeared to be Taliban firing into the air. On the day Afghanistan celebrates its independence from British control in 1919, a social media video showed a crowd of men and women in Kabul waving black, red and green national flags. "Our flag, our identity," they shouted. At some protests elsewhere, media reported people tearing down the Taliban's white flag. A Taliban spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Some demonstrations were small, but combined with the desperate scramble of thousands of people seeking to flee the country they underline the challenge the Taliban face in governing. Kabul has been largely calm, but 12 people have been killed in and around the airport, NATO and Taliban officials said. The US military said more than 5,200 American troops were guarding Kabul airport, where multiple gates to the facility are now open, while US fighter jets were flying over the city to ensure security for the evacuation operation for diplomats and civilians including some Afghan citizens. State Department spokesman Ned Price said 6,000 "fully processed" people were currently at the Kabul airport and would soon be boarding planes. A source told Reuters that White House officials told a congressional briefing that the United States already had evacuated 6,741 people, including 1,792 American citizens and legal permanent residents. The Taliban swiftly conquered Afghanistan as the US and other foreign troops withdrew, surprising even their own leaders and leaving power vacuums in many places. The Taliban urged unity ahead of Friday prayers, calling on imams to persuade people not to leave Afghanistan. Since seizing Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban have presented a more moderate face, saying they want peace, will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law. When in power from 1996-2001, they severely restricted women's rights, staged public executions and blew up ancient Buddhist statues. They were ousted in a 2001 US-led invasion. BLACKLIST A report by a Norwegian intelligence group said the Taliban had begun rounding up Afghans on a blacklist of people linked to Afghanistan's previous administration or US-led forces that supported it. Complaints by some Afghan journalists have cast doubt on assurances that independent media would be allowed. A US lawmaker said the Taliban were using files from Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, to identify Afghans who worked for the United States. "They are methodically ramping up efforts to round those folks up," said Representative Jason Crow, who has been leading efforts in the US Congress to accelerate the evacuation of American-affiliated Afghans. "I've had people send me pictures of Taliban outside their apartment complexes, searching for them." Crow voiced concern that the U.S. government may end the evacuation operation on Aug. 31, leaving more than 100,000 at-risk Afghans and family members in danger of Taliban reprisals. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn said they had moved to secure the accounts of Afghan citizens to protect them from being targeted amid the Taliban's takeover. It was unclear if the Asadabad casualties resulted from Taliban firing or from a stampede. "Hundreds of people came out on the streets," witness Mohammed Salim said. "At first I was scared and didn't want to go, but when I saw one of my neighbours joined in, I took out the flag I have at home. Several people were killed and injured in the stampede and firing by the Taliban." Protests flared in the city of Jalalabad and in Paktia province, also in the east. First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who said on Tuesday he was the "legitimate caretaker president" after President Ashraf Ghani fled, wrote on Twitter: "Salute those who carry the national flag and thus stand for dignity of the nation." Ahmad Massoud, son of guerrilla leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed by suspected al Qaeda militants in 2001, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that he is "ready to follow in my father's footsteps, with mujahideen fighters who are prepared to once again take on the Taliban." LIMITED LEVERAGE US President Joe Biden said the Taliban must decide if they want international recognition. "Do they want to be recognized by the international community as being a legitimate government? I'm not sure they do," Biden said in a TV interview. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview with NBC News that the United States is "laser-focused" on "the potential for a terrorist attack" by a group like Islamic State amid the evacuation. "We will get any American who wants to get to the airport and who we get in contact with who says: 'I want to get out and get on a plane,' we will make that happen," Sullivan said. About two dozen US diplomats in Afghanistan sent an internal cable last month warning Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the potential fall of Kabul to the Taliban as US troops withdrew from the country, The Wall Street Journal reported. G7 foreign ministers called for a united international response to prevent the crisis from worsening, in comments echoed by countries including Russia. China said the world should support, not pressure, Afghanistan. A Taliban official said they could not be blamed for the chaos at Kabul airport. In one scene captured on social media, a small girl was hoisted over the airport's perimeter wall and handed to a US soldier. Under a pact negotiated by former President Donald Trump's administration, the United States agreed to withdraw its forces in exchange for a Taliban guarantee not to attack departing foreign forces or let Afghanistan be used for terrorist attacks.

Taliban call on Afghanistan's imams to urge unity as protests spread to Kabul

President Joe Biden's complete pullout of US troops in Afghanistan can&nbsp;undermine Asia shift, contrary to his intent.

Biden had said it had been impossible to leave Afghanistan without chaos, as the United States pleaded with the victorious Taliban to allow safe passage for people to flee.

Amid desperate scenes at the Kabul airport where American forces are racing against the clock to evacuate tens of thousands of people,&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;stood by his decision to end the 20-year US war in Afghanistan.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-afghanistan-exit-soviets-vs-america-407005/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Kurt Campbell, the White House's top Asia adviser, declared last month that a historic change in US&nbsp;foreign policy was afoot, one that would shift US&nbsp;focus away from the Middle East to Asia, where China's growing might has cast shadows over Washington's allies.

"It will be painful, in all likelihood. We'll see some real challenges in places like&nbsp;Afghanistan," Campbell told an Asia Society webinar, a blunt assessment of what since has come to pass as the Taliban's swift takeover of the country has sparked a humanitarian crisis.

Officials argued that withdrawing from&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;would free up time and attention of senior US&nbsp;political and military leaders, as well as some military assets, to focus on the Indo-Pacific.

But experts and former officials say President Joe Biden's poorly executed troop withdrawal from&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;appears, in the near term and possibly for much longer,&nbsp;to be undermining the very goal of freeing the United States to concentrate on China, something successive presidents have sought, only to be pulled back to the Middle East.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Update on the Status of Hamid Karzai International Airport: 
 
-In the last 24 hours: 2,000 people evacuated 
-Since August 14th: 7,000 people evacuated 
-Since the end of July: 12,000 evacuated 
 
There are currently 5,200 troops on the ground and the airport is secure and open.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1428378620502872065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Contrary to the planned quick pullout, Biden has been forced to send in thousands of troops to protect the evacuation of US&nbsp;personnel and Afghans potentially subject to Taliban retribution, while the chaos has unleashed a political storm at home.

Biden has said the original August&nbsp;31 deadline for troop withdrawal now may be extended to finish the job.

Moreover, the United States was forced to move its lone aircraft carrier in the Asia-Pacific, the Ronald Reagan, to the Middle East in June to help with the withdrawal. As the situation in Kabul has deteriorated, jets from the carrier have been flying over the city to provide extra security.

While the redeployment may only be short-term, the need to divert the carrier from the Asia-Pacific has raised questions about the US&nbsp;ability to project power there.

US&nbsp;operations in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;are also likely to continue to consume the attention of senior officials who might otherwise have their eyes on Beijing.

"As Assistant Secretary for the Indo-Pacific, Ely Ratner has&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;in his portfolio. Where do you think his primary focus is for the next three months or longer?" said Eric Sayers, a defense policy expert at the American Enterprise Institute.

Others warn that terrorist groups will likely reestablish themselves in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;under the Taliban, raising the prospect that the United States will need to return in some fashion, much like it returned to Iraq to combat the rise of the Islamic State.&nbsp;

David Sedney, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for&nbsp;Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia, dismissed claims by US&nbsp;officials that counterterrorism operations could be conducted from outside the country as a mirage.

"No one who is serious about counterterrorism believes it," he said. "The United States is going to pay a terrible price for this at some point in the future. Another 9/11."

'Protection of others'

For Campbell, architect of former President Barack Obama's halting pivot to Asia, building US&nbsp;bona fides in the Indo-Pacific has meant making good on unfinished business and&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;was an enduring distraction.

Yet the chaotic evacuations from Kabul have evoked images of the 1975 US&nbsp;withdrawal from Vietnam, a country Vice President Kamala Harris will visit next week to push back on China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

That trip, which includes a stop in Singapore, will make her the latest in a string of senior officials to travel to Asia as part of Biden's effort to step up engagement there.

"Our strategic competitors around the world would have liked nothing more than to see us in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;for another 5, 10, 20 years dedicating even more resources to&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;while it remained in the midst of a civil war," a senior US&nbsp;official said.

But the hasty pullout following a failed 20-year project in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;appears to have shaken some of the very allies Washington hoped to bolster with its Indo-Pacific push.

In Chinese-claimed Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday responded to the chaos in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;by saying the self-ruled island had no choice but to boost its own defense.

"It is not an option for us to do nothing ourselves and rely only on the protection of others," she said.

China's state-controlled media have seized on Afghan developments, portraying US&nbsp;support for allies as fickle.

And while experts are quick to dismiss most geopolitical comparisons of&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;and Taiwan, there is a general concern that this latest blow to American prestige undermines Biden's pledge that US&nbsp;leadership was back following the isolationist tendencies of the Trump administration.

"As bin Laden said back around 2001, this is an issue of demonstrating who was the stronger horse. The US&nbsp;appears to be producing nags and mules, rather than racehorses," said Dean Cheng of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, referring to Osama bin Laden, whose orchestration of the 9/11 attacks led the United States to invade&nbsp;Afghanistan.

"Taiwan and other East Asian states will be thinking about this."

(With inputs from agencies)

President Joe Biden's complete pullout of US troops in Afghanistan can undermine Asia shift, contrary to his intent. Biden had said it had been impossible to leave Afghanistan without chaos, as the United States pleaded with the victorious Taliban to allow safe passage for people to flee.

President Joe Biden's complete pullout of US troops in Afghanistan can undermine Asia shift, contrary to his intent. Biden had said it had been impossible to leave Afghanistan without chaos, as the United States pleaded with the victorious Taliban to allow safe passage for people to flee. Amid desperate scenes at the Kabul airport where American forces are racing against the clock to evacuate tens of thousands of people, Biden stood by his decision to end the 20-year US war in Afghanistan. Kurt Campbell, the White House's top Asia adviser, declared last month that a historic change in US foreign policy was afoot, one that would shift US focus away from the Middle East to Asia, where China's growing might has cast shadows over Washington's allies. "It will be painful, in all likelihood. We'll see some real challenges in places like Afghanistan," Campbell told an Asia Society webinar, a blunt assessment of what since has come to pass as the Taliban's swift takeover of the country has sparked a humanitarian crisis. Officials argued that withdrawing from Afghanistan would free up time and attention of senior US political and military leaders, as well as some military assets, to focus on the Indo-Pacific. But experts and former officials say President Joe Biden's poorly executed troop withdrawal from Afghanistan appears, in the near term and possibly for much longer, to be undermining the very goal of freeing the United States to concentrate on China, something successive presidents have sought, only to be pulled back to the Middle East. Update on the Status of Hamid Karzai International Airport: -In the last 24 hours: 2,000 people evacuated -Since August 14th: 7,000 people evacuated -Since the end of July: 12,000 evacuated There are currently 5,200 troops on the ground and the airport is secure and open. — The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 19, 2021 × Contrary to the planned quick pullout, Biden has been forced to send in thousands of troops to protect the evacuation of US personnel and Afghans potentially subject to Taliban retribution, while the chaos has unleashed a political storm at home. Biden has said the original August 31 deadline for troop withdrawal now may be extended to finish the job. Moreover, the United States was forced to move its lone aircraft carrier in the Asia-Pacific, the Ronald Reagan, to the Middle East in June to help with the withdrawal. As the situation in Kabul has deteriorated, jets from the carrier have been flying over the city to provide extra security. While the redeployment may only be short-term, the need to divert the carrier from the Asia-Pacific has raised questions about the US ability to project power there. US operations in Afghanistan are also likely to continue to consume the attention of senior officials who might otherwise have their eyes on Beijing. "As Assistant Secretary for the Indo-Pacific, Ely Ratner has Afghanistan in his portfolio. Where do you think his primary focus is for the next three months or longer?" said Eric Sayers, a defense policy expert at the American Enterprise Institute. Others warn that terrorist groups will likely reestablish themselves in Afghanistan under the Taliban, raising the prospect that the United States will need to return in some fashion, much like it returned to Iraq to combat the rise of the Islamic State. David Sedney, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia, dismissed claims by US officials that counterterrorism operations could be conducted from outside the country as a mirage. "No one who is serious about counterterrorism believes it," he said. "The United States is going to pay a terrible price for this at some point in the future. Another 9/11." 'Protection of others' For Campbell, architect of former President Barack Obama's halting pivot to Asia, building US bona fides in the Indo-Pacific has meant making good on unfinished business and Afghanistan was an enduring distraction. Yet the chaotic evacuations from Kabul have evoked images of the 1975 US withdrawal from Vietnam, a country Vice President Kamala Harris will visit next week to push back on China's territorial claims in the South China Sea. That trip, which includes a stop in Singapore, will make her the latest in a string of senior officials to travel to Asia as part of Biden's effort to step up engagement there. "Our strategic competitors around the world would have liked nothing more than to see us in Afghanistan for another 5, 10, 20 years dedicating even more resources to Afghanistan while it remained in the midst of a civil war," a senior US official said. But the hasty pullout following a failed 20-year project in Afghanistan appears to have shaken some of the very allies Washington hoped to bolster with its Indo-Pacific push. In Chinese-claimed Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday responded to the chaos in Afghanistan by saying the self-ruled island had no choice but to boost its own defense. "It is not an option for us to do nothing ourselves and rely only on the protection of others," she said. China's state-controlled media have seized on Afghan developments, portraying US support for allies as fickle. And while experts are quick to dismiss most geopolitical comparisons of Afghanistan and Taiwan, there is a general concern that this latest blow to American prestige undermines Biden's pledge that US leadership was back following the isolationist tendencies of the Trump administration. "As bin Laden said back around 2001, this is an issue of demonstrating who was the stronger horse. The US appears to be producing nags and mules, rather than racehorses," said Dean Cheng of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, referring to Osama bin Laden, whose orchestration of the 9/11 attacks led the United States to invade Afghanistan. "Taiwan and other East Asian states will be thinking about this." (With inputs from agencies)

Can US President Joe Biden's Afghan pullout undermine Asia shift?

Joe Biden has said that he, along with his wife, Jill Biden, plan on getting a booster shot. He further said that he is comfortable doing so while millions remain unvaccinated because America has “provided more to the rest of the world than all the rest of the world combined”.

Further, he added that the US will also provide an additional half a billion shots around the world within the first half of next year.&nbsp;

This comes in as chief scientist of the World Health Organization, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, has warned of “even more dire situations” worldwide if high-income countries start administering vaccine boosters ahead of poorer countries without vaccines.

At a news conference in Geneva, she said, "We believe clearly that the data does not indicate that boosters are needed".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/who-warns-against-booster-shots-while-us-plans-to-make-them-available-september-onwards-406731">Also read |&nbsp;WHO warns against booster shots while US plans to make them available September onwards</a>

The WHO has repeatedly called for vaccine equity and “solidarity” among countries. Dr. Michael Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies chief, said, “If we think about this in terms of an analogy, we’re planning to hand out extra life jackets to people who already have life jackets, while we’re leaving other people to drown without a single life jacket.”

US said that it plans to make COVID-19 vaccine booster shots widely available September 20 onwards.&nbsp;

The decision has been taken given rise in infections due to Delta variant and also due to the data indicating diminishing protection from vaccines over time.

The officials are prepared to give third shot to Americans who completed their inoculation at least 8 months ago.&nbsp;

The booster shots initially will focus upon healthcare workers, nursing home residents and older people, among the first groups to be vaccinated in late 2020 and early 2021, top US health officials said in a joint statement.

Joe Biden has said that he, along with his wife, Jill Biden, plan on getting a booster shot. He further said that he is comfortable doing so while millions remain unvaccinated because America has “provided more to the rest of the world than all the rest of the world combined”.

Joe Biden has said that he, along with his wife, Jill Biden, plan on getting a booster shot. He further said that he is comfortable doing so while millions remain unvaccinated because America has “provided more to the rest of the world than all the rest of the world combined”. Further, he added that the US will also provide an additional half a billion shots around the world within the first half of next year. This comes in as chief scientist of the World Health Organization, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, has warned of “even more dire situations” worldwide if high-income countries start administering vaccine boosters ahead of poorer countries without vaccines. At a news conference in Geneva, she said, "We believe clearly that the data does not indicate that boosters are needed". Also read | WHO warns against booster shots while US plans to make them available September onwards The WHO has repeatedly called for vaccine equity and “solidarity” among countries. Dr. Michael Ryan, the WHO’s emergencies chief, said, “If we think about this in terms of an analogy, we’re planning to hand out extra life jackets to people who already have life jackets, while we’re leaving other people to drown without a single life jacket.” US said that it plans to make COVID-19 vaccine booster shots widely available September 20 onwards. The decision has been taken given rise in infections due to Delta variant and also due to the data indicating diminishing protection from vaccines over time. The officials are prepared to give third shot to Americans who completed their inoculation at least 8 months ago. The booster shots initially will focus upon healthcare workers, nursing home residents and older people, among the first groups to be vaccinated in late 2020 and early 2021, top US health officials said in a joint statement.

Joe Biden says he and first lady Jill Biden plan on getting COVID-19 booster shot

US President Joe Biden has been criticised for being ill-informed about where US troops are stationed. During a recent interview, Biden incorrectly stated that the US had not stationed the military in Syria.

Joe Biden incorrectly states that US has not stationed military in Syria

The Joe Biden Administration has left behind $20 billion military hardware on a platter for the Taliban. American Choppers, Humvees, Jets & rifles are now in the Taliban's hands. Palki Sharma tells you how this is another proof of Biden's unmitigated disaster.

Gravitas: These American weapons are now in Taliban's hands

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that US troops won't leave any Americans behind in Afghanistan. "If there are American citizens left, we're going to stay to get them all out," Biden said. US leaders have said that they are sticking to an August 31 deadline for removing US troops from Afghanistan.

If there are American citizens left, we're going to stay to get them all out: US President Joe Biden

Is US President Joe Biden's dream run over? His ratings have fallen to the lowest in 7 months. His Afghan policy is an unmitigated disaster. Terrorists from LeT, Jaish, ISIL & Al-Qaeda have entered Kabul to make it a base for their resurgence. Palki Sharma gets you a report.

Gravitas: Joe Biden's ratings fall drastically

USA spent trillions of dollars in Afghanistan, its soldiers spent countless hours in training what was Afghan National Army. But the situation unravelled in surprisingly short time and Taliban came back to power. Now, to add to the embarrassment, videos of Taliban fighters wearing US uniforms and driving Humvees left behind by the US soldiers and retreating Afghan armymen are putting the US in a tight spot.

Taliban has seized huge amounts of weaponry, equipment and ammunition from Afghan armed forces. All of this had been supplied by the USA in last two decades.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
More than 100 Humvees captured in Mazar sharif.Dostum and its troops were fleeing to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tajikistan?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tajikistan</a> but couldn't get the permission,later <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Taliban?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Taliban</a> ask them if they could surrendered instead being killed.<a href="https://t.co/1LDHdig5iT">pic.twitter.com/1LDHdig5iT</a>
— Spoils of war (@SpoilOfWar) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpoilOfWar/status/1427011818325696514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Videos of Taliban fighters parading in US-made armored vehicles, wielding US-supplied firearms and climbing on American Black Hawk helicopters after the defeat of Afghan government forces have embarrassed the White House.

The videos are doing rounds on social media. Taliban fighters can be seen carrying M4 an M18 assault rifles and M24 sniper weapons, driving around in the iconic US Humvees and, in one video, apparently wearing US-style special forces tactical uniforms.

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Taliban fighters ride on top of a U.S.-made Humvee previously used by Afghan security services in the streets of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kabul?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kabul</a> (📸 via <a href="https://twitter.com/ShehabAgency?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShehabAgency</a>) <a href="https://t.co/IkBMhdDXUs">pic.twitter.com/IkBMhdDXUs</a>
— ℳℴhamed Keita (@ModKeita) <a href="https://twitter.com/ModKeita/status/1427049651245568010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The images are underpinning a political attack on President Joe Biden for alleged mishandling of the US withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war.

Afghan forces conceded Kabul last weekend without a fight. This happened despite two decades of training and tens of billions of dollars from the US. Most of the equipment has been seized from Afghan soldiers

"We don't have a complete picture, obviously, of where every article of defense materials has gone. But certainly, a fair amount of it has fallen into the hands of the Taliban," said White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday.

'Botched withdrawal'

"Obviously, we don't have a sense that they are going to readily hand it over to us," he said. 
Republicans seized on the admission to pounce on Biden.

"Thanks to Biden's botched withdrawal, the Taliban is better equipped today than they ever have been," said Republican national chair Ronna McDaniel.

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Taliban enjoying the $400,000 Humvee we left them <a href="https://t.co/OjjjEbbd4Q">pic.twitter.com/OjjjEbbd4Q</a>
— Ethan Klein (@h3h3productions) <a href="https://twitter.com/h3h3productions/status/1427716692084289542?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2021</a></blockquote>
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According to official figures, the US military supplied the Afghan army with more than 7,000 machine guns, 4,700 Humvees and 20,000 grenades in recent years.

The Afghans have also received artillery and reconnaissance drones from Washington, as well as more than 200 aircraft, both fixed-wing and helicopters.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that the department is looking at the issue.

Limited threat

"We obviously don't want to see our equipment in the hands of those who would act against our interests, or the interests of the Afghan people," Kirby told reporters.

"There are numerous policy choices that can be made, up to and including destruction," he said, without giving specifics.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

(Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of these visuals)

USA spent trillions of dollars in Afghanistan, its soldiers spent countless hours in training what was Afghan National Army. But the situation unravelled in surprisingly short time and Taliban came back to power.

USA spent trillions of dollars in Afghanistan, its soldiers spent countless hours in training what was Afghan National Army. But the situation unravelled in surprisingly short time and Taliban came back to power. Now, to add to the embarrassment, videos of Taliban fighters wearing US uniforms and driving Humvees left behind by the US soldiers and retreating Afghan armymen are putting the US in a tight spot. Taliban has seized huge amounts of weaponry, equipment and ammunition from Afghan armed forces. All of this had been supplied by the USA in last two decades. More than 100 Humvees captured in Mazar sharif.Dostum and its troops were fleeing to #Tajikistan but couldn't get the permission,later #Taliban ask them if they could surrendered instead being killed.pic.twitter.com/1LDHdig5iT — Spoils of war (@SpoilOfWar) August 15, 2021 × Videos of Taliban fighters parading in US-made armored vehicles, wielding US-supplied firearms and climbing on American Black Hawk helicopters after the defeat of Afghan government forces have embarrassed the White House. The videos are doing rounds on social media. Taliban fighters can be seen carrying M4 an M18 assault rifles and M24 sniper weapons, driving around in the iconic US Humvees and, in one video, apparently wearing US-style special forces tactical uniforms. Taliban fighters ride on top of a U.S.-made Humvee previously used by Afghan security services in the streets of #Kabul (📸 via @ShehabAgency) pic.twitter.com/IkBMhdDXUs — ℳℴhamed Keita (@ModKeita) August 15, 2021 × The images are underpinning a political attack on President Joe Biden for alleged mishandling of the US withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war. Afghan forces conceded Kabul last weekend without a fight. This happened despite two decades of training and tens of billions of dollars from the US. Most of the equipment has been seized from Afghan soldiers "We don't have a complete picture, obviously, of where every article of defense materials has gone. But certainly, a fair amount of it has fallen into the hands of the Taliban," said White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday. 'Botched withdrawal' "Obviously, we don't have a sense that they are going to readily hand it over to us," he said. Republicans seized on the admission to pounce on Biden. "Thanks to Biden's botched withdrawal, the Taliban is better equipped today than they ever have been," said Republican national chair Ronna McDaniel. Taliban enjoying the $400,000 Humvee we left them pic.twitter.com/OjjjEbbd4Q — Ethan Klein (@h3h3productions) August 17, 2021 × According to official figures, the US military supplied the Afghan army with more than 7,000 machine guns, 4,700 Humvees and 20,000 grenades in recent years. The Afghans have also received artillery and reconnaissance drones from Washington, as well as more than 200 aircraft, both fixed-wing and helicopters. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that the department is looking at the issue. Limited threat "We obviously don't want to see our equipment in the hands of those who would act against our interests, or the interests of the Afghan people," Kirby told reporters. "There are numerous policy choices that can be made, up to and including destruction," he said, without giving specifics. (With inputs from agencies) (Disclaimer: WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of these visuals)

Videos of Taliban with US equipment embarrass White House

President Joe Biden has said that the US military presence could extend beyond the August 31 deadline for the withdrawal so as to evacuate all Americans from Afghanistan.

Joe Biden says US troops could stay in Kabul beyond August 31

President Joe Biden is on his mission to evacuate US citizens from Afghanistan. But his own administration is giving out conflicting statements on safe passage of US citizens out of Afghanistan. Wendy Sherman has said that their citizens would not be able to get safe passage out of Kabul. However the Pentagon has said that 'Taliban is facilitating safe passage of American citizens.

New Zealand has announced a snap lockdown after a man tested positive for Covid, the first case in six months.  The case was detected in Auckland, which will be in lockdown for a week, while the rest of the country will be in lockdown for three days

President Joe Biden's approval rating dropped by 7 percentage points and hit its lowest level so far. According to the latest Rasmussen Reports survey, 45% of likely voters approve of the job Biden is doing and some 54% disapprove of Biden. This came after his decision on the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

President Joe Biden's approval rating drops, hit its lowest level so far

A defiant Joe Biden defended his decision to hastily pull out American troops from Afghanistan. The US president shifted blame to the Afghan leadership, saying there is no right time to withdraw. Molly Gambhir tells you what Biden got wrong in his speech.

Gravitas: Biden defends pull-out, blames Afghan army

US&nbsp;Vice President Kamala Harris earned more than&nbsp;President Joe Biden in 2020 according to the&nbsp;tax returns filed by both of them.

While Harris had an income of over $1 million, Biden earned only $607,336 in comparison to her.

The president and the first lady, Jill, a teacher, filed their income tax return jointly and reported a downfall in their income of $377,887 from the previous year.

The first couple paid $157,414 in federal income tax and their 2020 effective federal income tax rate is 25.9 per cent, the White House said.

On the other hand, the Vice President and second gentleman Doug Emhoff&nbsp;paid $621,893 in federal income tax, amounting to a 2020 effective federal income tax rate of 36.7 per cent.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/underwater-polls-suggest-kamala-harris-least-popular-vice-president-since-1970s-402209">'Underwater': Polls suggest Kamala Harris least popular Vice President since 1970s</a>

According to the White House, the President and the first lady also reported donating $30,704 or about 5.1 per cent of their total income&nbsp;to 10 different charities.

The largest reported gift to charity was $10,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation, a public charity dedicated to ensuring that all children are free from the threat of abuse.

The President and the first lady also released their Delaware income tax return and reported paying $28,794 in Delaware income tax.

The first lady also released her Virginia income tax return and reported paying $443 in Virginia income tax.

As required by law, the President and Vice President also released their public financial disclosure reports.

The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires high-level federal officials to publicly disclose their personal financial interests.

The public filing system serves to prevent financial conflicts of interest by providing for a systematic review of the finances of government officials.

"Those finances are set forth in annual disclosures, which are reviewed and certified by the independent Office of Government Ethics. Neither the President nor the Vice President have any conflicts of interest," the White House said.

(With inputs from agencies)

US Vice President Kamala Harris earned more than President Joe Biden in 2020 according to the tax returns filed by both of them. While Harris had an income of over $1 million, Biden earned only $607,336 in comparison to her.

US Vice President Kamala Harris earned more than President Joe Biden in 2020 according to the tax returns filed by both of them. While Harris had an income of over $1 million, Biden earned only $607,336 in comparison to her. The president and the first lady, Jill, a teacher, filed their income tax return jointly and reported a downfall in their income of $377,887 from the previous year. The first couple paid $157,414 in federal income tax and their 2020 effective federal income tax rate is 25.9 per cent, the White House said. On the other hand, the Vice President and second gentleman Doug Emhoff paid $621,893 in federal income tax, amounting to a 2020 effective federal income tax rate of 36.7 per cent. Also read | 'Underwater': Polls suggest Kamala Harris least popular Vice President since 1970s According to the White House, the President and the first lady also reported donating $30,704 or about 5.1 per cent of their total income to 10 different charities. The largest reported gift to charity was $10,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation, a public charity dedicated to ensuring that all children are free from the threat of abuse. The President and the first lady also released their Delaware income tax return and reported paying $28,794 in Delaware income tax. The first lady also released her Virginia income tax return and reported paying $443 in Virginia income tax. As required by law, the President and Vice President also released their public financial disclosure reports. The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires high-level federal officials to publicly disclose their personal financial interests. The public filing system serves to prevent financial conflicts of interest by providing for a systematic review of the finances of government officials. "Those finances are set forth in annual disclosures, which are reviewed and certified by the independent Office of Government Ethics. Neither the President nor the Vice President have any conflicts of interest," the White House said. (With inputs from agencies)

US Vice President Kamala Harris earned more than President Joe Biden in 2020

Former US President Donald Trump called for his successor Joe Biden to resign over the swift takeover of Afghanistan by Taliban militants, as US troops withdrew from the country after nearly 20 years on the ground.

Trump calls on Biden to resign over unfolding crisis in Afghanistan

Classified assessments by American spy agencies over the summer painted an increasingly grim picture of the prospect of a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and warned of the rapid collapse of the Afghan military, even as President Joe Biden and his advisers said publicly that was unlikely to happen as quickly, according to current and former U.S. government officials.

By July, many intelligence reports grew more pessimistic, questioning whether any Afghan security forces would muster serious resistance and whether the government could hold on in Kabul, the capital. Biden said on July 8 that the Afghan government was unlikely to fall and that there would be no chaotic evacuations of Americans similar to the end of the Vietnam War.

The drumbeat of warnings over the summer raise questions about why Biden administration officials, and military planners in Afghanistan, seemed ill-prepared to deal with the Taliban’s final push into Kabul, including a failure to ensure security at the main airport and rushing thousands more troops back to the country to protect the United States’ final exit.

One report in July — as dozens of Afghan districts were falling and Taliban fighters were laying siege to several major cities — laid out the growing risks to Kabul, noting that the Afghan government was unprepared for a Taliban assault, according to a person familiar with the intelligence.

Intelligence agencies predicted that should the Taliban seize cities, a cascading collapse could happen rapidly and the Afghan security forces were at high risk of falling apart. It is unclear whether other reports during this period presented a more optimistic picture about the ability of the Afghan military and the government in Kabul to withstand the Taliban.

A historical analysis provided to Congress concluded that the insurgents had learned lessons from their takeover of the country in the 1990s. This time, the report said, the Taliban would first secure border crossings, commandeer provincial capitals and seize swaths of the country’s north before moving in on Kabul, a prediction that proved accurate.

But key American decisions were made long before July, when the consensus among intelligence agencies was that the Afghan government could hang on for as long as two years, which would have left ample time for an orderly exit. On April 27, when the State Department ordered the departure of nonessential personnel from the embassy in Kabul, the overall intelligence assessment was still that a Taliban takeover was at least 18 months away, according to administration officials.

One senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the classified intelligence reports, said that even by July, as the situation grew more volatile, intelligence agencies never offered a clear prediction of an imminent Taliban takeover. The official said their assessments were also not given a “high confidence” judgment, the agencies’ highest level of certainty.

As late as a week before Kabul’s fall, the overall intelligence analysis was that a Taliban takeover was not yet inevitable, the official said.

Spokespeople for the CIA and the director of national intelligence declined to discuss the assessments given to the White House. But intelligence officials acknowledged that their agencies’ analysis had been sober and that the assessments had changed in recent weeks and months.

During his speech on Monday, Biden said that his administration “planned for every contingency” in Afghanistan but that the situation “did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.”

Facing clear evidence of the collapse of Afghan forces, U.S. officials have begun to cast blame internally, including statements from the White House that have suggested an intelligence failure. Such finger-pointing often occurs after major national security breakdowns, but it will take weeks or months for a more complete picture to emerge of the decision-making in the Biden administration that led to the chaos in Kabul in recent days.

Intelligence agencies have long predicted an ultimate Taliban victory, even before President Donald Trump and Biden decided to withdraw forces. Those estimates provided a range of timelines. While they raised questions about the will of the Afghan security forces to fight without Americans by their side, they did not predict a collapse within weeks.

But in recent months, assessments became ever more pessimistic as the Taliban made larger gains, according to current and former officials. The reports this summer questioned in stark terms the will of Afghan security forces to fight and the ability of the Kabul government to hold power. With each report of mass desertions, a former official said, the Afghan government looked less stable.

Another CIA report in July noted that the security forces and central government had lost control of the roads leading into Kabul and assessed that the viability of the central government was in serious jeopardy. Other reports by the State Department’s intelligence and research division also noted the failure of Afghan forces to fight the Taliban and suggested the deteriorating security conditions could lead to the collapse of the government, according to government officials.

“The business of intelligence is not to say you know on Aug. 15 the Afghan government’s going to fall,” said Timothy S. Bergreen, a former staff director for the House Intelligence Committee. “But what everybody knew is that without the stiffening of the international forces and specifically our forces, the Afghans were incapable of defending or governing themselves.”

Afghanistan received little attention in the annual threat assessment released in April by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; but the brief discussion was dire, noting the Taliban was confident it could achieve a military victory.

“The Taliban is likely to make gains on the battlefield, and the Afghan government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support,” the report said.

But current and former officials said that while it was true that the CIA predicted a collapse of the Afghan government, it was often hard to get agency analysts to clearly predict how quickly that would occur, especially as Trump and then Biden made decisions on how fast to draw down troops.

Two former senior Trump administration officials who reviewed some of the CIA’s assessments of Afghanistan said the intelligence agencies did deliver warnings about the strength of the Afghan government and security forces. But the agency resisted giving an exact time frame and the assessments could often be interpreted in a variety of ways, including concluding that Afghanistan could fall quickly or possibly over time.

Sharp disagreements have also persisted in the intelligence community. The CIA for years has been pessimistic about the training of the Afghan security forces. But the Defense Intelligence Agency and other intelligence shops within the Pentagon delivered more optimistic assessments about the Afghans’ preparedness, according to current and former officials.

Military and intelligence assessments predicting that the government in Kabul could hold on at least a year before a Taliban takeover were built on a premise that proved to be flawed: that the Afghan army would put up a fight.

“Most of the U.S. assessments inside and outside the U.S. government had focused on how well the Afghan security forces would fare in a fight with the Taliban. In reality, they never really fought” during the Taliban blitz across the country, said Seth G. Jones, an Afghanistan expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Two decades ago, this dynamic played out in reverse. When U.S.-backed Afghan militias began capturing territory from the Taliban in late 2001, Taliban fighters folded relatively quickly, and both Kabul and Kandahar fell before the end of that year.

Some Taliban surrendered, some switched sides, and far larger numbers simply melted into the population to begin planning what would become a 20-year insurgency.

Intelligence officials have long observed that Afghans make cold calculations about who is likely to prevail in a conflict and back the winning side, a tactic that allows for battlefield gains to accumulate quickly until a tipping point turns the fight into a rout, according to current and former analysts.

At the core of the American loss in Afghanistan was the inability to build a security force that could stand on its own, but that error was compounded by Washington’s failure to listen to those raising questions about the Afghan military.

Part of the problem, according to former officials, is that the can-do attitude of the military frequently got in the way of candid, accurate assessments of how the Afghan security forces were doing. Though no one was blind to desertions or battlefield losses, American commanders given the task of training the Afghan military were reluctant to admit their efforts were failing.

Even those in the military skeptical of the skills of the Afghan security forces believed they would continue to fight for a time after the Americans left.

For months, intelligence officials have been making comparisons between the Afghan national security forces and the South Vietnamese army at the end of the Vietnam War. It took two years for South Vietnam’s military, known by the American acronym ARVN, to collapse after the United States withdrew troops and financial support. Optimists believed the Afghan military — with American funding — could last nearly as long. Pessimists thought it would be far shorter.

“For the last two or three years I have been ruefully remarking that ANSF is Afghan for ARVN,” said Bergreen, who worked on intelligence matters on Capitol Hill from 2003 to 2021. “There was an acknowledgment that the Afghan forces were not up to the long-term fight. But I don’t think anyone expected them to melt away quite that fast.”

Recent Taliban diplomatic maneuvers with other countries in the region, most notably China, lent an air of inevitability to a Taliban takeover that further demoralized Afghan government troops, Jones said.

In the end, analysts said, the Taliban won with the strategy that has so often proved successful during Afghanistan’s many decades of war — they outlasted their opponent.

“​​I am not that surprised it was as fast and sweeping as it was,” said Lisa Maddox, a former CIA analyst. “The Taliban certainly has shown their ability to persevere, hunker down and come back even after they have been beaten back. And you have a population that is so tired and weary of conflict that they are going to flip and support the winning side so they can survive.”

Classified assessments by American spy agencies over the summer painted an increasingly grim picture of the prospect of a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and warned of the rapid collapse of the Afghan military, even as President Joe Biden and his advisers said publicly that was unlikely to happen as quickly, according to current and former U.

Classified assessments by American spy agencies over the summer painted an increasingly grim picture of the prospect of a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and warned of the rapid collapse of the Afghan military, even as President Joe Biden and his advisers said publicly that was unlikely to happen as quickly, according to current and former U.S. government officials. By July, many intelligence reports grew more pessimistic, questioning whether any Afghan security forces would muster serious resistance and whether the government could hold on in Kabul, the capital. Biden said on July 8 that the Afghan government was unlikely to fall and that there would be no chaotic evacuations of Americans similar to the end of the Vietnam War. The drumbeat of warnings over the summer raise questions about why Biden administration officials, and military planners in Afghanistan, seemed ill-prepared to deal with the Taliban’s final push into Kabul, including a failure to ensure security at the main airport and rushing thousands more troops back to the country to protect the United States’ final exit. One report in July — as dozens of Afghan districts were falling and Taliban fighters were laying siege to several major cities — laid out the growing risks to Kabul, noting that the Afghan government was unprepared for a Taliban assault, according to a person familiar with the intelligence. Intelligence agencies predicted that should the Taliban seize cities, a cascading collapse could happen rapidly and the Afghan security forces were at high risk of falling apart. It is unclear whether other reports during this period presented a more optimistic picture about the ability of the Afghan military and the government in Kabul to withstand the Taliban. A historical analysis provided to Congress concluded that the insurgents had learned lessons from their takeover of the country in the 1990s. This time, the report said, the Taliban would first secure border crossings, commandeer provincial capitals and seize swaths of the country’s north before moving in on Kabul, a prediction that proved accurate. But key American decisions were made long before July, when the consensus among intelligence agencies was that the Afghan government could hang on for as long as two years, which would have left ample time for an orderly exit. On April 27, when the State Department ordered the departure of nonessential personnel from the embassy in Kabul, the overall intelligence assessment was still that a Taliban takeover was at least 18 months away, according to administration officials. One senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the classified intelligence reports, said that even by July, as the situation grew more volatile, intelligence agencies never offered a clear prediction of an imminent Taliban takeover. The official said their assessments were also not given a “high confidence” judgment, the agencies’ highest level of certainty. As late as a week before Kabul’s fall, the overall intelligence analysis was that a Taliban takeover was not yet inevitable, the official said. Spokespeople for the CIA and the director of national intelligence declined to discuss the assessments given to the White House. But intelligence officials acknowledged that their agencies’ analysis had been sober and that the assessments had changed in recent weeks and months. During his speech on Monday, Biden said that his administration “planned for every contingency” in Afghanistan but that the situation “did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.” Facing clear evidence of the collapse of Afghan forces, U.S. officials have begun to cast blame internally, including statements from the White House that have suggested an intelligence failure. Such finger-pointing often occurs after major national security breakdowns, but it will take weeks or months for a more complete picture to emerge of the decision-making in the Biden administration that led to the chaos in Kabul in recent days. Intelligence agencies have long predicted an ultimate Taliban victory, even before President Donald Trump and Biden decided to withdraw forces. Those estimates provided a range of timelines. While they raised questions about the will of the Afghan security forces to fight without Americans by their side, they did not predict a collapse within weeks. But in recent months, assessments became ever more pessimistic as the Taliban made larger gains, according to current and former officials. The reports this summer questioned in stark terms the will of Afghan security forces to fight and the ability of the Kabul government to hold power. With each report of mass desertions, a former official said, the Afghan government looked less stable. Another CIA report in July noted that the security forces and central government had lost control of the roads leading into Kabul and assessed that the viability of the central government was in serious jeopardy. Other reports by the State Department’s intelligence and research division also noted the failure of Afghan forces to fight the Taliban and suggested the deteriorating security conditions could lead to the collapse of the government, according to government officials. “The business of intelligence is not to say you know on Aug. 15 the Afghan government’s going to fall,” said Timothy S. Bergreen, a former staff director for the House Intelligence Committee. “But what everybody knew is that without the stiffening of the international forces and specifically our forces, the Afghans were incapable of defending or governing themselves.” Afghanistan received little attention in the annual threat assessment released in April by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; but the brief discussion was dire, noting the Taliban was confident it could achieve a military victory. “The Taliban is likely to make gains on the battlefield, and the Afghan government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support,” the report said. But current and former officials said that while it was true that the CIA predicted a collapse of the Afghan government, it was often hard to get agency analysts to clearly predict how quickly that would occur, especially as Trump and then Biden made decisions on how fast to draw down troops. Two former senior Trump administration officials who reviewed some of the CIA’s assessments of Afghanistan said the intelligence agencies did deliver warnings about the strength of the Afghan government and security forces. But the agency resisted giving an exact time frame and the assessments could often be interpreted in a variety of ways, including concluding that Afghanistan could fall quickly or possibly over time. Sharp disagreements have also persisted in the intelligence community. The CIA for years has been pessimistic about the training of the Afghan security forces. But the Defense Intelligence Agency and other intelligence shops within the Pentagon delivered more optimistic assessments about the Afghans’ preparedness, according to current and former officials. Military and intelligence assessments predicting that the government in Kabul could hold on at least a year before a Taliban takeover were built on a premise that proved to be flawed: that the Afghan army would put up a fight. “Most of the U.S. assessments inside and outside the U.S. government had focused on how well the Afghan security forces would fare in a fight with the Taliban. In reality, they never really fought” during the Taliban blitz across the country, said Seth G. Jones, an Afghanistan expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Two decades ago, this dynamic played out in reverse. When U.S.-backed Afghan militias began capturing territory from the Taliban in late 2001, Taliban fighters folded relatively quickly, and both Kabul and Kandahar fell before the end of that year. Some Taliban surrendered, some switched sides, and far larger numbers simply melted into the population to begin planning what would become a 20-year insurgency. Intelligence officials have long observed that Afghans make cold calculations about who is likely to prevail in a conflict and back the winning side, a tactic that allows for battlefield gains to accumulate quickly until a tipping point turns the fight into a rout, according to current and former analysts. At the core of the American loss in Afghanistan was the inability to build a security force that could stand on its own, but that error was compounded by Washington’s failure to listen to those raising questions about the Afghan military. Part of the problem, according to former officials, is that the can-do attitude of the military frequently got in the way of candid, accurate assessments of how the Afghan security forces were doing. Though no one was blind to desertions or battlefield losses, American commanders given the task of training the Afghan military were reluctant to admit their efforts were failing. Even those in the military skeptical of the skills of the Afghan security forces believed they would continue to fight for a time after the Americans left. For months, intelligence officials have been making comparisons between the Afghan national security forces and the South Vietnamese army at the end of the Vietnam War. It took two years for South Vietnam’s military, known by the American acronym ARVN, to collapse after the United States withdrew troops and financial support. Optimists believed the Afghan military — with American funding — could last nearly as long. Pessimists thought it would be far shorter. “For the last two or three years I have been ruefully remarking that ANSF is Afghan for ARVN,” said Bergreen, who worked on intelligence matters on Capitol Hill from 2003 to 2021. “There was an acknowledgment that the Afghan forces were not up to the long-term fight. But I don’t think anyone expected them to melt away quite that fast.” Recent Taliban diplomatic maneuvers with other countries in the region, most notably China, lent an air of inevitability to a Taliban takeover that further demoralized Afghan government troops, Jones said. In the end, analysts said, the Taliban won with the strategy that has so often proved successful during Afghanistan’s many decades of war — they outlasted their opponent. “I am not that surprised it was as fast and sweeping as it was,” said Lisa Maddox, a former CIA analyst. “The Taliban certainly has shown their ability to persevere, hunker down and come back even after they have been beaten back. And you have a population that is so tired and weary of conflict that they are going to flip and support the winning side so they can survive.”

Intelligence warned of Afghan military collapse, despite Biden’s assurances

The lightning advance of the Taliban in retaking the country has led Afghan Americans, former generals and leading statesmen to blame President Joe Biden for a hasty US withdrawal. Former US President Donald Trump has also criticized Biden's actions.

Backlash grows against US President Joe Biden for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan

Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan saying: 'I stand squarely behind my decision.' Biden said, 'American troops cannot and should not be dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves.'

I stand squarely behind my decision: President Joe Biden on US troops pullout from Afghanistan

It’s been a heavy week for us all as the world watches Afghanistan crumble in the hands of militant group Taliban that has taken control over major parts of the country. After US troops pulled out of the country, the Afghanistan government collapsed and gave in to the miscreants.&nbsp;

While the world watches with a heavy heart at the sad state of affairs, on Monday’s episode of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert said it feels like a ripped ‘Band Aid’ scenario. He dedicated his entire monologue to the Taliban’ takeover of Afghanistan and the US’ withdrawal from the country after 20 years.&nbsp;

Stephen Colbert said, “The US has been there for 20 years. We spent $2 trillion. We trained a 300,000-man strong Afghan army, and the Taliban took it over in 10 days. The country is in complete chaos.”

Stephen noted that US President Joe Biden is facing some flak for not leaving the country with some stability and support. He admitted that Biden will face the music “because he’s the President.” He then cut to a clip in which ABC’s Martha Raddatz referred to a “massive intelligence failure” on the part of the US.&nbsp;

<h2>ALSO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/watch-kabul-chaos-shocking-videos-and-photos-from-afghanistan-after-taliban-takeover-406056" hreflang="en">WATCH - Kabul chaos: Shocking videos and photos from Afghanistan after Taliban takeover</a></h2>

Stephen said, “That’s gotta sting when people describe your foreign policy the same way they describe Ron DeSantis.” He admitted that “it’s hard to argue that the White House didn’t shank the withdrawal.”

Joe Biden had said in a July 8 press conference that “the likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.” Stephen said this was the most inaccurate prediction from a president since Abraham Lincoln said, ‘See you after the play.'”

<h2>ALSO READ:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/the-art-and-cinema-we-risk-of-losing-in-talibans-takeover-of-afghanistan-406118" hreflang="en">The art and cinema we risk of losing in Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan</a></h2>

However, Stephen agreed that Biden was right in pulling out the troops as “American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves.” Stephen said, “He’s right. Why should our soldiers be fighting radicals in a civil war in Afghanistan? We’ve got our own on Capitol Hill. What’s happening now is the responsibility of both parties, and the American people who voted them into office.”

He also touched on Biden’s points that we, as a country, did everything we could for the Afghans, and that the Taliban would have taken over Afghanistan, regardless of the timing of U.S. withdrawal.

“Maybe Biden’s right. Maybe there was no good alternative. Were we never supposed to leave? Make Afghanistan the 51st state?” he wondered. “In the end, you can make us accept that there was no good alternative, but you can’t make us feel good about it. The only people who can feel good about this are the service members and their families who aren’t going to see soldiers sent into harm’s way for no reason that the commander-in-chief of either party can articulate.”

The host ended with, “So pulling out might be the right thing to do, but it’s heartbreaking, it’s humbling, when the right thing feels so wrong.” 
&nbsp;

It’s been a heavy week for us all as the world watches Afghanistan crumble in the hands of militant group Taliban that has taken control over major parts of the country.

It’s been a heavy week for us all as the world watches Afghanistan crumble in the hands of militant group Taliban that has taken control over major parts of the country. After US troops pulled out of the country, the Afghanistan government collapsed and gave in to the miscreants. While the world watches with a heavy heart at the sad state of affairs, on Monday’s episode of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert said it feels like a ripped ‘Band Aid’ scenario. He dedicated his entire monologue to the Taliban’ takeover of Afghanistan and the US’ withdrawal from the country after 20 years. Stephen Colbert said, “The US has been there for 20 years. We spent $2 trillion. We trained a 300,000-man strong Afghan army, and the Taliban took it over in 10 days. The country is in complete chaos.” Stephen noted that US President Joe Biden is facing some flak for not leaving the country with some stability and support. He admitted that Biden will face the music “because he’s the President.” He then cut to a clip in which ABC’s Martha Raddatz referred to a “massive intelligence failure” on the part of the US. ALSO WATCH - Kabul chaos: Shocking videos and photos from Afghanistan after Taliban takeover Stephen said, “That’s gotta sting when people describe your foreign policy the same way they describe Ron DeSantis.” He admitted that “it’s hard to argue that the White House didn’t shank the withdrawal.” Joe Biden had said in a July 8 press conference that “the likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the whole country is highly unlikely.” Stephen said this was the most inaccurate prediction from a president since Abraham Lincoln said, ‘See you after the play.'” ALSO READ: The art and cinema we risk of losing in Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan However, Stephen agreed that Biden was right in pulling out the troops as “American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves.” Stephen said, “He’s right. Why should our soldiers be fighting radicals in a civil war in Afghanistan? We’ve got our own on Capitol Hill. What’s happening now is the responsibility of both parties, and the American people who voted them into office.” He also touched on Biden’s points that we, as a country, did everything we could for the Afghans, and that the Taliban would have taken over Afghanistan, regardless of the timing of U.S. withdrawal. “Maybe Biden’s right. Maybe there was no good alternative. Were we never supposed to leave? Make Afghanistan the 51st state?” he wondered. “In the end, you can make us accept that there was no good alternative, but you can’t make us feel good about it. The only people who can feel good about this are the service members and their families who aren’t going to see soldiers sent into harm’s way for no reason that the commander-in-chief of either party can articulate.” The host ended with, “So pulling out might be the right thing to do, but it’s heartbreaking, it’s humbling, when the right thing feels so wrong.”

Stephen Colbert on US pulling out of Afghanistan amid rise of Taliban: Right thing feels so wrong

The Taliban is sweeping across Afghanistan seizing more than a dozen provincial capitals in the past week, and is poised to seize more. Afghan defense forces, finding themselves mostly cut off from US&nbsp;air support, haven’t been able to stop them, and the Afghan government may not survive for much longer. The United States has all but abandoned the country.

A disastrous Taliban takeover wasn’t inevitable. President Biden said his hands were tied to a withdrawal given the awful peace deal negotiated between the Trump administration and the Taliban. But there was still a way to pull out American troops while giving our Afghan partners a better chance to hold the gains we made with them over the last two decades.

Mr. Biden chose otherwise. The way he announced the drawdown and eventual departure of American troops — at the start of the fighting season, on a rapid timeline and sans adequate coordination with the Afghan government — has in part gotten us into the current situation.

Reasonable people can disagree about the wisdom of keeping American military forces in Afghanistan indefinitely, even at very low numbers. I and others have argued that the investment, including the risk to American personnel, is worth it to prevent militant groups from once again overrunning the country.

Mr. Biden believes that further expending U.S. resources in Afghanistan is “a recipe for being there indefinitely.” He rightly notes that President Trump had left him few good options by making a terrible deal with the Taliban. That’s a fine argument, but it explains neither the hastiness nor the consequences we are now observing: the Taliban overrunning swaths of the country, closing in on Kabul, pushing the Afghan security forces and government to the brink of collapse and prompting the Pentagon to prepare for a possible evacuation of the U.S. embassy.

A responsible withdrawal needed more time and better preparation. History will record Mr. Biden, a supposed master of foreign policy for decades, as having failed in this most critical assignment.

As U.S. military planners well know, the Afghan war has a seasonal pattern. The Taliban leadership retreats to bases, largely in Pakistan, every winter and then launches the group’s fighting season campaign in the spring, moving into high gear in the summer after the poppy harvest. At the very least, the United States should have continued to support the Afghans through this period to help them blunt the Taliban’s latest offensive and buy time to plan for a future devoid of American military assistance.

American diplomats could have used this time to negotiate access to regional bases from which to continue counterterrorism operations. Simultaneously, the American military should have prepared contingencies in case those negotiations failed. And even that plan would have meant contending with an increasingly brazen Taliban. (A report by the special inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction said the Taliban launched its latest offensive after U.S. and coalition forces officially began drawing down in May.)

Adopting a more judicious approach would have required Mr. Biden to accept two things in addition to a longer timeline: the temporary deployment of additional U.S. forces and the slightly increased risk of American casualties.

Sending additional troops into Afghanistan could have allowed the United States to carry out the withdrawal safely without severely disrupting military support. When the president ordered the pullout, there were some 3,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. One thousand or 2,000 additional troops deployed for less than a year could have made a significant difference. They would have allowed Gen. Austin S. Miller, the former U.S. commander in Afghanistan, to continue supporting the Afghan security forces while simultaneously prepping the withdrawal.

Obviously, Mr. Biden did not proceed in this manner. Instead, he ordered a hasty withdrawal of the military just as the Taliban offensive was moving into its major phase.

Several weeks after the president’s announcement, there was no clear plan for responding to terrorist threats emanating from Afghanistan post-withdrawal. It was still unclear if the United States would continue to provide air support to Afghan forces, whether it would have bases in neighboring countries, or how Kabul’s international airport would be secured — an element essential to the maintenance of a U.S. diplomatic presence in the country.

Since then, the U.S. military has provided some support to Afghan forces as the Taliban continues to advance. Unfortunately, this support has been too limited and late to save major cities under attack. In addition, several details of the withdrawal appear to remain unresolved, including how to keep the Afghan military operational without the presence of U.S. contractors for technical support, and how to expedite the immigration of Afghan interpreters who risked their lives for U.S. troops. Protecting these people is an ethical responsibility and strategic imperative, but the administration’s current Special Immigrant Visa Program is plagued by delays.

To be clear, Mr. Trump did put the Biden administration in a bind with a peace deal that specified U.S. troops had to leave by May 1. Still, Mr. Biden blew past that deadline, so pushing for a slightly longer timeline with some extra troops, even if in theory that goes against the peace deal, shouldn’t have been difficult for the administration to accept to permit an orderly, safer withdrawal. The additional financial cost of waiting until early 2022 to complete the retreat would have been bearable with a slightly different budgetary prioritization. (The Senate just approved a trillion dollar infrastructure bill and passed a $3.5 trillion budget plan.)

And then there are the optics of an American retreat. Mr. Biden has repeatedly emphasized the importance of getting U.S. forces out the door, because he was tied to the peace deal and lest U.S. soldiers come under Taliban attack. Is this really the type of fearful, defeatist message a global leader should be sending out to the world?

Both the U.S. and Afghan governments are now scrambling to mitigate the effects of Mr. Biden’s specific decisions. Amid the chaos, there is an important lesson to be learned: Whether announced by tweet or speech, decisions made without concrete plans or robust implementation strategies are wrong — regardless of which president or party spearheads them.

Afghans are paying the price of Mr. Biden’s decision today as the Taliban seizes cities, assassinates officials and begins reimposing its oppressive ideology on a people who have long fought to be free of it.

The United States will likely also continue to pay for its actions in Afghanistan. There’s a real danger that militant groups will reconstitute themselves and once again pose a significant threat to the American homeland. With America’s allies left in the lurch, prospective partners will think twice before offering up their support in future conflicts.

They know that this is not how a global leader acts. And most important, so do we.

The Taliban is sweeping across Afghanistan seizing more than a dozen provincial capitals in the past week, and is poised to seize more. Afghan defense forces, finding themselves mostly cut off from US air support, haven’t been able to stop them, and the Afghan government may not survive for much longer.

The Taliban is sweeping across Afghanistan seizing more than a dozen provincial capitals in the past week, and is poised to seize more. Afghan defense forces, finding themselves mostly cut off from US air support, haven’t been able to stop them, and the Afghan government may not survive for much longer. The United States has all but abandoned the country. A disastrous Taliban takeover wasn’t inevitable. President Biden said his hands were tied to a withdrawal given the awful peace deal negotiated between the Trump administration and the Taliban. But there was still a way to pull out American troops while giving our Afghan partners a better chance to hold the gains we made with them over the last two decades. Mr. Biden chose otherwise. The way he announced the drawdown and eventual departure of American troops — at the start of the fighting season, on a rapid timeline and sans adequate coordination with the Afghan government — has in part gotten us into the current situation. Reasonable people can disagree about the wisdom of keeping American military forces in Afghanistan indefinitely, even at very low numbers. I and others have argued that the investment, including the risk to American personnel, is worth it to prevent militant groups from once again overrunning the country. Mr. Biden believes that further expending U.S. resources in Afghanistan is “a recipe for being there indefinitely.” He rightly notes that President Trump had left him few good options by making a terrible deal with the Taliban. That’s a fine argument, but it explains neither the hastiness nor the consequences we are now observing: the Taliban overrunning swaths of the country, closing in on Kabul, pushing the Afghan security forces and government to the brink of collapse and prompting the Pentagon to prepare for a possible evacuation of the U.S. embassy. A responsible withdrawal needed more time and better preparation. History will record Mr. Biden, a supposed master of foreign policy for decades, as having failed in this most critical assignment. As U.S. military planners well know, the Afghan war has a seasonal pattern. The Taliban leadership retreats to bases, largely in Pakistan, every winter and then launches the group’s fighting season campaign in the spring, moving into high gear in the summer after the poppy harvest. At the very least, the United States should have continued to support the Afghans through this period to help them blunt the Taliban’s latest offensive and buy time to plan for a future devoid of American military assistance. American diplomats could have used this time to negotiate access to regional bases from which to continue counterterrorism operations. Simultaneously, the American military should have prepared contingencies in case those negotiations failed. And even that plan would have meant contending with an increasingly brazen Taliban. (A report by the special inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction said the Taliban launched its latest offensive after U.S. and coalition forces officially began drawing down in May.) Adopting a more judicious approach would have required Mr. Biden to accept two things in addition to a longer timeline: the temporary deployment of additional U.S. forces and the slightly increased risk of American casualties. Sending additional troops into Afghanistan could have allowed the United States to carry out the withdrawal safely without severely disrupting military support. When the president ordered the pullout, there were some 3,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. One thousand or 2,000 additional troops deployed for less than a year could have made a significant difference. They would have allowed Gen. Austin S. Miller, the former U.S. commander in Afghanistan, to continue supporting the Afghan security forces while simultaneously prepping the withdrawal. Obviously, Mr. Biden did not proceed in this manner. Instead, he ordered a hasty withdrawal of the military just as the Taliban offensive was moving into its major phase. Several weeks after the president’s announcement, there was no clear plan for responding to terrorist threats emanating from Afghanistan post-withdrawal. It was still unclear if the United States would continue to provide air support to Afghan forces, whether it would have bases in neighboring countries, or how Kabul’s international airport would be secured — an element essential to the maintenance of a U.S. diplomatic presence in the country. Since then, the U.S. military has provided some support to Afghan forces as the Taliban continues to advance. Unfortunately, this support has been too limited and late to save major cities under attack. In addition, several details of the withdrawal appear to remain unresolved, including how to keep the Afghan military operational without the presence of U.S. contractors for technical support, and how to expedite the immigration of Afghan interpreters who risked their lives for U.S. troops. Protecting these people is an ethical responsibility and strategic imperative, but the administration’s current Special Immigrant Visa Program is plagued by delays. To be clear, Mr. Trump did put the Biden administration in a bind with a peace deal that specified U.S. troops had to leave by May 1. Still, Mr. Biden blew past that deadline, so pushing for a slightly longer timeline with some extra troops, even if in theory that goes against the peace deal, shouldn’t have been difficult for the administration to accept to permit an orderly, safer withdrawal. The additional financial cost of waiting until early 2022 to complete the retreat would have been bearable with a slightly different budgetary prioritization. (The Senate just approved a trillion dollar infrastructure bill and passed a $3.5 trillion budget plan.) And then there are the optics of an American retreat. Mr. Biden has repeatedly emphasized the importance of getting U.S. forces out the door, because he was tied to the peace deal and lest U.S. soldiers come under Taliban attack. Is this really the type of fearful, defeatist message a global leader should be sending out to the world? Both the U.S. and Afghan governments are now scrambling to mitigate the effects of Mr. Biden’s specific decisions. Amid the chaos, there is an important lesson to be learned: Whether announced by tweet or speech, decisions made without concrete plans or robust implementation strategies are wrong — regardless of which president or party spearheads them. Afghans are paying the price of Mr. Biden’s decision today as the Taliban seizes cities, assassinates officials and begins reimposing its oppressive ideology on a people who have long fought to be free of it. The United States will likely also continue to pay for its actions in Afghanistan. There’s a real danger that militant groups will reconstitute themselves and once again pose a significant threat to the American homeland. With America’s allies left in the lurch, prospective partners will think twice before offering up their support in future conflicts. They know that this is not how a global leader acts. And most important, so do we.

Biden could have stopped the Taliban. He chose not to

Trump blames Biden for Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, seeks his resignation

United States President Joe Biden hailed the India-US partnership as India celebrates its 75th Independence Day on Sunday (August 15). Biden said that partnership between the nations is "more important than ever" and added that together the countries must show the world that "two great and diverse democracies" can deliver for people everywhere.

"In this moment of great challenges and opportunities, the partnership between India and the United States is more important than ever. Together, we must show the world that our two great and diverse democracies can deliver for people everywhere," read a statement published by the White House.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/independence-day-necessary-to-make-full-use-of-indias-potential-says-pm-modi-405470">Independence Day: Necessary to make full use of India's potential, says PM Modi</a>

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of Independence Day. He remembered the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for a free India. PM Modi also honoured the Coronavirus (COVID-19) warriors.&nbsp;

The White House's statement added, "On this day, August 15, 1947, India achieved its long journey toward independence, guided by Mahatma Gandhi’s message of truth and non-violence."

IN PICS |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/pm-narendra-modi-remembers-freedom-fighters-honours-covid-19-warriors-and-olympians-during-independence-day-address-405485">PM Narendra Modi remembers freedom fighters, honours COVID-19 warriors and Olympians during Independence Day address</a>

"Today, that foundational commitment to respecting the will of the people through democracy continues to inspire the world and is the basis of the special bond between our two nations," it further added.&nbsp;

"Over the decades, the ties between our people, including a vibrant community of more than four million Indian-Americans, have sustained and strengthened our partnership," the statement added.&nbsp;

Watch PM Modi's address here:

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Addressing the nation from the Red Fort. Watch. <a href="https://t.co/wEX5viCIVs">https://t.co/wEX5viCIVs</a>
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1426728344867860485?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 15, 2021</a></blockquote>
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"The friendship between our nations will continue to flourish and grow. I wish all those celebrating today, in India, in the United States, and throughout the world, a safe and happy Indian Independence Day," the statement by White House oncluded.&nbsp;

United States President Joe Biden hailed the India-US partnership as India celebrates its 75th Independence Day on Sunday (August 15). Biden said that partnership between the nations is "more important than ever" and added that together the countries must show the world that "two great and diverse democracies" can deliver for people everywhere.

United States President Joe Biden hailed the India-US partnership as India celebrates its 75th Independence Day on Sunday (August 15). Biden said that partnership between the nations is "more important than ever" and added that together the countries must show the world that "two great and diverse democracies" can deliver for people everywhere. "In this moment of great challenges and opportunities, the partnership between India and the United States is more important than ever. Together, we must show the world that our two great and diverse democracies can deliver for people everywhere," read a statement published by the White House. ALSO READ | Independence Day: Necessary to make full use of India's potential, says PM Modi Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of Independence Day. He remembered the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for a free India. PM Modi also honoured the Coronavirus (COVID-19) warriors. The White House's statement added, "On this day, August 15, 1947, India achieved its long journey toward independence, guided by Mahatma Gandhi’s message of truth and non-violence." IN PICS | PM Narendra Modi remembers freedom fighters, honours COVID-19 warriors and Olympians during Independence Day address "Today, that foundational commitment to respecting the will of the people through democracy continues to inspire the world and is the basis of the special bond between our two nations," it further added. "Over the decades, the ties between our people, including a vibrant community of more than four million Indian-Americans, have sustained and strengthened our partnership," the statement added. Watch PM Modi's address here: Addressing the nation from the Red Fort. Watch. https://t.co/wEX5viCIVs — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 15, 2021 × "The friendship between our nations will continue to flourish and grow. I wish all those celebrating today, in India, in the United States, and throughout the world, a safe and happy Indian Independence Day," the statement by White House oncluded.

'Together, we must show the world...': US President Joe Biden's message on India's 75th Independence Day

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Gravitas: Joe Biden's ratings fall drastically

Videos of Taliban with US equipment embarrass White House

Joe Biden says US troops could stay in Kabul beyond August 31

New Zealand has announced a snap lockdown after a man tested positive for Covid, the first case in six months. The case was detected in Auckland, which will be in lockdown for a week, while the rest of the country will be in lockdown for three days

President Joe Biden's approval rating drops, hit its lowest level so far

Gravitas: Biden defends pull-out, blames Afghan army

US Vice President Kamala Harris earned more than President Joe Biden in 2020

Trump calls on Biden to resign over unfolding crisis in Afghanistan

Intelligence warned of Afghan military collapse, despite Biden’s assurances

Backlash grows against US President Joe Biden for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan