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This week’s R&D is on the war in Afghanistan. In 2001, the United States helped the Northern Alliance overthrow Afghanistan’s Taliban regime due to the Taliban harboring 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. Now, the United States is withdrawing its forces from the country and the Taliban has captured nearly a dozen of the country’s provincial capitals. International observers question whether the Afghan government can fight on its own and worry about how a restored Taliban regime will treat the rights of women, ethnic minorities, and political dissidents.
The West may want to forget about Afghanistan, but that won’t be possible. Of the many bad options Biden faced, he chose perhaps the worst. https://t.co/9jjZaUy8Zh
— World Politics Review (@WPReview) August 12, 2021
Ideally, America would not be withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan at all. Its rush for the exit has allowed the Taliban to drop the pretence of negotiations https://t.co/vTAszVNlFi
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) August 12, 2021
The Islamist group was in power in Afghanistan until the US led invasion in 2001https://t.co/ittpBn3iSI
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 12, 2021
In July, the Taliban controlled an estimated 54% of Afghan districts—a few months earlier it controlled 20%.
Trace the Taliban’s rise and what the U.S. withdrawal means for the group. https://t.co/eobJSQfBMj
— Council on Foreign Relations (@CFR_org) August 12, 2021
Opinion: Critics argue that the US’s assessment of the situation in Afghanistan was wrong. The most dangerous of these misapprehensions was that al-Qaeda was so degraded that the country could stomach the risks of withdrawal https://t.co/R7XnTL8g75
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) August 12, 2021
The accelerating Taliban victories have demoralized Afghan government forces and sown fears that it is only a matter of days before the insurgents mount a large-scale attack on the nation’s capital, home to six million people https://t.co/yKbltQFtFq
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) August 12, 2021
The US Embassy in Kabul again urged American citizens to leave Afghanistan “immediately” amid rapid Taliban gains in the country. It is the second such security alert in less than a week urging the immediate departure of US citizens. https://t.co/UCMmS8Ywtu
— CNN International (@cnni) August 12, 2021
Will the Taliban take Afghanistan?
Militants have taken a 10th provincial capital, in a weekhttps://t.co/mlL3fAMTVH
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 12, 2021
The Obama administration declared an end to combat in 2014, but U.S. troops kept fighting and dying, as detailed in this excerpt from Craig Whitlock’s book, “The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War.” https://t.co/22NuG0NNmj
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 12, 2021
As western troops pull out of Afghanistan the Taliban are quickly taking territory
See who controls what areas of Afghanistan ⬇️https://t.co/BKVVdC3gFO
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 12, 2021
Afghan government negotiators have offered the Taliban a power-sharing deal in return for a halt to the violence that has engulfed then country, as the insurgents advanced to within 90 miles of Kabul, seizing their tenth major city in a week https://t.co/ZmaLhZM7hh
— The Times (@thetimes) August 12, 2021
China preparing to recognize Taliban if Kabul falls: sources. https://t.co/14g2q9JiaD
— U.S. News & World Report (@usnews) August 12, 2021
As the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan, the Taliban’s swift resurgence is unnerving senior officials in Central Asia.
In @WPReview, @pstronski highlights how America’s absence is creating space for Russia and China to strengthen their ties in the region: https://t.co/sclDhAfgPO
— Carnegie Endowment (@CarnegieEndow) August 12, 2021