Live Conflict War in Afghanistan
- Thread starter Bogeyman
- Start date
Large number of weapons and ammo captured by Taliban's from Afghan army
By Zabiullah Mujahid who is official spokesmen for the Taliban
Google translate :
Last night, an enemy check post was destroyed in Dali area of Shorta district of Balkh province.
3 soldiers killed, 3 others wounded. Also seized were a motorcycle, a rocket launcher, a PKK, a Kalashnikov assault rifle and ammunition.
The Mujahideen were not harmed
Google translate :
Last night, an enemy check post was destroyed in Dali area of Shorta district of Balkh province.
3 soldiers killed, 3 others wounded. Also seized were a motorcycle, a rocket launcher, a PKK, a Kalashnikov assault rifle and ammunition.
The Mujahideen were not harmed
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Nothing surprising here. The status quo you see in Afghanistan since 2001 is US imposed with military, economic and political support. It's like a alien power invaded USA and imposed a minority group on America as it's government. The moment hat foreign imposition is removed the situation will revert to status quo-ante.
Welcome Taliban again .....
Welcome Taliban again .....
N
You cant nation build a country that country has to build itself and Afghans sadly most of them prefer to be reactionary in their views and values so what do you expect all their neighbors will just use it as a buffer
Dark green: 100-85% Yesil control
Green: 85-70% Taliban control
Light green: 70-55% Taliban control
Yellow: 55-45% control sharing
Gray: sparsely populated mountainous regions
Dark red: 100-85% Kabul government control
Red: 85-70% Kabul government control
Light red: 70-55% Kabul government control
Descriptions of the details of the map and the detailed field status of the province can be accessed by clicking on the city that is the center of each province on the map.
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US Completes Up to 25% of Afghan Withdrawal
CENTCOM also said it had removed the equivalent of approximately 160 C-17 planeloads of material from Afghanistan
www.voanews.com
WSJ News Exclusive | Sole U.S. Aircraft Carrier in Asia-Pacific to Help With Afghanistan Troop Withdrawal
The Pentagon is expected to move the USS Ronald Reagan toward the Middle East, leaving the Asia-Pacific without a carrier presence for first time in years.
www.wsj.com
Pentagon Accelerates Withdrawal From Afghanistan
American troops are set to be out by early to mid-July, well ahead of President Biden’s Sept. 11 deadline, even as big issues remain unresolved.
An Afghan Air Force Black Hawk crew preparing to unload supplies in southern Afghanistan this month. The Afghan Air Force has become increasingly capable in recent years, but American drones and other surveillance aircraft still provide key assistance.Credit...Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
By Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Eric Schmitt and Helene Cooper
May 25, 2021
KABUL, Afghanistan — United States troops and their NATO allies intend to be out of Afghanistan by early to mid-July, well ahead of President Biden’s Sept. 11 withdrawal deadline, military officials said, in what has turned into an accelerated ending to America’s longest war.
But the race to the exits, which has picked up steam as planeloads of equipment and troops are flown out of the country, leaves the United States grappling with huge unresolved issues that officials had thought they would have more time to figure out.
The Pentagon still has not determined how it will combat terrorist threats like Al Qaeda from afar after American troops leave. Nor have top Defense Department officials secured agreement from allies about repositioning American troops in other nearby countries. And administration officials are still grappling with the thorny question of whether American warplanes — most likely armed Reaper drones — will provide air support to Afghan forces to help prevent the country’s cities from falling to the Taliban.
“Withdrawing forces is actually a really delicate kind of operation that has risks associated with it,” said Michèle A. Flournoy, a former under secretary for defense under President Barack Obama. “There’s a lot they have to work through before the last person steps on the plane — especially when you have allies on the ground who are going to inherit what we are leaving behind.”
Mr. Biden announced last month that all forces would be out by Sept. 11, overruling his military advisers, who wanted to keep a residual American troop presence in the country to help Afghan security forces hold back the Taliban from key population centers along with counterterrorism missions. Almost immediately after Mr. Biden’s announcement, Pentagon officials began taking steps to make sure this interim period — one official called it “purgatory” between the announcement and the completion of the withdrawal — was as short as possible.
The Pentagon wanted to avoid what officials said could be a nightmare scenario: a combat-related death in Afghanistan after the president had announced that American troops were withdrawing. Such a loss could prompt a public outcry over why American troops were being put at risk for a lost cause, officials said. That, and Mr. Biden had extended the American presence beyond May 1, the proposed troop withdrawal date outlined in the U.S.-Taliban peace deal last year.
In addition, once the decision was made to leave, officials discovered that there was not that much physically left to move. The Obama and Trump administrations had already cut the American troop presence back to around 3,500 from more than 100,000 in 2011.
President Biden visiting Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, where America’s most recent war casualties are buried, last month.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times
Military officials quickly realized that they could be out by early to mid-July; NATO and allied forces are aiming to meet that deadline as well, officials said. The German military, which maintains a modest contingent of troops in Afghanistan’s north, is struggling to meet the U.S. schedule and is racing to catch up, according to U.S. officials.
Kandahar Airfield, once one of the largest U.S. bases in Afghanistan, was quietly shuttered this month along with several other smaller bases. And in the coming days U.S. fighter jets, lethal fixtures in the country since the start of the war, will begin departing from the sprawling Bagram Air Base for good, the officials added. Bagram, the largest U.S. base in the country, is the main hub for the withdrawal and will most likely be the last base the United States leaves behind.
The rapid withdrawal has exposed a variety of complex problems that have yet to be resolved and are provoking intense concern,
Officials have yet to decide how to ensure security for Kabul’s international airport, an issue that could determine whether other nations can maintain a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan. Australia announced on Tuesday that it is shutting down its embassy in Kabul until the security situation in the country improves.
Around 17,000 private contractors — more than 6,000 of them U.S. citizens — are expected to leave along with U.S. and allied military forces, potentially leaving Afghanistan’s military, and especially its air force, without vital support.
This story is based on interviews with more than a dozen American, European and Afghan officials, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss military planning.
Publicly, administration officials are insisting that the Afghan government can still hang on after American troops leave.
“It’s not a foregone conclusion, in my professional military estimate, that the Taliban automatically win and Kabul falls,” Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters this month. “There’s a significant military capability in the Afghan government. And we have to see how this plays out.”
But there are far more questions than answers about what comes next for the conflict-ridden country as any hope of peace remains fleeting and the Taliban continue to seize territory from beleaguered government forces.
Officials are scrambling to improvise solutions that senior officials concede may be temporary or makeshift, and likely very costly, such as shuttling dozens of armed Reaper drones more than 1,000 miles each way between the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan to support Afghan forces.
German soldiers unloading a helicopter from a transport plane arriving from Afghanistan this month in Leipzig, Germany.
NATO will most likely continue training Afghan special operations forces — one of Afghan security forces’ most important units — outside the country. A western official with knowledge of the mission said one possible training location could be Jordan.
American military officials have discussed keeping troops in neighboring countries to maintain a reaction force to go after terrorist threats that might arise in Afghanistan from groups such as Al Qaeda or the Islamic State.
But reaching agreements, especially with some of the former Soviet republics bordering Afghanistan’s north, remains unlikely given the proximity of those countries to Russia and the Kremlin’s influence, according to U.S. officials.
Pakistan might be a possibility, but given the country’s longstanding support to the Taliban and often tense relationship with the United States, there is little hope in Washington that U.S. forces could be stationed there, at least ones that would be acknowledged publicly.
To keep tabs on the military situation on the ground, the U.S. military wants to continue using some version of what it calls the Combined Situational Awareness Room, where it coordinates with its Afghan counterparts (often over WhatsApp), funneling information and helping put air support and other forces into place on the battlefield. But it remains unclear where the command center would be, with options including the American Embassy or outside the country.
Though the Afghan Air Force has become increasingly capable in recent years, American drones and other surveillance aircraft still provide key targeting information. And U.S. strikes, though reduced under extremely restrictive rules of engagement, still occur as international forces depart and Afghan security forces struggle to hold ground.
U.S. military officials believe the United States will devote a significant number of reconnaissance aircraft to continue to help the Afghan forces but will limit airstrikes to “counterterrorism operations” only, a loose description that has been used in the past to justify a variety of actions.
With no bases to position aircraft close to Afghanistan, that means American aircraft will have to fly from bases in the Middle East or from aircraft carriers in the Arabian Sea to support Afghan forces or to conduct counterterrorism missions from “over the horizon.”
For prop-powered surveillance drones and planes, that means several-hour trips just to get to Afghanistan.
For jets based on aircraft carriers, that means frequent midair refueling stops. As land-based U.S. jets leave Afghanistan, United States forces are struggling to meet the demand for carrier-based aircraft because of an increased need for refueling tankers. For now, the jets onboard the U.S.S. Eisenhower in the Arabian Sea can fulfill only around 75 percent of the requests over Afghanistan, a military official said.
Questioned by lawmakers last month about the challenges of countering terrorist threats in Afghanistan after American troops leave, Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the head of the Pentagon’s Central Command, said, “It’s going to be extremely difficult to do, but it is not impossible.”
Thousands of private contractors are streaming out of Afghanistan alongside U.S. and allied forces.
A U.S. Army document outlining the contractor withdrawal, dated April 20, called the move “G2Z,” or “Go to Zero.” “Nobody wants to have a contractor left behind or be the company that is highlighted on ‘60 Minutes’ as the company that lost employees in Afghanistan,” the memo said.
Afghan Army training graduates at a ceremony in Helmand Province this month.Credit...Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times
But as U.S. officials confront what the future of Afghanistan will look like without a foreign military presence, it has become readily apparent that the Afghan military is not ready to be without private contractors, especially for its air force, which relies almost completely on them for maintenance.
On May 14, an Afghan Air Force helicopter was damaged on a resupply mission in Helmand Province when a Taliban mortar damaged its stabilizer. In the past, the part would have been switched out and repaired within a day, the helicopter’s pilot said, as contractors used to be present at the main Afghan base in the southern province.
Now, with the contractor mechanics back in Kabul and apparently leaving soon, the helicopter is still grounded and the part has yet to make its way south. One Afghan Air Force contractor described the entire situation as chaos.
Afghan officials are considering hiring contractors independently, and American commanders are wrestling with a variety of options, including coaching lesser-trained Afghan mechanics over video conference calls.
Then there is the issue of Kabul’s international airport, which serves both civilian and military aircraft. Currently, several hundred troops from Turkey — a NATO member — are defending the airport, but it is unclear whether they will remain, raising fears in the diplomatic community about getting in and out of the country safely.
At Kandahar airfield in the south, another split civilian-military facility, the pains of the withdrawal have already been felt. Since this winter, when the airport was handed over to the Afghans, a main radar at the airport broke and now has been disabled. Afghan officials are looking for contractors to operate it, but until then, airline flights have been reduced and can land only during the day.
U.S. officials believe the Turks are looking for concessions for them to remain at the airport in Kabul; what those are remains unclear, and military relations between Turkey and the United States are strained. President Donald J. Trump kicked Turkey out of the F-35 stealth fighter jet program in 2019 in retaliation for Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems.
But for the embassies of the United States and other Western allies to remain secure in Kabul, the West needs Turkish forces at the airport, so some horse-trading is looming, officials said.
With Afghanistan's Future at Stake, US Courts Pakistan
By Jeff Seldin, Nike Ching, Ayaz GulMay 25, 2021 12:51 AM
FILE PHOTO - In this file photo taken on July 26, 2020, a general view of a US military base, which has been handed over to Afghan forces, is pictured in Achin district of Nangarhar province, which shares a border with Pakistan.
PENTAGON/STATE DEPARTMENT/ISLAMABAD - More than three weeks into the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Washington's plans to help ensure the country does not descend into chaos remain murky despite a ramped-up effort to get Afghanistan's neighbors — Pakistan in particular — to do more.
The focus has been on rallying support, both for the ongoing diplomatic push to keep talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban on track, and for military cooperation should instability make new U.S. counterterrorism operations necessary.
But the U.S. efforts to solidify plans for what comes next appear to have taken on renewed urgency in recent days, leaning on outreach from the White House and the Pentagon to overcome a decade of strained ties and start to win over Pakistani officials.
FILE - National security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington.
Already, U.S. officials have voiced some optimism that an initial meeting between U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his Pakistani counterpart, Moeed Yusuf, on Sunday in Geneva, went well.
"Both sides discussed a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest," according to a statement issued by the White House on Monday, which made no reference to Afghanistan.
"Both sides agreed to continue the conversation," it said.
Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, right, meets with Pakistan's Army Chief of Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 10, 2021.
The Pentagon, likewise, expressed confidence following a call early Monday between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
"The secretary's discussion this morning was very useful," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told reporters. "The secretary reiterated his appreciation for Pakistan's support for the Afghanistan peace negotiations and expressed his desire to continue to build on the United States-Pakistan bilateral relationship."
History of mistrust :
Yet beyond the initial discussions, progress on both the military and diplomatic fronts appears to be elusive, complicated by years of mistrust, some of it dating back to May 2011, when Washington did not alert Pakistan to the U.S. special operations forces raid in Abbottabad that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
At the time, Islamabad warned the U.S. against any unilateral military action on Pakistani territory.
And Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Monday rejected the idea of allowing the U.S. to use Pakistan as a base for troops or as a staging point for potential airstrikes, dismissing speculation about the possibility of such an arrangement as "baseless and irresponsible."
In an interview with VOA, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi cast further doubt on how much help will be coming from Islamabad when it comes to ensuring Afghanistan is as stable as possible after U.S. and coalition troops leave.
"We have no business interfering in their internal matters, but we are there to help if they require our help, and we will try and be as positive as we can," Qureshi told VOA's Urdu service.
"Afghanistan is a sovereign country. It's an independent country," he said. "Whatever we can (do) we will, but they will have to ultimately shoulder the responsibility."
U.S. officials, though, continue to hope Pakistan will, in the end, be willing to do more, even if just out of self-interest.
"It has always been the case that Pakistan has much to gain from peace in Afghanistan," a State Department spokesperson told VOA on the condition of anonymity, given the sensitive nature of the ongoing discussions.
Other officials have expressed cautious optimism that self-interest, combined with encouragement, will sway officials in Islamabad to be more proactive.
FILE - Zalmay Khalilzad, special envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation, testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, April 27, 2021.
"I hope those with influence over the Taliban, such as Pakistan, do the right thing," Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, told U.S. lawmakers last week. "We are pressing them to do that."
Possible incentives :
There are questions about how much leverage the U.S. can ultimately exert on Islamabad.
One option could be freeing up some $300 million in security aid to Pakistan that was frozen in 2018 under former U.S. President Donald Trump after his administration chastised Pakistan for a "dual policy of fighting some terrorists while supporting others" — a reference to Pakistan's ties to the Taliban and the Haqqani network.
U.S. officials will not say whether such a move is even under consideration.
"We do not comment or speculate on policies that may or may not be under deliberation," a State Department spokesperson told VOA — and even if it was, the money may not be enough to change Pakistan's thought process.
"It's complicated," a senior Pakistani official dealing with national security matters said to VOA about the aid. "We are not asking. If we get it, of course we won't say no."
In the meantime, U.S. options may be narrowing for its military posture once the withdrawal from Afghanistan is complete.
In this photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov attends the talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 7, 2021.
Russia's presidential envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said Monday that Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will not allow the U.S. to establish military bases on their territories.
"They made it clear that this was impossible," he told the Russian news agency Sputnik, adding, "Our contacts with our Tajik and Uzbek partners indicate that there was no official request to them."
For their part, however, U.S. officials insist there is still time to work out agreements for the basing of troops and assets for when the pullout from Afghanistan is finally completed this coming September.
"These are obviously diplomatic discussions that are ongoing and are clearly not complete,' the Pentagon's Kirby told reporters. "We're exploring a range of options and opportunities to be able to provide a credible and viable over-the-horizon counterterrorism capability, and there's lots of ways you can do that. Overseas basing is just one of them."
Statement of Afghan Taliban's regarding media reporting of neighboring country allowing USA to use its air and ground routs for any future military actions or allowing USA to establish military base in the country.
in: Statements
Recently, various media outlets have quoted well-known addresses that the United States wants to stay in our neighbourhood after withdrawing from Afghanistan in order to carry out operations in our country.
Due to the sensitivity of the issue, the Islamic Emirate wants to clarify its position in advance and share it with all.
Foreign forces are the root cause of insecurity and war in the region and the greatest tragedy is that everyone has witnessed in the last twenty years, especially our afflicted people who have suffered and continue to suffer more than anyone else.
We urge neighboring countries not to allow and grant anyone such a concession.
God forbid, if such a step is taken once again, it will be a great historic mistake and disgrace that shall forever be inscribed as a dark stain in history.
The Muslim and Mujahid nation of Afghanistan will not remain silent before such heinous and provocative acts. Rather, it will fulfill its religious and historical responsibilities in the same way as it has performed throughout history.
As we have repeatedly assured others that our soil will not be used against the security of others, we are similarly urging others not to use their soil and airspace against our country. If such a step is taken, then the responsibility for all the misfortunes and difficulties lies upon those who commit such mistakes.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
14/10/1442 Hijri Lunar
05/03/1400 Hijri Solar
26/05/2021 Gregorian
Statement of Islamic Emirate regarding reports about establishment of American bases in the region
Date: May 26, 2021in: Statements
Recently, various media outlets have quoted well-known addresses that the United States wants to stay in our neighbourhood after withdrawing from Afghanistan in order to carry out operations in our country.
Due to the sensitivity of the issue, the Islamic Emirate wants to clarify its position in advance and share it with all.
Foreign forces are the root cause of insecurity and war in the region and the greatest tragedy is that everyone has witnessed in the last twenty years, especially our afflicted people who have suffered and continue to suffer more than anyone else.
We urge neighboring countries not to allow and grant anyone such a concession.
God forbid, if such a step is taken once again, it will be a great historic mistake and disgrace that shall forever be inscribed as a dark stain in history.
The Muslim and Mujahid nation of Afghanistan will not remain silent before such heinous and provocative acts. Rather, it will fulfill its religious and historical responsibilities in the same way as it has performed throughout history.
As we have repeatedly assured others that our soil will not be used against the security of others, we are similarly urging others not to use their soil and airspace against our country. If such a step is taken, then the responsibility for all the misfortunes and difficulties lies upon those who commit such mistakes.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
14/10/1442 Hijri Lunar
05/03/1400 Hijri Solar
26/05/2021 Gregorian
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I disagree with you. There is nothing inheritantly wrong with Afghans and no worse or better then Pakistani's. Indeed as a people they have created empires and fought superpowers. They are a strong, virile race.
This is where I go the point that often gets me into bother with the Pakistani 'mainstream'. The only advantage Pakistan has over Afghanistan is it was gifted with modern institutions of state like military, civil service etc by the British. This actually also applies to the Indians. Sans that South Asia would be much like Afghanistan but without the warrior tradition.
