Afghanistan 2021 Onwards
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ign-passengers
Afghanistan flight carrying more than 100 foreign passengers lands in Doha
A flight carrying more than 100 international passengers out of Kabul has landed in Doha, the first such civilian flight since the chaotic evacuation of 124,000 foreigners and at-risk Afghans sparked by the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country.
About 113 people were aboard the flight to Doha operated by state-owned Qatar Airways, officials said. The passengers included US, British, Canadian, Ukrainian, Dutch and German citizens.
Qatari special envoy Mutlaq bin Majed al-Qahtani described Thursday’s flight as a regular one and not an evacuation, and said there would be another flight on Friday. In Doha, the passengers will initially stay in a compound hosting Afghan and other evacuees…..
US state department spokesperson Ned Price said 10 US citizens and 11 permanent residents were on the flight, out of “the 39 we invited”. Canada said 43 of its citizens were on the plane, while the UK and the Netherlands each had 13 on board.…..
Afghanistan flight carrying more than 100 foreign passengers lands in Doha
A flight carrying more than 100 international passengers out of Kabul has landed in Doha, the first such civilian flight since the chaotic evacuation of 124,000 foreigners and at-risk Afghans sparked by the Taliban’s swift takeover of the country.
About 113 people were aboard the flight to Doha operated by state-owned Qatar Airways, officials said. The passengers included US, British, Canadian, Ukrainian, Dutch and German citizens.
Qatari special envoy Mutlaq bin Majed al-Qahtani described Thursday’s flight as a regular one and not an evacuation, and said there would be another flight on Friday. In Doha, the passengers will initially stay in a compound hosting Afghan and other evacuees…..
US state department spokesperson Ned Price said 10 US citizens and 11 permanent residents were on the flight, out of “the 39 we invited”. Canada said 43 of its citizens were on the plane, while the UK and the Netherlands each had 13 on board.…..
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https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/10/9/11...ghanistan.html
It puts it in perspective.
It puts it in perspective.
WASHINGTON — $290 million every day for 7,300 days. That’s how much money America spent on 20 years of war and nation-building in Afghanistan, according to Brown University’s Costs of War project.
But most was spent in the USA - or on US based companies - so it was really a vast subsidy in effect
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An in depth look at the destruction wrought on the remaining military assets at Kabul airport..
They appear to have done a damned good job of rendering a lot of it as scrap.
They appear to have done a damned good job of rendering a lot of it as scrap.
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It looks like the Taliban leadership may now be popping each other off.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...om-public-view
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...om-public-view
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more like cannon fodder. but hey ho..
I could do a lot more damage to the fixed wing aircraft given half an hour with a sledge hammer. Assuming that avionics etc have been removed, it's hard to understand why the airframes have been left relatively intact - unlike the helicopters.
However unlikely, it reminds me a bit of Albert Speer's decision to leave German infrastructure intact pending likely post-war reconstruction (thereby countering Hitler's scorched earth order). Maybe the Talibs are expected to turn them into crop sprayers - which might help them grow more Poppy as part of Afghanistan's "economic reconstruction".
However unlikely, it reminds me a bit of Albert Speer's decision to leave German infrastructure intact pending likely post-war reconstruction (thereby countering Hitler's scorched earth order). Maybe the Talibs are expected to turn them into crop sprayers - which might help them grow more Poppy as part of Afghanistan's "economic reconstruction".
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Skridlov, watch the top film i posted on my post about three up, I agree with what you are saying, It almost makes one think they were disabled not to be able to fly, but not sufficently to prevent them being rebuilt in the future back in the USA. But would you want to fly in an aircraft where you do not know what has been poured into the oil or fuel tanks?
All they needed to do was drive a truck of which there were many, in reverse down the line smashing into the fuselages and wings, job done, use the same trucks and reverse into those in the Hangars and push them against each other into the back wall, job done, you could crush them into pulp in no time at all. anything like a search or deice truck drive it into the Hercs and spear them through the cockpit / cabin etc.
I see the ground power sets have oil under them all so either pipes have been cut or the sump plugs have been pulled and the sets run until they seized.
All they needed to do was drive a truck of which there were many, in reverse down the line smashing into the fuselages and wings, job done, use the same trucks and reverse into those in the Hangars and push them against each other into the back wall, job done, you could crush them into pulp in no time at all. anything like a search or deice truck drive it into the Hercs and spear them through the cockpit / cabin etc.
I see the ground power sets have oil under them all so either pipes have been cut or the sump plugs have been pulled and the sets run until they seized.
CENTCOM Commander just admitted in Pentagon presser that drone strike that killed 10 - that Biden claimed was averting an imminent IED attack (which CENTCOM believed was the case) - was a mistake and all killed were innocent civilians.
Thanks RAFEng. Here's the full Reuters report
One of the problems, perhaps, of having no 'boots on the ground' and no local intelligence. Appalling tragedy.
airsound
WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Friday that a drone strike in Kabul last month killed as many 10 civilians, including seven children, and it apologized for what the Pentagon said was a tragic mistake.
Senior U.S. officers had said the Aug. 29 strike that took place as foreign forces completed the last stages of their withdrawal from Afghanistan targeted an Islamic States suicide bomber who posed an imminent threat to Kabul airport.
"At the time of the strike, I was confident that the strike had averted an imminent threat to our forces at the airport," U.S. General Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, told reporters. "Our investigation now concludes that the strike was a tragic mistake."
He said he now believed it unlikely that those who died were Islamic State militants or posed a direct threat to U.S. forces. The Pentagon was considering reparations for the civilians killed, McKenzie said.
Reports had emerged almost immediately that the drone strike had killed civilians including children. A spokesman for Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers, Zabihullah Mujahid, had said at the time that strike had killed seven people.
(This story has been refiled to remove superfluous "it" from lede)
Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Daniel Wallis
Senior U.S. officers had said the Aug. 29 strike that took place as foreign forces completed the last stages of their withdrawal from Afghanistan targeted an Islamic States suicide bomber who posed an imminent threat to Kabul airport.
"At the time of the strike, I was confident that the strike had averted an imminent threat to our forces at the airport," U.S. General Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, told reporters. "Our investigation now concludes that the strike was a tragic mistake."
He said he now believed it unlikely that those who died were Islamic State militants or posed a direct threat to U.S. forces. The Pentagon was considering reparations for the civilians killed, McKenzie said.
Reports had emerged almost immediately that the drone strike had killed civilians including children. A spokesman for Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers, Zabihullah Mujahid, had said at the time that strike had killed seven people.
(This story has been refiled to remove superfluous "it" from lede)
Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Daniel Wallis
airsound
Last edited by airsound; 18th Sep 2021 at 17:17. Reason: punctuation
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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As was expected….
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...in-afghanistan
Taliban ban girls from secondary education in Afghanistant
The Taliban have effectively banned girls from secondary education in Afghanistan, by ordering high schools to re-open only for boys.
Girls were not mentioned in Friday’s announcement, which means boys will be back at their desks next week after a one-month hiatus, while their sisters will still be stuck at home.
The Taliban education ministry said secondary school classes for boys in grades seven to 12 would resume on Saturday, the start of the Afghan week. “All male teachers and students should attend their educational institutions,” the statement said. The future of girls and female teachers, stuck at home since the Taliban took control, was not addressed.
The edict makes Afghanistan the only country on earth to bar half its population from getting a secondary education.
In a further sign that the recently announced Taliban government is tightening restrictions on women, the former ministry of women’s affairs building in Kabul has been handed over to the newly re-established ministry for the prevention of vice and promotion of virtue.
This was the group’s feared enforcer in the 1990s, charged with beating women who violated bars on everything from going out in public without a male guardian to an obsessively prescriptive dress code that even forbade high heels.….
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...in-afghanistan
Taliban ban girls from secondary education in Afghanistant
The Taliban have effectively banned girls from secondary education in Afghanistan, by ordering high schools to re-open only for boys.
Girls were not mentioned in Friday’s announcement, which means boys will be back at their desks next week after a one-month hiatus, while their sisters will still be stuck at home.
The Taliban education ministry said secondary school classes for boys in grades seven to 12 would resume on Saturday, the start of the Afghan week. “All male teachers and students should attend their educational institutions,” the statement said. The future of girls and female teachers, stuck at home since the Taliban took control, was not addressed.
The edict makes Afghanistan the only country on earth to bar half its population from getting a secondary education.
In a further sign that the recently announced Taliban government is tightening restrictions on women, the former ministry of women’s affairs building in Kabul has been handed over to the newly re-established ministry for the prevention of vice and promotion of virtue.
This was the group’s feared enforcer in the 1990s, charged with beating women who violated bars on everything from going out in public without a male guardian to an obsessively prescriptive dress code that even forbade high heels.….
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Interesting bit in this week's Economist . their correspondent was traveling the Kandahar - Kabul road - which is in need of serious repair - and was talking to some of the local Taliban.
One asked his driver "is he left over from the last lot of foreigners, or have new ones arrived?"
Clearly someone who knows his countries history.......
One asked his driver "is he left over from the last lot of foreigners, or have new ones arrived?"
Clearly someone who knows his countries history.......
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ome-by-taliban
Kabul government’s female workers told to stay at home by Talibanrr
Female employees in the Kabul city government have been told to stay home, with work only allowed for those who cannot be replaced by men, the interim mayor of Afghanistan’s capital said on Sunday, detailing the latest restrictions on women by the new Taliban rulers.
The decision to prevent most female city workers from returning to their jobs is another sign that the Taliban, who overran Kabul last month, are enforcing their harsh interpretation of Islam despite initial promises by some that they would be tolerant and inclusive. Under their previous rule in the 1990s, the Taliban barred girls and women from schools, jobs and public life.
Witnesses, meanwhile, said an explosion targeted a Taliban vehicle in the eastern provincial city of Jalalabad, and hospital officials said five people were killed in the second such deadly blast in as many days in the Islamic State stronghold….
Female employees in the Kabul city government have been told to stay home, with work only allowed for those who cannot be replaced by men, the interim mayor of Afghanistan’s capital said on Sunday, detailing the latest restrictions on women by the new Taliban rulers.
The decision to prevent most female city workers from returning to their jobs is another sign that the Taliban, who overran Kabul last month, are enforcing their harsh interpretation of Islam despite initial promises by some that they would be tolerant and inclusive. Under their previous rule in the 1990s, the Taliban barred girls and women from schools, jobs and public life.
Witnesses, meanwhile, said an explosion targeted a Taliban vehicle in the eastern provincial city of Jalalabad, and hospital officials said five people were killed in the second such deadly blast in as many days in the Islamic State stronghold….
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a...each-j266mcf5x
MoD official suspended after data breach ‘put Afghan interpreter lives in danger
’An official at the Ministry of Defence has been suspended pending investigation after a “significant” data breach relating to the emails of interpreters in Afghanistan hoping to come to the UK. Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, apologised in the Commons and told MPs he “immediately directed investigations” to take place.
On Monday an email was sent to more than 250 Afghans, dozens of them believed to be interpreters, who were eligible for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) and who remain in the country. The email was copied to all applicants rather than blind copying them, MPs heard.
Some of the Afghans had their photographs attached to their email addresses, as well as their names. Some of those whose information has been released are in hiding from the Taliban after the militants took control of the battle-torn country last month……
After sending the email, the MoD tried to recall it, warning the Afghans that their email address “may have been compromised”. They were advised to change their email address.
Responding to an urgent question, Wallace told the Commons: “I apologise to those Afghans affected by this data breach and with [the Home Office] we are now working with them to provide security advice.”
He said James Heappey, the armed forces minister, was in the region speaking to neighbouring countries to see what more the MoD could do to help Afghans who had made it to third countries and those who still remained in Afghanistan.
Wallace added: “It is an unacceptable level of service that has let down the thousands of members of the armed forces and veterans. On behalf of the Ministry of Defence, I apologise. I offer the reassurances that the scheme will continue to operate and bring people back to the United Kingdom for however many are eligible and however long it takes.”
He added: “It was brought to my attention at 2000 hours last night there had been a significant data breach. To say I was angered by this was an understatement and I immediately directed investigations take place.” He said so far one individual had been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation and “processes for data handling and correspondence processing have already been changed”.
In response to SNP questions, Wallace said he had “instigated changes to improve information security within the department” before noting: “The modern rules that govern information security are, I believe, fit for purpose, it’s really about the training and the following and the adherence of it that must be improved.”
He added: “Nevertheless, information security is not something western governments are good at, which is why our adversaries seem to be. We have to improve it and we have to stand by it.” Admiral Sir Ben Key, the commander of joint operations who led the planning and evacuation from Kabul, is leading the investigation.
For Labour, the shadow defence secretary John Healey welcomed the defence secretary’s apology but told the Commons that “action” was now what mattered the most. He said: “These Afghan interpreters worked alongside our British forces and the government rightly pledged to protect them. Ministers must make good on those promises now.”
’An official at the Ministry of Defence has been suspended pending investigation after a “significant” data breach relating to the emails of interpreters in Afghanistan hoping to come to the UK. Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, apologised in the Commons and told MPs he “immediately directed investigations” to take place.
On Monday an email was sent to more than 250 Afghans, dozens of them believed to be interpreters, who were eligible for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) and who remain in the country. The email was copied to all applicants rather than blind copying them, MPs heard.
Some of the Afghans had their photographs attached to their email addresses, as well as their names. Some of those whose information has been released are in hiding from the Taliban after the militants took control of the battle-torn country last month……
After sending the email, the MoD tried to recall it, warning the Afghans that their email address “may have been compromised”. They were advised to change their email address.
Responding to an urgent question, Wallace told the Commons: “I apologise to those Afghans affected by this data breach and with [the Home Office] we are now working with them to provide security advice.”
He said James Heappey, the armed forces minister, was in the region speaking to neighbouring countries to see what more the MoD could do to help Afghans who had made it to third countries and those who still remained in Afghanistan.
Wallace added: “It is an unacceptable level of service that has let down the thousands of members of the armed forces and veterans. On behalf of the Ministry of Defence, I apologise. I offer the reassurances that the scheme will continue to operate and bring people back to the United Kingdom for however many are eligible and however long it takes.”
He added: “It was brought to my attention at 2000 hours last night there had been a significant data breach. To say I was angered by this was an understatement and I immediately directed investigations take place.” He said so far one individual had been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation and “processes for data handling and correspondence processing have already been changed”.
In response to SNP questions, Wallace said he had “instigated changes to improve information security within the department” before noting: “The modern rules that govern information security are, I believe, fit for purpose, it’s really about the training and the following and the adherence of it that must be improved.”
He added: “Nevertheless, information security is not something western governments are good at, which is why our adversaries seem to be. We have to improve it and we have to stand by it.” Admiral Sir Ben Key, the commander of joint operations who led the planning and evacuation from Kabul, is leading the investigation.
For Labour, the shadow defence secretary John Healey welcomed the defence secretary’s apology but told the Commons that “action” was now what mattered the most. He said: “These Afghan interpreters worked alongside our British forces and the government rightly pledged to protect them. Ministers must make good on those promises now.”
Afghan "economic reconstruction" proceeds apace.
3000 Kg of Afghan heroin intercepted at a port in Gujarat (India) originating in Afghanistan and shipped via the port of Bandar Abbas in Iran. Apparently it was consigned as unprocessed talcum powder which, it appears, is one of the few exports from the country - other than heroin and opium of course. Whenever this was dispatched it's beyond question that it originated within the Taliban heartland. It's worth pointing out that both Afghanistan and Iran have massive numbers of heroin addicts and also that Iran deploys a vast number of border troops, thousands of whom have been killed, in an attempt to intercept shipments across its border with Afghanistan. Much of that trade is controlled by the Haqquanis one of whom is now a member of the Afghan government.
https://www.indiatoday.in/news-analy...857-2021-09-22
3000 Kg of Afghan heroin intercepted at a port in Gujarat (India) originating in Afghanistan and shipped via the port of Bandar Abbas in Iran. Apparently it was consigned as unprocessed talcum powder which, it appears, is one of the few exports from the country - other than heroin and opium of course. Whenever this was dispatched it's beyond question that it originated within the Taliban heartland. It's worth pointing out that both Afghanistan and Iran have massive numbers of heroin addicts and also that Iran deploys a vast number of border troops, thousands of whom have been killed, in an attempt to intercept shipments across its border with Afghanistan. Much of that trade is controlled by the Haqquanis one of whom is now a member of the Afghan government.
https://www.indiatoday.in/news-analy...857-2021-09-22