KABUL, Afghanistan: As the end to America’s “forever war” rapidly approaches, the US Embassy and other diplomatic missions in Kabul are watching a worsening security situation and looking at how to respond.
In the countryside, districts are falling to the Taliban in rapid succession. America’s warlord allies are re-arming their militias, which have a violent history, raising the specter of another civil war once the US withdrawal is finished, expected in August.
A US Embassy spokesperson told The Associated Press that security assessments are frequent these days. Speaking on condition of anonymity in line with briefing rules, she said the embassy is currently down to 1,400 US citizens and about 4,000 staff working inside the compound the size of a small town.
A well-fortified town, that is. Besides its own formidable security, the embassy lies inside Kabul’s Green Zone, where entire neighborhoods have been closed off and giant blast walls line streets closed to outside traffic. Afghan security forces guard the barricades into the district, which also houses the Presidential Palace, other embassies and senior government officials.
The only route out is Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, currently protected by US and Turkish troops. Before America can declare its war over, the security of the airport will have to be settled. Ankara is in talks with Washington, the United Nations and the Afghan government to decide who will protect the airport and who will foot the bill.
For now, the airport is running without interruption, except for restrictions imposed by a deadly third COVID surge that has prompted some countries to suspend flights to Kabul. However, India is not one of them — as many as eight flights arrive weekly from India — and as a result, the virus’ delta variant, first identified in India, is rampant in Afghanistan.
In Kabul, it’s common to hear speculation about when and if the US Embassy will evacuate and shut down, with images resurrected of America’s last days in Saigon at the end of the Vietnam war.
Already, long before the last US and NATO troops began packing to leave, American diplomats arriving at the airport were taken to the heavily fortified US Embassy by helicopter. The 4-mile road trip through Kabul’s chaotic traffic was considered too dangerous.
Suicide bombers struck along that road with uncomfortable frequency.
For many of Washington’s new diplomats to Afghanistan, their view of the country and Kabul is limited to what they see from the confines of the sprawling embassy compound, hidden deep inside the Green Zone and protected by 10-foot blast walls, heavily armed US Marines, explosive-sniffing dogs and cameras at every corner.
An American employee of Resolute Support, the name of NATO’s military mission in Afghanistan, who arrived in the country last November, had not been outside the giant gates of the mission by June.
Citing security concerns, the US spokesperson said she couldn’t reveal evacuation plans, or even if that’s a part of today’s conversation, but said the embassy has detailed plans for every scenario to protect its staff.
If there is an evacuation, it wouldn’t be the first.
The US Embassy in Kabul shut down in 1989, when the former Soviet Union left the country after negotiating an end to its 10-year invasion of Afghanistan. The pro-communist government collapsed three years later, followed by a brutal civil war carried out by most of the same US-allied warlords who still operate in Kabul today — another reason why fear of a new civil war resonates.
The Taliban have issued statements saying they are not looking for a military takeover of Kabul. Washington has repeatedly warned that a military move on the Afghan capital would return the insurgent movement to pariah status, denying it international recognition and assistance.
Still, not long after President Joe Biden announced in mid-April that American troops would be gone by Sept. 11, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani expressed concern that Afghan forces might not be able to protect all the diplomatic missions in Kabul, according to an official familiar with the discussions. There were even suggestions that smaller embassies move into the US compound for their protection.
The US Embassy responded with an immediate so-called “ordered lockdown,” further restricting staff movements and new arrivals.
On April 27, the US Embassy’s chargé d’affaires, Ross Wilson, tweeted that non-essential US personnel would leave. The spokesperson would not say how many people left under that order, saying only that staff numbers are constantly being assessed.
Wilson blamed the departure on “increasing violence & threat reports in Kabul.” He also posted a US Embassy site warning to all American citizens to leave Afghanistan immediately on any available commercial flight. And to Americans planning to visit Afghanistan, the order was clear: don’t.
The Australian Embassy closed, and most other Western embassies reduced their staff.
Most expatriate or foreign staff with international aid organizations in Kabul also left, said Naemat Rohi, deputy director of Akbar, an umbrella organization representing 167 aid organizations, including 87 international charities.
“They said they were going on R&R, but that was just so as not to create panic among their local staff, but they were leaving for their security reasons,” he said.
The exodus prompted the Taliban to issue multiple statements assuring aid groups and Afghans working for Western organizations they had nothing to fear.
But that hasn’t reassured interpreters who worked for the US military. The spokesperson said some might be evacuated from Afghanistan but relocated to a third country while their immigration visas to the US are processed. Thousands of applications are in the pipeline. Thousands more that were denied are being appealed.
The Taliban’s quick successes in northern Afghanistan, particularly the rapid surrender of Afghan soldiers in several instances, has heightened security fears in Kabul, where the presence of the heavily armed warlords resurrects images of the 1990s civil war.
Marshal Rashid Dostum, an Uzbek warlord accused of war crimes, some against personal enemies who were once his allies, holds a military base on a hilltop overlooking Kabul’s posh Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood. His militia has an uneasy relationship with Ghani’s government and other powerful warlords, including the new Defense Minister Bismillah Khan.
Heavily armed guards patrol Wazir Akbar Khan streets, lined with marble mansions of government officials, many of them former warlords. Though united today against the Taliban, they have a brutal history of fighting each other.
For some, a Taliban play for Kabul seems inevitable.
“After the takeover of the districts and some provinces, the Taliban will make a try to enter Kabul,” said Torek Farhadi, a former adviser to the Afghan government. “They will face the regular army, but also the warlords who have accumulated huge wealth out of war related contracts.”
After troops exit, safety of US Embassy in Kabul top concern
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After troops exit, safety of US Embassy in Kabul top concern
- The Australian Embassy closed, and most other Western embassies reduced their staff
Hegseth narrowly wins confirmation to become US defense secretary
- Only second cabinet secretary ever confirmed in tie-break vote
- Hegseth promises to bring major changes to military
WASHINGTON: Pete Hegseth narrowly secured enough votes on Friday to become the next US defense secretary, a major victory for President Donald Trump after fierce opposition from Democrats and even some Republicans to his controversial nominee.
Hegseth was confirmed after a 50-50 vote in the Senate, when Vice President JD Vance came to the chamber to break the tie in his role as president of the Senate, after three Republicans joined every Democrat and independent in voting no.
Hegseth, a former Fox News personality and decorated veteran, is promising to bring major changes to the Pentagon. But his leadership will be under intense scrutiny after a bruising confirmation review that raised serious questions about his qualifications, temperament and views about women in combat.
“We have not had a secretary of defense like Hegseth before,” said Jeremi Suri, a University of Texas, Austin, history professor and presidential scholar.
Hegseth is the most divisive candidate to clinch the US military’s top job, a position that has historically gone to candidates with deep experience running large organizations and who enjoy broad bipartisan support.
It was only the second time in history a cabinet nominee needed a tie-break to be confirmed. The first was also a Trump nominee, Betsy DeVos, who became secretary of education in 2017.
The three Republican senators who voted against Hegseth were Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell, was the party’s leader in the chamber until this month.
McConnell said Hegseth had failed to demonstrate that he had the ability to effectively manage an organization as large and complex as the military. “Mere desire to be a ‘change agent’ is not enough to fill these shoes,” McConnell said in a statement.
Hegseth will lead 1.3 million active-duty service members and the nearly 1 million civilians who work for the US military, which has a nearly $1 trillion annual budget. Hegseth told lawmakers that, up until this point, the largest group he had managed was 100 people and the largest budget was $16 million.
His nomination was rocked by a series of accusations, including one this week by his former sister-in-law, who said he abused his second wife to the extent that she hid in a closet and had a code word to use with friends if she had to be rescued. Hegseth strongly denied the accusations and his wife had previously denied any physical abuse.
TRUMP STAUNCHLY BEHIND PICK
Trump, whose nominees for FBI and intelligence chief are also under Senate scrutiny, stood staunchly by his pick and he put extensive pressure on his fellow Republicans to back the 44-year-old television personality.
Suri said the vote demonstrated the extent of Trump’s power at the start of his second term in office.
“It means certainly that Trump has enormous leverage over the Republican Party and over members of the Senate,” he said.
Ahead of Friday’s vote, Trump had admonished two fellow Republicans, Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, who voted against Hegseth in a procedural test vote on Thursday.
“I was very surprised that Collins and Murkowski would do that,” Trump told reporters on Friday morning.
But most Senate Republicans fell into line to defend the nominee who they said would restore a “warrior” mentality to the US military.
Hegseth has criticized diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the military, and, in his latest book, asked whether the top US general has the job because he is Black. Reuters has previously reported about the possibility mass firing among top brass, something Hegseth repeatedly refused to rule out during his confirmation process.
OPPOSED WOMEN IN COMBAT
For years, Hegseth also strongly opposed women in combat roles but walked back that stance as he courted support for his confirmation, including from military veterans like Republican Senator Joni Ernst.
Ernst was one of the 14 Armed Services Committee Republicans who voted for Hegseth when the committee backed him by 14 to 13, with every Democrat opposing his nomination.
A number of episodes have sparked concern about Hegseth, including a 2017 sexual assault allegation that did not result in charges and which Hegseth denies. Sexual assault is a persistent problem in the US military.
Hegseth has also been accused of excessive drinking and financial mismanagement at veterans’ organizations. He has vowed to abstain from alcohol if confirmed and said he made financial errors but denied wrongdoing.
In a 2021 incident first reported by Reuters, Hegseth was branded an “insider threat” by a fellow member of the Army National Guard over his tattoos. Hegseth noted the incident during the hearing, which led him to be pulled from Guard duty in Washington during Biden’s inauguration.
He takes over as the Trump administration has said that border security and immigration will be a focus for the US military.
On Friday, US military C-17 aircraft began flying detained migrants out of the country following orders from Trump, in the first such involvement by the US military in deportations in recent memory.
The Pentagon has announced plans to send 1,500 active-duty troops to the border in response to Trump’s orders, a number that looks poised to quickly grow. US officials on Friday told Reuters that the military was preparing to send a second wave of troops, likely from the 82nd Airborne.
Little is known about where Hegseth stands on key foreign policy issues like arming Ukraine, how to prepare the US military for a potential conflict with China and whether he would seek to scale back the US military footprint in places like Syria and Iraq.
The nearly party-line confirmation vote was a departure for a position that Republican and Democratic administrations have long sought to ensure was bipartisan.
Former President Joe Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, was confirmed by a 93-2 vote in 2021, and Jim Mattis, Trump’s first defense secretary in his last administration, was confirmed 98-1 in 2017.
Hegseth’s Republican supporters in the Senate have argued that he has acknowledged personal failings, including infidelities and past drinking, and is the right person to bring the Pentagon’s core mission of winning wars back into focus.
The last nominee for defense secretary who was defeated was former Senator John Tower in 1989. Tower was investigated over claims of drunkenness and inappropriate behavior with women.
US freezes new funding for nearly all its aid programs worldwide
- Secretary of State Rubio’s order specifically exempted emergency food programs, such as those helping to feed millions in a widening famine in warring Sudan
- Military assistance to allies Israel and Egypt from the freeze, but there was no indication of a similar waiver to allow vital US military assistance to Ukraine
WASHINGTON: The State Department ordered a sweeping freeze Friday on new funding for almost all US foreign assistance, making exceptions for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt.
The order threatened a quick halt to many of the billions of dollars in US-funded projects globally to support health, education, development, job training, anti-corruption, security assistance and other efforts.
The US provides more foreign aid globally than any other country, budgeting about $60 billion in 2023, or about 1 percent of the US budget.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s order, delivered in a cable sent to US embassies worldwide, specifically exempted emergency food programs, such as those helping to feed millions in a widening famine in warring Sudan.
The cable spells out the execution of the aid-freezing executive order President Donald Trump signed on Monday.
But Friday’s order especially disappointed humanitarian officials by not including specific exemptions for life-saving health programs, such as clinics and immunization programs.
A globally acclaimed anti-HIV program, the President’s Emergency Relief Plan for AIDS Relief, was among those included in the spending freeze, slated to last at least three months. Known as PEPFAR, the program is credited with saving 25 million lives, including those of 5.5 million children, since it was started by Republican President George W. Bush.
Some aid projects began receiving their first stop-work orders under the freeze Friday afternoon.
Some leading aid organizations also were interpreting the directive as an immediate stop-work order for US-funded aid work globally, a former senior US Agency for International Development official said. Many would likely cease operations immediately so as not to incur more costs, the official said. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Suspending funding “could have life or death consequences” for children and families around the world, said Abby Maxman, head of Oxfam America.
“By suspending foreign development assistance, the Trump administration is threatening the lives and futures of communities in crisis, and abandoning the United States’ long-held bipartisan approach to foreign assistance which supports people based on need, regardless of politics,” Maxman said in a statement.
At the United Nations, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said: “These are bilateral decisions but nonetheless we expect those nations who have the capability to generously fund development assistance.”
While Rubio’s order exempted military assistance to allies Israel and Egypt from the freeze, there was no indication of a similar waiver to allow vital US military assistance to Ukraine through.
The Biden administration pushed military aid to Ukraine out the door before leaving office because of doubts about whether Trump would continue it. But there is still about $3.85 billion in congressionally authorized funding for any future arms shipments to Ukraine and it is now up to Trump to decide whether or not to spend it.
The sweeping freeze begins enforcement of a pledge from Trump and other Republicans to crack down on US aid programs.
Also on Friday, the State Department agency overseeing refugee and resettlement sent guidance to the resettlement agencies it works with, saying they had to immediately “suspend all work” under the foreign assistance they were receiving. While there was little clarity in the guidance, the notification suggests resettlement agencies that work with refugees, including Afghans who arrived on special immigrant visas, might have to halt their work at least temporarily.
Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast, the new chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, promised this week that Republicans would question “every dollar and every diplomat” in the State Department’s budget to ensure it met their standards for strictly necessary.
The freeze was necessary to ensure that “appropriations are not duplicated, are effective, and are consistent with President Trump’s foreign policy,” the global cable stated.
Within the next month, standards for a review of all foreign assistance are expected to be set to ensure that it is “aligned with President Trump’s foreign policy agenda,” the cable said. And within three months, the government-wide review is expected to be completed with a subsequent report to be produced for Rubio to make recommendations to the president.
Man arrested over TikTok posts threatening US President Trump
- 23-year-old Douglas Thrams reportedly posted multiple videos on Tiktok since Monday, threatening anti-government violence, according to a criminal complaint
WASHINGTON: A man who allegedly said US President Donald Trump "needs to be assassinated" and posed on TikTok holding a rifle has been arrested, authorities said.
Douglas Thrams, 23, posted multiple videos on Tiktok between Monday, when Trump was inaugurated, and Wednesday threatening anti-government violence, according to a criminal complaint Thursday.
"Every US government building needs be bombed immediately," Thrams was quoted as saying in one of the videos.
Referring to Trump, Thrams went on to say, using an expletive, "He needs to be assassinated and this time, don't... miss."
Trump was the target of two assassination attempts last year including one at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was wounded in the ear.
In another video, Thrams held a rifle and tapped it, an FBI agent said in an affidavit.
Thrams, from the midwestern state of Indiana, was arrested on Thursday and charged with making "interstate communications with a threat to injure."
UNICEF deputy director urges innovative partnerships to protect the world’s children
- By collaborating with private sector, UNICEF is better able to combat challenges of conflict and climate change, says Kitty van der Heijden
- Aid agency executive says partnerships with insurers and logistics firms facilitates the rapid deployment of resources to crisis zones
DUBAI: Kitty van der Heijden, deputy executive director of the UN children’s fund, has praised the collaboration between UNICEF and the private sector to address the many urgent challenges facing the world’s children.
In an interview with Arab News on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos, van der Heijden explained how UNICEF’s partnerships are aiding its response to conflicts, mass displacements, climate change, and natural disasters.
“We are here in Davos to meet with the private and corporate entities who are present,” van der Heijden said. “We are already in partnership with some across a range of sectors like humanitarian aid, education, AI, and non-communicable diseases, among others.
“We see that a lot of companies are willing to work with UNICEF as we are able to reach where they can’t necessarily go.
“We have more conflicts than ever around the world that are destroying humanity’s ability to survive and thrive. We need to deliver prosperity and keep environmental triggers and human misery under control.”
To confront crises, van der Heijden says UNICEF has now partnered with insurance companies, as well as logistics and shipping firms that prioritize humanitarian aid over their commercial goods in times of need.
“We developed the first ever parametric climate insurance with a focus on children. For example, hurricanes are routine problems in some countries and small islands. Whenever a hurricane takes place, not only are the communities there extremely affected but so is the GDP of the country.
“The moment wind speeds go up to a certain level, the parametric tool detects the change and automatically submits a cash deposit to UNICEF.”
Van der Heijden says this rapid response ensures that financial support reaches those in need without bureaucratic delays and complications.
“We are able to offer cash directly to affected communities, ensuring that aid arrives right when it’s needed. This builds resilience in the face of recurring disasters, while also providing an early warning system to help communities prepare for future events.”
Another cross sector collaboration between UNICEF and private companies focuses on mental health.
“Prevention is the mother of all cures,” said van der Heijden. “UNICEF is joining forces with lots of health companies such as AstraZeneca and Zurich Foundation to address obesity and mental health issues.
“These problems are prevalent across all societies and all ages. The reasons might be different, but it is there.
“Seventy percent of preventable deaths stem from risk exposure and unhealthy behaviors as a child. If you approach this issue holistically, you can prevent so many negative cycles between mental health, anxiety, and obesity.”
Van der Heijden also said children are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. From heatwaves that affect maternal health to pollution that exacerbates respiratory problems, the risks children face are not only immediate but long term.
Children, particularly in disadvantaged communities, lack access to cooling systems or safe environments, leaving them at higher risk of heat related illnesses.
“Children breathe twice as fast as adults, and their exposure to pollution can be devastating,” said van der Heijden. “They don’t have the physical ability to cool down through sweating, which makes them vulnerable during extreme heat events.
“The effects of climate change are already being felt by the world’s most vulnerable populations, and children are bearing the brunt.”
The repercussions of climate change extend beyond health, as related economic shocks often lead to unintended social consequences, such as an increase in child marriages.
In regions impacted by heatwaves, families may marry off young girls to reduce financial burdens. The economic strain caused by extreme weather events can push parents to take drastic steps “to have one less mouth to feed.”
Van der Heijden stressed the urgency of integrating children’s needs into global climate policies. While countries around the world are set to submit their new climate plans this year, UNICEF is leading a global campaign to ensure that these plans are child-centric.
“The year 2025 is a pivotal year,” she said. “We will have a number of opportunities to act and set the record straight. Unless we understand the unique vulnerabilities of children, we cannot craft effective policies.
“We need to make sure that every country’s climate plan reflects the impacts on children and ensures that their needs are front and center.”
Thais send over 100 smuggled tortoises home to Tanzania
- The smuggler fled Thailand but was eventually tracked down and arrested in Bulgaria, Interpol said
BANGOK: More than a hundred baby tortoises, most of them dead, have been returned to Tanzania from Thailand as evidence in a case against a wildlife smuggling network, the international police organization Interpol said Friday.
The 116 tortoises were discovered hidden in the luggage of a Ukrainian woman at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport more than two years ago, it said. Of the total, 98 have since died, but all were handed over Thursday for use in criminal proceedings in a ceremony attended by Thai and Tanzanian officials,
Interpol said. No reason was given for the deaths.
They included endangered or vulnerable species such as pancake tortoises, radiated tortoises and Aldabra giant tortoises. All are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Tortoises are commonly removed from the wild for sale as exotic pets.
The smuggler fled Thailand but was eventually tracked down and arrested in Bulgaria, Interpol said. Her arrest helped police map a larger wildlife trafficking network, resulting in the arrests of 14 additional suspects in an operation involving Thai and Tanzanian police and officers from Interpol.
The surviving tortoises will be quarantined and cared for while experts assess whether they can be put back into their natural habitat.
