DefenceTalkThe withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan is the “biggest debacle” that NATO has suffered since its founding, the head of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party said Monday. With the Taliban sweeping to power after NATO troops withdrew, CDU party chief Armin Laschet said: “It is evident that this engagement of the international community was […]

DefenceTalkThe collapse of the Afghan army that allowed Taliban fighters to take control of Kabul cast a stark light on errors committed over 20 years by the Pentagon as it spent billions of dollars in Afghanistan. The wrong equipment Washington spent $83 billion in its effort to create a modern army mirroring its own. In […]

DefenceTalkThe United States said Thursday it was sending 3,000 troops to the international airport in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul immediately to evacuate US embassy staff as the Taliban makes rapid gains. “We are further reducing our civilian footprint in Kabul in light of the evolving security situation,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “This president […]

DefenceTalkThe Taliban seized two more Afghan cities Tuesday — including one just 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Kabul — as tens of thousands of people fled their homes in the north for the relative safety of the capital and other centres. But despite the bloodshed, and with eight provincial capitals now toppled in the insurgents’ […]

DefenceTalkTajikistan on Thursday checked the combat readiness of its armed forces in the biggest such exercise in the country’s history as the Taliban makes sweeping gains in neighboring Afghanistan. The 230,000 members of the Central Asian country’s security forces were alerted for the test at 2:00 a.m. local time (2300 GMT Wednesday) on the order […]

DefenceTalkThe US military could slow down its withdrawal from Afghanistan due to the gains made by the Taliban insurgents, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday. Kirby stressed that President Joe Biden’s deadline of a full withdrawal by September remains in place, but added that the pace could be adjusted based on conditions. “The situation in […]

DefenceTalkThe US pullout from Afghanistan is more than 50 percent complete, the Pentagon said Tuesday, as it approaches its September 11 deadline to remove troops. Since President Joe Biden ordered the departure from Afghanistan in April, the Department of Defense has withdrawn the equivalent of approximately 500 C-17 loads of material, the US military’s Central […]

DefenceTalkThe threat of violent extremists attacking the United States or allies from Afghanistan has been greatly reduced over the past 20 years, and any remaining threat emanating from the country can be addressed without a persistent U.S. military presence there, DOD officials told the House Armed Services Committee today. President Joe Biden announced April 14 […]

DefenceTalk NATO has started the withdrawal of its mission from Afghanistan following a decision by President Joe Biden to bring US forces home, an alliance official said Thursday. Members of the US-backed alliance agreed this month to wrap up their 9,600-strong mission in Afghanistan after Biden made the call to end Washington’s longest war. The […]

DefenceTalkDefenceTalkThe Taliban on Friday rejected Washington’s accusations that it had not lived up to its promises in Afghanistan, in turn claiming the US was ‘bombarding civilians’. The US signed a landmark deal with the insurgents last year, agreeing to withdraw all of its troops from the country in return for security guarantees after a stalemate […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taliban-says-us-bombarding-civilians-houses-in-violation-of-afghan-deal-76713/