Rep. Waltz: Biden Is Selling a ‘Fiction’ About US Ability to Confront Terrorism in Afghanistan

President Biden is selling the nation a “fiction” by claiming the U.S. military can respond effectively to terror threats emerging in Afghanistan as it does elsewhere, when it has no bases or reliable allies in the region, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) charged on Wednesday.  Read

Slotkin on Reported Counterterror Cooperation With Russians: ‘The Hair on Our Necks Starts to Go Up’

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) told chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley Wednesday that reports about potential cooperation with the Russians in Central Asia to respond to terrorist threats from Afghanistan makes the hair stand up on the back of some lawmakers’ necks.  Read

GOP Bill Would Block UN Recognition of Taliban, Impose Sanctions Against Supporters Like Pakistan

Twenty-two Republican senators have introduced legislation designed to block Taliban efforts to win international recognition and imposing sanctions against the group and its supporters – with the government of Pakistan singled out.   Read

Taliban Tells US to Stop Flying Drones Over Afghan Airspace, Warns of ‘Negative Consequences’

The Biden administration and Pentagon have said the U.S. will rely on “over-the-horizon” capabilities to keep terrorists in check in Afghanistan following the troop withdrawal, but on Tuesday the Taliban demanded that the U.S. stop flying drones in Afghan airspace. Read

Afghan Ambassador Withdraws From Speaking at UN After Consulting With ‘Prominent Members’

Afghanistan’s mission to the United Nations said on Monday it had decided not to deliver a scheduled address to the General Assembly after “consultation with a number of prominent members,” but reaffirmed that it would continue to occupy the country’s U.N. seat.  Read

Belarus Leader: The U.S. Is Secretly Building Military Bases in Ukraine; 'We Cannot Allow This'

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed on Monday that the United States was covertly setting up military bases in Ukraine, adding that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin were discussing the issue “and have agreed that some action should be taken there.”  Read

Kremlin Says Russia Will Respond ‘Wisely’ If U.S. Sanctions Putin Cronies

Russia will respond “wisely” if a measure requiring the U.S. administration to sanction 35 cronies of President Vladimir Putin becomes U.S. law, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday night.  Read

Close of Merkel Era Sees Her Party Heading For its Worst Election Showing Ever

The Merkel era in Germany looks set to end with her Christian Democratic Union-Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU) bloc achieving its worst-ever result, according to projected results released by the ZDF broadcaster late Sunday night.  Read

One Month On, Pentagon Names One of Two Men Killed in Afghanistan Strike, Links Him to Airport Attack

The Pentagon has named one of two men killed in an airstrike in Afghanistan a month ago, describing him as an ISIS-K attack “facilitator” who was “directly connected” to the ISIS-K leaders who coordinated the terror attack at Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. service personnel and more than 160 Afghan civilians.  Read

Navalny Slams Tech Giants for Kremlin Compliance: ‘False Prophets … in Hoodies and Stretched Jeans’

 Angered by U.S. tech giants’ decision to remove a voting app promoting opposition candidates in last weekend’s Russian parliamentary elections, imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has accused them of turning into Vladimir Putin’s “accomplices.”  Read

Pakistan Pushes For Taliban Recognition: ‘Their Behavior Is Somewhat Different From the Past’

Pakistan, historically the Taliban’s sponsor and closest ally, is leading an effort to encourage international recognition of the regime in Kabul, arguing that isolating the terrorist group has not worked in the past. Read

Tlaib Draws Bipartisan Fire After Calling Israel ‘Apartheid’ State; House Votes to Fund Iron Dome

 Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) was slammed by colleagues on both sides of the aisle after using the word “apartheid” to describe Israel during Thursday’s debate on funding the Iron Dome missile defense system.  Read

The ‘Islamic Emirate’ Wants Afghanistan’s UN Seat; Biden, UN Urged to Say No

A nine-country committee will meet soon to consider an application by the Taliban to be given the Afghanistan seat at the United Nations, even though not one government has yet recognized the legitimacy of the regime set up by the terrorist group that seized power by force last month.  Read

Biden Has ‘Friendly’ Call With Macron; Boris Johnson Advises Macron to ‘Get a Grip’

Implying that French President Emmanuel Macron is overreacting to the newly-announced U.S.-U.K.-Australia security partnership, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was time for critics of the arrangement to “get a grip.”  Read

Leftist Democrats Nix Funding for Israel’s Defensive Iron Dome

The House of Representatives on Tuesday night passed legislation aimed at preventing a government shutdown after controversy flared over a decision to strip from the measure $1 billion in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome.  Read

Psaki Responds to Iranian Regime’s US-Baiting Rhetoric at UN: ‘They Have Their Own Politics’

After Iran’s U.S.-sanctioned president Tuesday used his first speech to the U.N. – pre-recorded and delivered by video link – to slam and ridicule the United States, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said “the door remains open to diplomacy” and ascribed his rhetoric to domestic political considerations in Iran.  Read

Each Time the UN Touts Its Anti-Racism Initiative, the List of Boycotting Countries Grows

It’s been one of the most contentious U.N. projects over the past two decades, but in New York this week, member-states will gather to mark the 20th anniversary of “Durban” process, even though at least 20 democracies refuse to be associated with the purported “anti-racism” initiative.  Read

Biden Proposes Highest Refugee Ceiling in Three Decades for FY 2022

The Biden administration informed Congress on Monday that the United States will admit up to 125,000 refugees in fiscal year 2022, doubling the ceiling of 62,500 that it had hoped to resettle in FY 2021.  Read

Pentagon Still Refusing to Release Names of ‘High-Profile’ ISIS-K Terrorists Killed in First August Airstrike

The Pentagon has yet to release the names of two individuals killed in an airstrike in Afghanistan last month, two days before a second airstrike near Kabul airport which killed not an ISIS-K terrorist but ten civilians, seven of them children.  Read

Biden to Address UN Amid Strains With Partners, Fury From French

President Biden is preparing to deliver his maiden address before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday at a time when several of his foreign policy decisions have set off alarm bells in allied capitals.  Read

EU Blindsided, Angry About Biden’s Indo-Pacific Partnership With UK, Australia

The newly announced Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) security partnership is attracting predictable condemnation from China but the initiative also provoked the European Union, where faith in the Biden administration has already been shaken over the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal.  Read

Psaki on Report US Commander Advised Against Full Withdrawal: Biden ‘Was Provided a Range of Advice’

 White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday declined to comment on the disclosure that Gen. Scott Miller, then the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, advised against a total withdrawal of troops from the country, saying only that President Biden “was provided a range of advice.”  Read

US, UK to Help Australia Build Nuclear-Powered Subs to Face ‘Rapidly Evolving Threats’ in Indo-Pacific

President Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday announced a new trilateral security partnership that will see Australia develop nuclear-powered attack submarines to face what Biden called “rapidly evolving threats” in the Indo-Pacific. Read

SW Border Apprehensions in August: More Russians, Turks, Indians, Haitians

The number of “encounters” with migrants trying to enter the U.S. illegally at the southwest border and coming from countries other than Mexico and the “northern triangle” climbed to a new high of 61,484 in August – a 1,690 percent increase from the same month last year.  Read

China Deploys Advanced Warships in International Waters Off Alaska

Some of China’s most advanced warships appear to be among four People’s Liberation Army Navy vessels that sailed within the exclusive economic zone of the United States, off Alaska, at the end of August.  Read

Afghanistan’s Representation Uncertain as UN General Assembly Session Begins

As the U.N. General Assembly formally opened its new annual session in New York on Tuesday, the question of how the world body deals with the Taliban regime that seized power in Afghanistan remains unresolved.  Read

Blinken: $64 Million in Humanitarian Aid for Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan Won’t Go to the Taliban

On the day that the Biden administration pledged $64 million in humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan, skeptical Republican lawmakers asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken if the money could end up in the hands of Taliban terrorists.  Read

Blinken Calls Taliban’s Ousting of an Elected Gov’t ‘One Side Getting the Upper Hand in a Civil War’

 Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday described the Taliban regime in Kabul as “the de facto government of Afghanistan” and characterized the terrorist group’s violent seizure of power from an elected, U.S.-allied government as “one side getting the upper hand in a civil war.”  Read

Sunni Group Claiming to Represent Hundreds of Millions of Muslims Endorses Taliban Regime

On the day America marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack, an international group of Islamist scholars founded by a Muslim Brotherhood theologian endorsed the Taliban regime that seized power last month, urging all Afghans to support it.  Read

Condoleezza Rice: Yes, Post-9/11 Actions Made Us Safer, But We’ve Lost ‘Eyes and Ears’ in Afghanistan

Sweeping changes to the U.S. security apparatus after 9/11 and the military action against al-Qaeda have helped to make Americans safer, former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice said in remarks aired on Sunday, but drew a distinction between that assessment and the recent relinquishing of intelligence capabilities on the ground in Afghanistan.  Read

Former Acting CIA Director: Terrorists Are Going to Flock to ‘Jihadist Central’ in Afghanistan

The Taliban is claiming to have defeated not only the United States but NATO – “the world's greatest military power ever” – and inspired jihadists will flock to Afghanistan to become “part of jihadist central,” former acting CIA director Michael Morell said on Sunday.  Read

Taliban: US Is Violating Doha Deal By Not Lifting Sanctions – Including Against Wanted Terrorist Haqqani

Miffed at the negative reaction to the inclusion of a wanted terrorist in its “caretaker” cabinet, the Taliban on Thursday accused the U.S. of violating the agreement signed with the group early last year, by not removing Sirajuddin Haqqani and other Taliban leaders from U.S. and U.N. blacklists.  Read

On Eve of 9/11 Anniversary, Afghan Ambassador Urges UNSC Not to Recognize Taliban or Ease Sanctions

 Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United Nations – who was appointed before the Taliban seized power – urged the Security Council on Thursday not to recognize any government in Kabul that is not “truly inclusive and formed on the basis of the free will of the people.”  Read

UN Atomic Watchdog Troubled by Iran’s Non-Cooperation, Violation of Nuclear Deal

 The Iranian regime’s refusal to allow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors regular access to monitoring equipment deployed at nuclear facilities has “seriously undermined” its verification and monitoring activities, the U.N. nuclear watchdog reported this week.  Read

Blinken: We’ll Engage With the Taliban ‘In Ways That Are Fully Consistent With Our Laws’

The United States will find ways to engage with the Taliban for the purposes of advancing the national interest of the U.S. and its partners, and will “do it in ways that are fully consistent with our laws,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.  Read

Taliban Cabinet: Sanctioned Terrorists, Accused Mass Killers of Ethnic Minorities; No Women

The Taliban on Tuesday announced an “acting” government and cabinet including wanted and sanctioned terrorists, suspected mass murderers of ethnic and religious minorities – and no women. Read

UN: We Can’t Postpone Climate Conference Again, Due to ‘Scientifically-Established Urgency’

The global climate megaconference known as COP26 must go ahead as planned later this year because of the “scientifically-established urgency” in fighting climate change, a U.N. spokesman said Tuesday in response to calls from non-governmental groups for a postponement due to COVID-19-related inclusive participation concerns.  Read

Taliban Claims to Have Taken Holdout Valley; Defiant Resistance Leader Announces ‘National Uprising’

The Taliban claimed Monday to have captured the holdout province of Panjshir and released footage of the “Islamic Emirate” flag being hoisted over the provincial governor’s office, but leaders of the anti-Taliban resistance said their campaign will continue, and called for a “national uprising.”  Read

Lawmakers Involved in Efforts to Rescue Americans in Afghanistan Rip Into Administration

 U.S. lawmakers involved in efforts to help American citizens leave Taliban-controlled Afghanistan directed frustration and anger on Monday at the federal government, accusing it in one instance of “inexcusable bureaucratic red tape” and in another of claiming misplaced credit for getting one family group safely out.  Read

Taliban Spokesman: The Haqqani Network is the Taliban

A Taliban spokesman on Thursday reiterated its long-held claim that there was no distinction between the Taliban and the Haqqani Network, underlining one of thornier issues the U.S. and allies will have to navigate in dealing with the soon-to-be-unveiled regime in Kabul.  Read

Anti-Taliban Resistance: Help Us, We’re Part of the ‘Global Struggle Against Transnational Terrorism’

Representatives of the anti-Taliban resistance holding out in the Panjshir valley are urging foreign governments not to recognize a Taliban regime, and to acknowledge that its armed campaign is at the forefront of an international battle against transnational terrorism.  Read

Senior State Dept. Official: Taliban Has ‘a Lot to Prove’ and ‘a Lot to Gain’

Weeks after America’s top diplomats were declaring that the Taliban would not win international recognition if it seized control of Afghanistan by force, administration officials are now tying recognition to the regime’s behavior going forward.  Read

‘This is Not a Kumbaya Moment’: Armed Services Committee Considers Measure of No Confidence in Biden

Members of the House Armed Services Committee in a post-midnight debate early Thursday rejected by a 31-28 vote an amendment voicing no confidence in President Biden over his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal.  Read

Countries Backing US Call For Taliban to Allow Free Travel Exclude Russia, China, Most Muslim States

The Biden administration for three days has been promoting a statement by “more than half the world’s countries” calling on the Taliban to allow freedom of travel, characterizing it as a highlight of its diplomatic efforts in response to the Islamist militia’s takeover of Afghanistan.  Read

Freedom Caucus Reps to Biden: ‘Preserve Some Modicum of Honor’ and Resign Now

Calling for accountability for their handling of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, members of the House Freedom Caucus on Tuesday said President Biden, Defense Secretary Gen. Lloyd Austin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley should resign.  Read