The Biden administration’s decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan is ignominious, as it lets down the Afghans in their daily fight against their former oppressors, retired US military commander and former CIA director David Petraeus said.
“What is not clear is whether there is recognition in Washington that endless wars do not end with a withdrawal or drawdown of American involvement," Gen Petraeus said. "In the case of Afghanistan, for example, it appears that the endless war will continue and [is] quite likely [to] get worse, as already seems to be the case."
Gen Petraeus was speaking to an online seminar hosted by the Washington-based Middle East Institute to mark the launch of a book by French philosopher and rights activist Bernard-Henri Levy on Afghanistan. In the July 26 seminar, he said that the US withdrawal may result in the return of a “brutal medieval regime in which extremists once again find safe haven”.
Gen Petraeus was the commander of the International Security Assistance Force and commander of US Forces – Afghanistan from July 4, 2010, to July 18, 2011. He also headed the US Central Command. He wrote the foreword of the book, Past as Prologue: Revisiting Bernard-Henri Levy’s 2002 Report on Afghanistan.
The book is the first English translation of the report Mr Levy wrote in 2002 following his visit to Afghanistan at the request of the then French president, Jacques Chirac. He was sent to assess the conditions on the ground and determine how France could contribute to Afghanistan’s rebirth as a nation following the US-led war that was started a year earlier.
“Needless to say, return of Taliban rule would at best undermine, or at worst reverse much of the progress achieved during that time," Gen Petraeus said. "As that prospect looms, perhaps it is time to revisit what once was hoped and envisioned by revisiting Mr Levy’s report of nearly two decades ago.”
In his subsequent report, Mr Levy pressed for France to take on a key role in areas ranging from strengthening the rule of law and women’s rights to helping to restore the country’s cultural heritage.
‘Betrayal’
The pullout decision by US President Joe Biden was a "betrayal" to the people of Afghanistan, Mr Levy said at the seminar.
“It’s all the more depressing for me as an old friend of Afghanistan to see the situation, which we Afghans and westerners are facing together, I mean this withdrawal, this betrayal by America and by the West in general," said Mr Lévy, who is the author of 30 books. "It’s so sad because the progress was considerable. We were on the good road and we decided to cut it.”
Mr Biden has strongly defended his decision to pull US military forces out of Afghanistan by the end of next month, saying the Afghan people must decide their future, rather than sacrificing another generation of Americans in an unwinnable war.
Mr Biden’s rationale centres on the argument that the US has defeated Al Qaeda and prevented another major attack on the US like the one launched on September 11, 2001.
The mastermind of that attack, Osama bin Laden, was killed in a US special operation on May 2, 2011 in Pakistan.
Dangerous Dependencies
Javid Ahmad, the Afghan ambassador to the UAE, criticised the war management in Afghanistan, saying many challenges lying ahead.
“My impression is that by looking at the positive side of the West engagement, ordinary Afghans see Afghanistan largely as a glass half full, because in the end, that's what mattered to them, Mr Ahmad said at the seminar.
"They are survivalists. But then again, Afghans are also clear-eyed about the challenges facing the country, especially right now. And so, for the vast majority of the Afghan people who believe right now that the glass is half full, it would actually matter if we're going to end up throwing the glass away altogether.”
Mr Ahmad said his country has not managed so far to overcome “dangerous dependencies” and said that warlords have become a central part in Afghanistan’s power dynamic.
“Now, I say that the word 'warlord' is a very loaded term under which, in today's context, much of the criminal activities take place, from organised crime to drug trafficking, to terrorism financing, to engaging in mafia-type politics,” he said.
Another factor the ambassador singled out as one of the obstacles to Afghanistan’s prosperity is its dependence on Pakistan.
“I would mention the very similar, very dangerous and toxic dependence on Pakistan. Now, this dependence and reliance and oftentimes over-reliance from the start of the campaign proved more dangerous than anything else, perhaps. And this is my argument, and this is perhaps the key reason for our collective failure in Afghanistan,” he said.
“Pakistan today has an organised large-scale militant force that's operating in Afghanistan. And by today, I mean how this formation has changed since President Biden has announced the withdrawal, the Afghan Taliban are just one part of that elaborate militant force,” he said.
The Taliban militants in Afghanistan have in recent weeks made advances and raised fears that the country will slide into civil war again.
Since it was announced that almost all foreign troops led by the US would withdraw from Afghanistan, Taliban have captured territories from government forces in key cities like Herat and Kandahar.
US and Nato forces toppled the Taliban from power in November 2001.
Results
6.30pm Madjani Stakes Rated Conditions (PA) I Dh160,000 I 1,900m I Winner: Mawahib, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm Maiden Dh150,000 I 1,400m I Winner One Season, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar
7.40pm: Maiden Dh150,000 I 2,000m I Winner Street Of Dreams, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8.15pm Dubai Creek Listed I Dh250,000 I 1,600m I Winner Heavy Metal, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm The Entisar Listed I Dh250,000 I 2,000m I Winner Etijaah, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
9.25pm The Garhoud Listed I Dh250,000 I 1,200m I Winner Muarrab, Dane O’Neill, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
10pm Handicap I Dh160,000 I 1,600m I Winner Sea Skimmer, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
HOW TO WATCH
Facebook: TheNationalNews
Twitter: @thenationalnews
Instagram: @thenationalnews.com
TikTok: @thenationalnews
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
Blue%20Beetle
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Angel%20Manuel%20Soto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EXolo%20Mariduena%2C%20Adriana%20Barraza%2C%20Damian%20Alcazar%2C%20Raoul%20Max%20Trujillo%2C%20Susan%20Sarandon%2C%20George%20Lopez%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Pots for the Asian Qualifiers
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)
Man of the match Harry Kane
Total eligible population
About 57.5 million people
51.1 million received a jab
6.4 million have not
Where are the unvaccinated?
England 11%
Scotland 9%
Wales 10%
Northern Ireland 14%
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
4/5
'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories From the North
Edited and Introduced by Sjón and Ted Hodgkinson
Pushkin Press
ASIAN%20RUGBY%20CHAMPIONSHIP%202024
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EResults%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EHong%20Kong%2052-5%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESouth%20Korea%2055-5%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EMalaysia%206-70%20Hong%20Kong%3Cbr%3EUAE%2036-32%20South%20Korea%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFriday%2C%20June%2021%2C%207.30pm%20kick-off%3A%20UAE%20v%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EAt%20The%20Sevens%2C%20Dubai%20(admission%20is%20free).%3Cbr%3ESaturday%3A%20Hong%20Kong%20v%20South%20Korea%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20Color%20Purple
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBlitz%20Bazawule%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFantasia%20Barrino%2C%20Taraji%20P%20Henson%2C%20Danielle%20Brooks%2C%20Colman%20Domingo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results:
6.30pm: Handicap | US$135,000 (Dirt) | 1,400 metres
Winner: Rodaini, Connor Beasley (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap | $135,000 (Turf) | 1,200m
Winner: Ekhtiyaar, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson
7.40pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (T) | 2,000m
Winner: Spotify, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: UAE Oakes | Group 3 | $250,000 (D) | 1,900m
Winner: Divine Image, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm: Zabeel Mile | Group 2 | $250,000 (T) | 1,600m
Winner: Mythical Image, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.20pm: Handicap | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m
Winner: Major Partnership, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Zayed Sustainability Prize
