Former US president George W Bush has slammed President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, saying women and girls will bear the biggest burden as the Taliban seek to regain control of the battered nation.
“I'm afraid Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm … They are going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people and it breaks my heart,” Mr Bush told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle in an interview shown on Wednesday.
Asked whether he thought the withdrawal was a mistake, Mr Bush replied: “Yes, I think it is.”
Mr Bush was speaking before German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Washington, where she will meet Mr Biden on Thursday.
Germany has maintained a troop presence in Afghanistan since shortly after the US invaded the country in 2001, and Mr Bush told Deutsche Welle he believes Ms Merkel “feels the same way” about the US withdrawal.
Mr Biden in April ordered the withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan by September, following through on plans initially laid by his predecessor Donald Trump. Nato forces, including Germany, are leaving too.
The pace of the US pullout has left many Afghans worried that hard-won social gains such as the right for girls to go to school will be quickly quashed by the Taliban, who are quickly snatching up territory across Afghanistan.
The hardliners were known for their brutal repression of women when they ruled much of Afghanistan during the late 1990s until the US-led invasion.
About 350 Afghans fled into Tajikistan on Wednesday from northern Afghanistan to escape Taliban attacks, the Tajik news agency Khova reported. It said the refugees, a majority of them girls, had “fled from the Taliban to save their lives”, and added that two babies had died during the border crossing.
Meanwhile, Washington said thousands of interpreters and others who aided US and Nato forces in Afghanistan will be removed beginning in late July.
In what the White House has called Operation Allies Refuge, the interpreters and their families are likely to be taken first to American overseas military bases before resettlement in the US or elsewhere.
Many are looking to leave the country due to fears of retaliation by the Taliban, who are seeking to regain control of the government in Kabul after the departure of US troops.
Some estimates say there are around 18,000 people who would qualify for evacuation and who, with their families, could take the total number of evacuees to as many as 100,000.
The news came as the US military pushed forward with the final tasks of withdrawing from the country, and as the Taliban captured Spin Boldak — the border crossing on the main highway between Kandahar and Quetta, Pakistan.
Hours after the crossing fell, an AFP reporter on the Pakistani side saw around 150 Taliban fighters riding on motorcycles, waving flags and demanding to be allowed to cross into Afghanistan.
Spin Boldak was the latest in a string of border crossings and dry ports seized by the insurgents in recent weeks as they look to choke off revenue much needed by Kabul while also filling their own coffers.
In another sign western governments were rapidly reassessing the situation, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK was prepared to work with the Taliban if they enter into a power-sharing government.
“Whatever the government of the day is, provided it adheres to certain international norms, the UK government will engage with it,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“All peace processes require you to come to terms with the enemy. Sometimes, that's what it is.”
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
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Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
