#us withdrawal

[usafphantom2]

POW release by Linh Yoshimura Via Flickr: Jan 1973 - A C-141 Starlifter aircraft departs Gia Lam Airport (Ha Noi) carrying recently released prisoners of war. US National Archives photo

[usafphantom2]

POW release by Linh Yoshimura Via Flickr: Jan 1973 - The C-141 Starlifter aircraft carrying recently released from a prisoner of war arrives at Travis Air Base (CA). US National Archives photo

[thoughtlessarse]

Scholz: US risks missing economic gains from climate action – DW – 03/26/2025

Amid rising geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, climate diplomats are meeting in Berlin to shape the agenda for the COP30 climat

Germany's outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz said he "deeply regretted" the US' decision to leave the Paris Climate Agreement, and added that ignoring the facts would not make climate change or the country's responsibilities as history's biggest greenhouse gas polluter disappear.  Speaking at the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, where ministers from over 40 nations are gathered to shape the agenda for the  COP30 climate summit in November in Brazil, Scholz (SPD) said pulling back from climate protection meant the US would miss out on "enormous" economic opportunities. "The global market for climate-friendly key technologies continues to grow rapidly," said Scholz, who is acting chancellor until a new German government is formed. The meeting comes in the wake of US President Donald Trump's decision to again pull out of the Paris climate accord and boost oil and gas production at a time when rising temperatures and extreme weather events are breaking records. Trump's election and subsequent actions have plunged climate multilateralism into a "deep crisis," said Martin Kaiser, executive director of Greenpeace Germany. "The world's biggest economy not being at the table of the climate negotiations is a big downfall. So, the Petersberg Dialogue is the first conference this year where ministers come together to discuss how to orientate themselves," he told DW.

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[thoughtlessarse]

WHO in ‘stop the bleeding phase’ due to US withdrawal, Europe head says

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is assessing the impact of the United States' withdrawal, taking short-term measures, and considering structural reorganisation, Hans Kluge, Director of WHO Europe, told the European Parliament. WHO Europe’s director, Hans Kluge, warned on Wednesday of the risk of instrumentalising health for political objectives and explained that the organisation is now assessing its needs following the US withdrawal. Following President Donald Trump’s decision to leave the WHO, the agency will not only lose the substantial financial contribution from the US but will also face gaps in access to critical information and healthcare personnel on the ground. The WHO can adapt to the loss of American government support, Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated in a December press conference, but he cautioned that the impact would be significant. “The EU now more than ever has to stand strong on those values of humanity,” said the regional WHO chief, emphasising the need for health diplomacy.

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Kluge must have missed the Commission's announcement earlier this month: EU can't plug USAID funding gap including in Ukraine, Commission says. Of course, it could, but doesn't want to.

[tomorrowusa]

We Now Know Why Biden Was in a Hurry to Exit Afghanistan

He made several missteps, but on the big picture, he was right.

A lot of people, including some who are left of center, are still afflicted with the idea that the United States can do whatever it wants to in the world. Were these people out smoking weed on the days their American History class was covering the Vietnam War?

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was not perfect, but it was done because it had to be done by a pre-arranged deadline. It was not up to the US to decide to stick around beyond August 31st if it felt like it. To do so would have risked an abrupt escalation of a war which had already gone on way too long. (emphasis added)

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained why he and the other chiefs—the top officers of the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines—all agreed that we needed to pull out by Aug. 31. The Doha agreement, which President Donald Trump had signed with the Taliban in early 2020 (with no participation by the Afghan government), required a total withdrawal of foreign forces. If U.S. troops had stayed beyond August, Milley said, the Taliban would have resumed the fighting, and, in order to stave off the attacks, “we would have needed 30,000 troops” and would have suffered “many casualties.”

And yet, as Milley also testified on Tuesday, he, the chiefs, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and other military officers advised Biden to keep 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond the Aug. 31 deadline. The difference is that those troops wouldn’t be attached to any “military mission.” Instead, they would “transition” to a “diplomatic mission.”

However, it is extremely unlikely that the Taliban would have observed the semantic distinction. In their eyes, 2,500 U.S. troops would be seen as 2,500 U.S. troops, regardless of whether their mission was officially said to be “military” or “diplomatic.” Therefore, the Taliban would resume fighting, as Milley said they would, and Biden would then have been faced with a horrendous choice—to pull out while under attack or send in another 30,000 troops.

Donald Trump’s surrender to the Taliban in 2020 left little other course of action.

At least the US does get credit for following through with an international agreement which it didn’t necessarily like. This gives the country more credibility as an international partner. The US had little international credibility during the Trump administration disaster.

The Taliban themselves are learning that running a country poor in resources during a pandemic is a lot harder than winning a guerilla war by bribing many of the people you were fighting against. The régime may not turn out to be as durable as it currently seems.

[theradical-outlook]

Pentagon chief: al-Qaida may seek comeback in Afghanistan

Pentagon chief: al-Qaida may seek comeback in Afghanistan

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, and Qatari Defense Minister Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, right, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/Pool Photo via AP) By ROBERT…

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[theradical-outlook]

The Latest: UN chief to hold meeting on Afghanistan funding

The Latest: UN chief to hold meeting on Afghanistan funding

Women gather to demand their rights under the Taliban rule during a protest in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. As the world watches intently for clues on how the Taliban will govern, their treatment of the media will be a key indicator, along with their policies toward women. When they ruled Afghanistan between 1996-2001, they enforced a harsh interpretation of Islam, barring girls and…

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