Retreat from Afghanistan gives a clear signal of a US shift on counter-terrorism that leaves the rest of the world to fend for itselfIt is, perhaps, dreadfully apt that an invasion which began 20 years ago as a counter-terrorism operation has ended in …
The Observer view on the resurgence of the Taliban | Observer editorial
Afghanistan has humbled the US and empowered its enemies. Now the west must engage with its new rulers to avert an even bigger threatAfghanistan is a tragedy, a parable and a cautionary tale for our age. As the last, desperate evacuees scramble aboard …
Biden warns masterminds of deadly Kabul bombings: ‘We will make you pay’
Biden addresses nation on darkest day of his presidencySays US troops who died were ‘heroes’ of ‘selfless mission’Joe Biden has warned the masterminds of a double suicide-bomb attack in Kabul that killed 13 US troops and 60 Afghan civilians: “We will h…
In Pakistan we cultivated the Taliban, then turned on them. Now we can only hope they forgive us | Mohammed Hanif
Many of us are gloating at the US retreat, but there is dread in our hearts. We can’t forget how the Taliban brought their fight to our mosques and schoolsNot too long ago, Pakistan and Afghanistan were called Af-Pak: two countries joined at the hip, d…
Afghan guard killed in Kabul airport gun battle
One dead in firefight between unidentified gunmen and US, German and Afghan guardsA firefight between unidentified gunmen and US, German and Afghan guards at Kabul airport has left one Afghan guard dead and three wounded, underscoring the fragile secur…
Why the west will learn no lessons from the fall of Kabul | Nesrine Malik
From Sudan to Iraq to Afghanistan, self-righteous US and UK policies have more to do with power than peopleIn August 1998, two weeks after a little-known terror outfit called al-Qaida announced itself to the world with bomb attacks on the American emba…
After the chaos in Kabul, is the American century over?
The ‘forever war’ has finished with a debacle. If this marks the end of American interventionism, what will take its place?A few months ago there were US bases all over Afghanistan where you could immerse yourself in Americana, buy Coke and Snickers ba…
After Afghanistan, the Pax Americana is over – as is Nato. About time too
Biden’s Afghan chaos means Europe can no longer rely on him. Let’s hope a more balanced security relationship emergesThe North Atlantic measurably widened last week. The more Joe Biden tried to shift blame for the Afghan chaos, the bigger the gulf with…
‘America first’ again? Is Biden echoing Trump on Afghanistan and vaccines?
The president’s pushing of a US-centric agenda has dismayed many but his defenders say it is ‘progressive nationalism’For Donald Trump, the former US president, beating the drum of “America first” was something of an obsession. “The future doesn’t belo…
Vladimir Putin warns west to stop meddling in Afghanistan
During ‘farewell summit’ with Angela Merkel, Russian leader says US-led campaign cannot be called a successVladimir Putin has demanded that countries not interfere in Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul, saying the west “must stop the irresponsible pol…