Aug 15 Taliban sweep into Afghan capital after government collapses By Associated Press Afghanistan’s embattled president left the country Sunday, joining his fellow citizens and foreigners in a stampede fleeing the advancing Taliban and signaling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan. Continue reading
Aug 14 Watch 7:06 Taliban captures more territory as U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan continues By PBS NewsHour More U.S. reinforcements are arriving in Kabul today to help evacuate U.S. and Afghan personnel and protect the embassy as the Taliban advances through the country, capturing several key areas and calling for President Ghani to resign. The Taliban’s advance… Continue watching
Aug 14 Watch 7:36 Afghanistan: As Taliban gains ground, female judges fear for their safety By Christopher Booker, Laura Fong As the Taliban advances steadily and gains control over most of Afghanistan, many Afghans, afraid of their future, are trying to leave. The U.S. withdrawal is expected to undo much of the progress made in Afghan society over the last… Continue watching
Aug 14 Taliban capture major northern city, approach Afghan capital By Associated Press The fall of Mazar-e-Sharif, the country's fourth largest city, which Afghan forces and two powerful former warlords had pledged to defend, hands the insurgents control over all of northern Afghanistan, confining the Western-backed government to the center and east. Continue reading
Aug 13 Watch 8:23 'It's an abandonment.' Afghanistan's ambassador on her nation's view of the U.S. withdrawal The Afghan government is prioritizing protecting its largest cities, like Kabul, against the Taliban’s advance to protect its most dense populations and civil services, says Afghanistan's ambassador to the U.S. Adela Raz. The U.S. withdrawal? “It’s an abandonment,” she says. Continue watching
Aug 13 Watch 8:46 What should the U.S. role in Afghanistan be now? How did the failure in Afghanistan come about and who is to blame? Multiple administrations and both parties own the blame for the state of the nation, says Col. Andrew Bacevich (ret.) of the Quincy Institute. We now have a… Continue watching
Aug 13 Afghan women fear return to 'dark days' amid Taliban sweep By Zeina Karam, Ahmad Seir, Associated Press The Taliban's lightning advance across Afghanistan has stirred fears they will reimpose their fundamentalist interpretation of Islam and all but eliminate women's rights. Continue reading
Aug 13 WATCH: U.S. rushes in troops to speed up evacuations in Afghanistan By Robert Burns, Matthew Lee, Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press Three thousand fresh U.S. troops were rushing to Kabul to speed evacuation flights for some American diplomats and thousands of Afghans, as the Taliban pressed a lightning offensive that has captured much of the country. Continue reading
Aug 13 Taliban sweep across Afghanistan's south, take 4 more cities By Tameem Akhgar, Rahim Faiez, Joseph Krauss, Associated Press The Taliban completed their sweep of the country's south on Friday as they took four more provincial capitals in a lightning offensive that is gradually encircling Kabul, just weeks before the U.S. is set to officially end its two-decade war. Continue reading
Aug 12 Watch 6:13 'Shock' and anger across Afghanistan as Taliban blitz through cities People in Afghanistan are in disbelief and angry at their local leaders as the Taliban advances across the nation, reports special correspondent Jane Ferguson. Fergson spoke with William Brangham about how quickly security forces in the region collapsed after the… Continue watching