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US ‘obligated’ to hold senior officials accountable for chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal
DOD spokesman Sean Parnell says Pentagon ‘figuring out’ what the investigation ‘will look like’
US Department of Defense (DOD) spokesman Sean Parnell said the Trump administration has an “obligation” to hold senior officials involved in the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan accountable.
Addressing a press briefing on Monday, Parnell was asked whether the DOD would be firing or disciplining any remaining leadership directly involved in the withdrawal.
“We’re in the process of figuring out what that investigation will look like,” Parnell stated.
He said he had served in the military in Afghanistan and detailed how former President Joe Biden’s withdrawal had “horrified” him.
“I was horrified, in a lot of ways,” he said.
“You think about how much time, and blood and treasure and American life that was lost in Afghanistan over 20 years, you think about that for a second — I’m 43 years old, and this country was at war in Afghanistan for 20 years.”
“Almost half of my life, this country was at war in Afghanistan,” he said.
“We bled the ground red in Afghanistan,” he said. “I watched my men do extraordinary things in support of a grateful nation and in support of a mission there, and to watch Afghanistan be surrendered in the way that it was, [it] was extremely difficult.”
“Will those people be held accountable?” Parnell continued. “I think we have an obligation both to the American people and to the warfighters who fought in Afghanistan to hold the leadership accountable in some way.”
“Now, we don’t know what that looks like right now to hold the leadership of the Afghanistan withdrawal accountable,” he said.
“If you have a private that loses a sensitive item, that loses night-vision goggles, and loses a weapon, you can bet that private’s going to be held accountable. The same and equal standards must apply to senior military leaders.”
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCOS) Gen. Mark Milley was involved in planning the withdrawal. His security clearance was revoked by US President Donald Trump in January.
Tajik authorities say their border guards clashed with militants who crossed into Tajikistan’s Khatlon region from Afghanistan on Tuesday night.
Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security said in a statement that militants intended to carry out an armed attack on one of the border outposts.
Three militants were killed and two Tajik soldiers died in the clash. From the scene, three firearms—an M-16 rifle and a Kalashnikov assault rifle—three foreign-made pistols equipped with suppressors, ten hand grenades, one night-vision device, explosives, and other military equipment were seized, according to the committee.
This was the third reported attack from Afghanistan into Tajikistan in the past month, with the previous ones targeting Chinese nationals.
The Islamic Emirate previously said it assured Tajikistan it was ready to tighten border security and conduct joint investigations.
Business
Afghanistan’s first aluminum can factory launched in Herat with $120 million investment
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, laid the foundation stone of the “Pamir” aluminum can production company at the industrial parks of Herat on Thursday.
Afghanistan’s first aluminum can manufacturing plant was officially launched on Thursday in Herat province, marking a significant step toward industrial development and economic self-reliance.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, laid the foundation stone of the “Pamir” aluminum can production company at the industrial parks of Herat on Thursday.
According to officials, the Pamir factory is the first of its kind in Afghanistan and is being established with an investment of $120 million. The project will be built on 16 jeribs of land within Herat’s industrial zones.
Once completed, the factory is expected to create employment opportunities for around 1,700 Afghan citizens. Officials say the project will play a key role in boosting domestic production, reducing reliance on imports, and strengthening the national economy.
Authorities described the launch of the project as a clear sign of growing investment in the industrial sector and ongoing efforts to promote economic self-sufficiency in the country.
Latest News
Medvedev: IEA posed less threat to Russia than western-backed groups
He added that such organisations have consistently pursued one objective: “to break apart the multiethnic people of Russia.”
Russia’s Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) caused less harm to Russia than Western-backed civic organisations that, he claims, sought to undermine the country’s unity.
In an article published in the Russian journal Rodina, Medvedev wrote that while the IEA had long been designated as a terrorist organisation, its actions did not inflict the same level of damage on Russia as what he described as Western-supported institutions operating under the banner of academic or humanitarian work.
“Let us be honest: the Taliban (IEA) movement, long listed as a terrorist organisation, has caused modern Russia far less damage than all those pseudo-scientific institutions whose aim is to dismantle our country under the guise of aiding the oppressed,” Medvedev stated.
He added that such organisations have consistently pursued one objective: “to break apart the multiethnic people of Russia.”
Medvedev’s remarks come amid a shift in Russia’s official stance toward Afghanistan. In April, Russia’s Supreme Court suspended the ban on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which had previously been included on the country’s list of terrorist organisations.
Major power projects launched in Herat
Tajikistan says two soldiers killed in clash with militants near Afghan border
Sharp drop in exports to Afghanistan drives Pakistan’s trade deficit surge
Russia plans a nuclear power plant on the moon within a decade
Afghanistan’s first aluminum can factory launched in Herat with $120 million investment
Afghanistan exports 10 containers of batteries to Saudi Arabia and UAE for first time
Pakistani cleric condemns lifetime immunity for Army Chief as un-Islamic
Gaza death toll tops 70,000, health ministry says
Iran rerouting more oil to China through Indonesia to dodge US sanctions
Islamic Emirate declines to attend Tehran meeting on Afghanistan
Saar: Discussion on critiquing Trump’s immigration policy
Tahawol: Scholars slam Pakistan’s attacks on Afghanistan
Saar: Discussion over the fate of Ukraine’s war
Tahawol: Return of 6.8 million Afghan refugees to IEA rule
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