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First task for Afghan forces is to slow Taliban’s momentum: Austin

Published

5 years ago

July 25, 2021

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday that the Afghan security forces’ first job was to make sure they could slow the Taliban’s momentum before attempting to retake territory, as Afghan forces plan to consolidate forces around strategically important parts of the country.

Reuters reported that Afghanistan’s military is overhauling its war strategy against the Taliban to concentrate forces around the most critical areas like Kabul and other cities, border crossings and vital infrastructure.

“They are consolidating their forces around the key population centers,” Austin told reporters during a visit to Alaska.

“In terms of whether or not it will stop the Taliban, I think the first thing to do is to make sure that they can slow the momentum,” Austin said, speaking as the U.S. military is set to end its mission in Afghanistan on Aug. 31, on orders from President Joe Biden.

Austin added that he believed the Afghans had the capability and the capacity to make progress, but “we’ll see what happens.”

The politically perilous strategy appears to be a military necessity as over-stretched Afghan troops try to prevent the loss of provincial capitals, which could deeply fracture the country.

Taliban insurgents are gaining control of more and more territory, which the Pentagon estimated on Wednesday now extends to over half of half Afghanistan’s district centers. The Taliban are also putting pressure on the outskirts of half of the provincial capitals, trying to isolate them.

The Taliban’s swift territorial gains are rattling Afghans just as the United States withdraws from a war that succeeded in punishing al Qaeda following its Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington but failed to deliver anything close to peace for Afghanistan.

The United States has continued to carry out air strikes to support Afghan government forces that have been under pressure from the Taliban as U.S.-led foreign forces carry out the final stages of their withdrawal from the country.

Biden has promised to provide financial assistance to Afghan forces and to redouble diplomatic efforts to revive stalled peace talks.

Biden on Friday authorized up to $100 million from an emergency fund to meet “unexpected urgent” refugee needs stemming from the situation in Afghanistan, including for Afghan special immigration visa applicants.

For years, the U.S. military has been trying to get Afghan troops off of far-flung checkpoints – static positions that can easily be overrun by Taliban forces.

Latest News

US State Department: Afghanistan fails to meet minimum fiscal transparency standards

Published

35 minutes ago

August 12, 2026

Ariana News

The U.S. Department of State says Afghanistan’s ministries and other public-sector institutions failed to meet any of the minimum requirements for fiscal transparency during the review period.

In its 2026 Fiscal Transparency Report, released Tuesday, the State Department said no Afghan entity had published an executive budget proposal or an end-of-year report within a reasonable timeframe.

The report said that in the absence of a publicly available budget, there was no confirmation of government expenditures made to support public services. It also said Afghan institutions had not published timely information on public-sector debt obligations.

According to the report, publicly available revenue and expenditure figures did not correspond to actual revenues and expenditures, based on information gathered through contacts and the government’s inability to service public-sector debts.

However, some state-owned enterprises independently published information on their revenues and expenditures.

The State Department also said an entity calling itself the Supreme Audit Office, which announced that it would begin operating in 2022, had not clarified the legal basis for its activities and did not publish any audits or audit findings during the review period.

The report further noted that the IEA did not make public the budgets of their “military” and intelligence services.

The U.S. State Department recommended that Afghan ministries and public institutions improve fiscal transparency by publishing reliable budget documents on time, following internationally accepted budgeting principles, strengthening oversight of off-budget accounts, and making information on public-sector debt publicly available.

It also called for clearer laws governing natural-resource extraction and public procurement, as well as ensuring that any supreme audit institution operates independently and meets international standards.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate’s spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Afghanistan’s budget does not belong to any other country, and therefore there is no obligation to provide information to others about how it is spent.

Latest News

FAO warns water shortages and heat put Afghanistan’s agriculture under pressure

FAO assessed current conditions and prospects using climate forecasts, remote-sensing data and consultations with farming communities across all 34 provinces.

Published

3 hours ago

August 12, 2026

Ariana News

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has warned that water shortages and above-average temperatures are placing increasing pressure on summer crops and grazing across Afghanistan.

In its August 2026 outlook for Afghanistan’s 2026/27 agricultural season, FAO assessed current conditions and prospects using climate forecasts, remote-sensing data and consultations with farming communities across all 34 provinces.

The agency said persistent water shortages, combined with high temperatures, are affecting agricultural conditions during the summer season and increasing pressure on crops and livestock.

FAO also warned that persistently high fertilizer prices could limit farmers’ ability to invest in the upcoming winter wheat season, potentially affecting production prospects.

Looking ahead, the report says a strengthening El Niño and the possible development of a positive Indian Ocean Dipole could bring above-average precipitation during winter and spring.

Such conditions could improve water availability and boost prospects for agricultural production, but FAO cautioned that heavier rainfall could also increase the risk of floods, landslides, crop damage and livestock losses.

The agency said the latest outlook highlights the need for continued monitoring, anticipatory action and timely, practical climate and agricultural advisories to help farmers and livestock owners prepare for changing conditions.

World

US military operations killed 153 civilians in 2025, Pentagon assessment shows

A Pentagon report submitted to the U.S. Congress and published by U.S. media said all civilian deaths and injuries recorded in 2025 resulted from three U.S. strikes in Yemen.

Published

4 hours ago

August 12, 2026

Ariana News

U.S. military operations killed 153 civilians and wounded 243 others in 2025, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, citing Pentagon assessments.

According to Reuters, the figures represent a sharp increase from 2024, when Pentagon assessments recorded two civilian deaths and two injuries linked to U.S. military operations.

A Pentagon report submitted to the U.S. Congress and published by U.S. media said all civilian deaths and injuries recorded in 2025 resulted from three U.S. strikes in Yemen.

The report said the U.S. Central Command assessed that the three strikes carried out in April 2025 in Yemen “more likely than not” resulted in civilian harm.

As of February 2026, the report said, 15 other incidents in Yemen were still being assessed by U.S. Central Command following reports received through non-governmental organizations.

The U.S. military says its operations in Yemen aim to degrade the capabilities of Iran-backed Houthi militants.

The Pentagon report did not include casualties from U.S. strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. It said that as of February 1, 2026, the U.S. Southern Command had assessed that no incidents in its area of responsibility in 2025 “more likely than not” resulted in civilian casualties.

The Trump administration has also carried out strikes on vessels it accuses of transporting narcotics in the Eastern Pacific, describing the targets as “narco-terrorists.” According to a Reuters tally based on death tolls published after each strike, more than 200 people have been killed in such operations since September 2025.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have described the strikes as unlawful extrajudicial killings, while the American Civil Liberties Union has called the Trump administration’s claims about those targeted “unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims.”