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Former senior US official admits to planning attempted foreign coups
John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former White House national security adviser, said on Tuesday that he had helped plan attempted coups in foreign countries.
Bolton made the remarks to CNN after the day’s congressional hearing into the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The panel’s lawmakers on Tuesday accused former President Donald Trump of inciting the violence in a last-ditch bid to remain in power after losing the 2020 election, VOA reported.
Speaking to CNN, however, Bolton suggested Trump was not competent enough to pull off a “carefully planned coup d’état,” later adding: “As somebody who has helped plan coups d’état — not here but you know [in] other places — it takes a lot of work. And that’s not what he [Trump] did.”
In 2019, Bolton as national security adviser publicly supported Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s call for the military to back his effort to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro, arguing that Maduro’s re-election was illegitimate. Ultimately Maduro remained in power, VOA reported.
“I feel like there’s other stuff you’re not telling me [beyond Venezuela],” the CNN anchor said, prompting a reply from Bolton: “I’m sure there is.”
Many foreign policy experts have over the years criticized Washington’s history of interventions in other countries, from its role in the 1953 overthrowing of then Iranian nationalist prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and the Vietnam war, to its invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan this century, VOA reported.
But it is highly unusual for U.S. officials to openly acknowledge their role in stoking unrest in foreign countries.
“John Bolton, who’s served in highest positions in the U.S. government, including UN ambassador, casually boasting about he’s helped plan coups in other countries,” Dickens Olewe, a BBC journalist from Kenya, wrote on Twitter.
Acting Justice Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Abdul Hakim Sharei, left for Russia on Saturday to participate in the 13th St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.
The three-day conference will kick off on coming Monday and will be attended by ministers of justice, judicial officials and legal experts from various countries.
Acting Minister of Justice of the Islamic Emirate will deliver a speech on the nature of laws, the need for reforms in international law, ensuring justice and the role of the Islamic Emirate in international relations, the Ministry of Justice said in a statement.
Acting Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) Amir Khan Muttaqi on Saturday left Kabul for Iran to attend Tehran Dialogue Forum.
Hafiz Zia Ahmad, deputy spokesman for the foreign ministry, said that the delegation accompanying Muttaqi also includes Abdul Latif Nazari, deputy minister of economy.
In addition to participating in the Tehran Dialogue Forum, Muttaqi is scheduled to meet with his Iranian counterpart and other high-ranking officials to discuss bilateral relations.
Tehran Dialogue Forum will be held on May 17-19.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Aslan Abdraimov, has warned that the Qosh Tepa canal in Afghanistan could significantly reduce the flow of the Syr Darya River, with direct consequences for the already depleted Aral Sea.
He made the remarks at the recent international conference, Water Security and Transboundary Water Use: Challenges and Solutions, held in Astana.
“No sharp fluctuations in water resources are expected in the near term, but in the long term, a reduction in the Syr Darya’s flow is inevitable,” Abdraimov stated. He emphasized that this would further strain the fragile water balance in the Aral Sea basin.
Azamatkhan Amirtayev, chairman of Kazakhstan’s Baytak Party, expressed concern that the Qosh Tepa canal could divert 25-30% of the Amu Darya’s flow. “This means that Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan will receive less water. Consequently, Uzbekistan may draw more from the Syr Darya, leading to reduced water availability for Kazakhstan, potentially by 30-40%,” Amirtayev said. He urged for regional cooperation and scientifically informed policymaking to mitigate water losses.
The Qosh Tepa canal is a canal being built in northern Afghanistan to divert water from the Amu Darya River. The main canal is expected to be 285 km long and the overall initiative seeks to convert 550,000 hectares of desert into farmland.
Earlier, Uzbek authorities had also expressed concern about the construction of the Qosh Tepe canal in Afghanistan.
However, the Islamic Emirate has assured Uzbekistan that it will not be harmed by the canal.
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