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Saudi crown prince tells Biden US made ‘mistake’ in Afghanistan: Saudi official
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pointed to American abuse in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan as he told President Joe Biden Friday that the US made “mistakes” too.
This was in response to Biden’s comments to MBS – as the crown prince is called – on the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
“The United States also made a number of mistakes like the incident of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and others,” the crown prince told Biden, a Saudi official told Reuters.
In the early part of the Iraq War, detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison were tortured by U.S. forces, with 11 Americans convicted of crimes related to the scandal.
While MBS reportedly spoke to Biden about shared values – he also said pushing those values on other countries could backfire.
“However trying to impose those values by force could have the opposite effect as it happened in Iraq and Afghanistan where the U.S. was unsuccessful,” the statement from the Saudi official to Reuters said.
Biden oversaw a chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan, after a 20-year military involvement.
After his meeting with MBS, Biden told reporters that he brought up Khashoggi’s killing first thing.
“In respect to the murder of Khashoggi, I raised it at the top of the meeting, making it clear what I thought of it at the time, and what I think of it now,” Biden said.
“I was straightforward and direct … I made my view crystal clear,” he said.
Biden did not mention that MBS brought up the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as a Saudi official claimed.
During Biden’s remarks to MBS and other Arab leaders Saturday, the president conceded the US hasn’t had a perfect track record.
“No country gets it right all the time – even most of the time – including the United States,” Biden said.
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Islamic Emirate’s army now self-sufficient, says chief of army staff
Mohammad Fasihuddin Fitrat, Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, says that over the past four years, the army forces of the Islamic Emirate have shown no hesitation in defending and protecting Afghanistan, and that today the country’s army is standing on its own feet.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Defense, Fitrat made these remarks at a meeting with media representatives, political analysts, and a number of government officials aimed at coordination and strengthening cooperation. He added: “Nations that cannot stand on their own feet and rely on others, even if they grow, will not be capable of achieving real progress.”
Fitrat also expressed appreciation for the role of the media in ensuring security and in supporting the country’s defense forces, stating: “We and you, as citizens of this land, must put our hands together and build the country together, take pride in our forces, and strive with all our strength for the country’s development. We have created an army that defends honor, territorial integrity, and the borders of the country, and serves as the guardian of our freedom.”
He emphasized that the Islamic Emirate is working to establish an army equipped with modern weapons so that it can defend the country’s territory under all circumstances.
He stated that the country’s army has proven to the people that anyone who looks at this land with ill intent will face a firm and courageous response, and that it has also been made clear to neighboring countries that any aggression against Afghanistan will be met with a response several times stronger.
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Afghan health minister attends second WHO summit in India
Noor Jalal Jalali, the Minister of Public Health of the Islamic Emirate, participated in the second World Health Organization meeting on traditional medicine during his official visit to India.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Public Health said that the meeting was held in India with the participation of representatives from around 100 countries, health ministers from 23 countries, professional experts from various nations, and officials from different departments of the World Health Organization.
During the meeting, discussions were held on the standardization of traditional medicine, training of individuals active in this field, recognition of traditional medicine as an established reality, and the sharing of countries’ experiences in this area.
The ministry stated that the purpose of participating in the conference was to standardize traditional medicine in Afghanistan, adding that for several decades this sector has been practiced in a non-standard manner and without a defined curriculum or clear principles.
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Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan boost trade and digital finance ties
Minister Sydykov, in turn, pledged the continuation of Kyrgyzstan’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and highlighted his country’s interest in working together on e-governance initiatives.
Afghanistan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs, Abdul Salam Hanafi, has met with a high-level Kyrgyz delegation led by Minister of Economy and Commerce Bakhyt Sydykov to discuss expanding bilateral trade and strengthening cooperation in digital financial services.
During the meeting, Hanafi reaffirmed Afghanistan’s readiness to deepen ties with Kyrgyzstan, stressing the importance of developing electronic administration systems and modern banking channels to facilitate trade and financial transactions between the two countries.
Minister Sydykov, in turn, pledged the continuation of Kyrgyzstan’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and highlighted his country’s interest in working together on e-governance initiatives. He also pointed to potential cooperation in areas such as the printing of securities and the development of electronic payment systems.
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