Afghan Taliban Highlight Today: Joe Biden Seeks To Turn The Page On 20 Years Of War In UN Speech

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Live updates from the Taliban crisis in Afghanistan: US President Joe Biden begins his first visit to the United Nations General Assembly, ready to argue to world leaders that after closing the book on 20 years of war, the United States aims to rally allies and adversaries to work together on a series of crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and trade and the economy.

The president faced a healthy dose of skepticism when he arrived in New York on Monday to begin a week of high-level diplomacy. Eight months into his presidency, Biden has been out of step with his allies over the chaotic end of the US war in Afghanistan.

Here are some of the key stories to follow:

Defense chief orders re-examination of erroneous U.S. drone strike

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a high-level review of the investigation which found that 10 Afghan civilians, including seven children, were killed in a US drone strike in Kabul on August 29 which, according to the Pentagon, originally killed an Islamic State fighter. The examiner must determine whether military disciplinary action is warranted.

The decision to demand a review reflects the gravity of the mistakes made in the final hours of the US military withdrawal from Kabul, which included a hasty evacuation of more than 120,000 Afghans, Americans and others.

Biden administration seeks to raise US refugee cap to 125,000

The administration of US President Joe Biden wants to nearly double the number of refugees admitted to the United States to 125,000 in the next fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, in accordance with a campaign pledge, according to a State Department statement.

The State Department will consult with the Department of Homeland Security and Congress to lift the cap, which has been set at 62,500 for the 2020 fiscal year ending this month, the statement said. The plan to dramatically increase refugee admissions comes at a time when tens of thousands of Afghan refugees are on U.S. military bases awaiting resettlement in the United States.

Another evacuation flight leaves Afghanistan with 21 US citizens on board

The US State Department confirmed that a Qatar Airways flight carried 21 US citizens and 48 permanent residents out of Afghanistan on Sunday.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement Monday that the United States will continue to assist citizens, permanent residents and Afghans affiliated with the United States government to leave Afghanistan. Price said: “We thank the Qatari authorities, who continue to coordinate these flights with the Taliban. “

Taliban Fire Director of the Afghan Cricket Council

The Taliban sacked the executive director of the Afghan cricket council.

Hamid Shinwari posted on his official Facebook page on Monday that he had been fired by Anas Haqqani, the younger brother of the new Taliban interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani. He said he was not given any reason for his dismissal, but was told he would be replaced by Naseebullah Haqqani. The official Afghanistan Cricket Board Facebook page also announced that Naseebullah Haqqani was the new executive director.

“We were them:” Vietnamese Americans help Afghan refugees

Faced with Afghans desperate to leave their country after the withdrawal of American forces, Thuy Do sees his own family decades earlier and thousands of miles away.

A 39-year-old doctor in Seattle, Washington, Do recalls hearing how his parents sought to leave Saigon after Vietnam fell under communist rule in 1975 and the US military airlifted its allies in the last hours. . It took her family years to finally leave the country, after several unsuccessful attempts, and make it to the United States, taking two sets of clothes per piece and $ 300 combined. When they finally arrived, she was 9 years old.

These stories and early memories prompted Do and her husband Jesse Robbins to reach out to help Afghans who are now fleeing their country.


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