KABUL: Images of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s Monday meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson released by the Afghan government appear to have been digitally altered — a move that has drawn outraged responses.
Both the US Embassy in Kabul and the presidential palace released photographs of the meeting, which took place in a bunker at Bagram Airfield, America’s largest military base in Afghanistan — although some officials at the time stated that Tillerson and Ghani had met in Kabul.
It soon became clear that there were significant differences in the images released by the embassy and those released by the palace. For example, a digital clock and red fire alarm, clearly visible in an image released by the embassy, had been digitally erased from the palace’s image.
Dr. Zahir Ayoubi, deputy head of Afghanistan’s National Journalists Union, claimed the image had been manipulated so the palace could avoid the “embarrassment” of admitting Ghani and his delegation had traveled to Bagram to meet US officials.
As Karim Pakzad — a researcher specializing in Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran — pointed out in local daily Mandegar, the president’s meeting
with a visiting official on a US military base contravened diplomatic norms.
“This is an affront to the Afghan nation,” Pakzad wrote. “This meeting means (Ghani) was summoned by Tillerson.”
Journalist Bilal Sarwary tweeted: “If Ghani & Abdullah were sovereign enough, they would have refused to have a bilateral meeting in a bunker. These leaders are embarrassing the Afghan nation.”
Presidential spokesperson Shah Hussain Murtazawi downplayed the significance of the meeting’s location, saying, “Our government places national interests above all, and for the sake of national interests discussions and consultations can be held in any corner of the country.”
His response failed to explain why the palace felt it necessary to doctor images of the meeting, however.
“Had they dealt with the issue in an honest manner, that would have been much better,” Ayoubi told Arab News. “This can have a negative impact. It raises questions about why government dignitaries are hiding the truth from people.”
The palace’s decision has backfired dramatically, with national attention now firmly focused on the falsification of the images and what that says about Ghani’s administration.
Afghan journalist and activist Zaki Daryabi took to Facebook to suggest the palace had committed an illegal act. “Counterfeiting of documents is a crime,” he wrote.
The furor will likely further dent Ghani’s already-damaged image. Many have contrasted Monday’s meeting with former President Hamid Karzai’s refusal to meet his then-US counterpart Barak Obama at Bagram in 2014.
Journalist Saleha Soadat said the fact that the meeting was held in Bagram demonstrated that America lacks trust in the Afghan government, and that it considers its own officials superior to Afghanistan’s.
And Sediqullah Tawhidi, a member of the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, claimed, “The palace needs to explain why and how this has happened.”
Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, one of the leaders of the Afghan Millat party and former minister of finance, suggested the manipulation of the images reflected Ghani’s nature.
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Afghan government under fire for altering image of president’s meeting with US official
Afghan government under fire for altering image of president’s meeting with US official
FBI foils Daesh-inspired New Year’s Eve attack plot
- Christian Sturdivant,18, charged with attempting to provide material support to foreign terrorist organization
- Investigators say he shared plans for the attack with an undercover FBI employee
CHARLOTTE, United States: The FBI said Friday it disrupted a New Year’s Eve attack plot targeting a grocery store and fast-food restaurant in North Carolina, arresting an 18-year-old man who authorities say pledged loyalty to the Daesh group.
Christian Sturdivant was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization after investigators say he shared plans for the attack with an undercover FBI employee posing as a supportive confidant.
Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remained in custody after a federal court appearance Friday. An attorney representing him Friday did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Another hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7.
The alleged attack would have taken place one year after 14 people were killed in New Orleans by a US citizen and Army veteran who had proclaimed his support for Daesh on social media.
The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice and equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldn’t have the wherewithal to act alone.
Searches of Sturdivant’s home and phone uncovered what investigators described as a manifesto detailing plans for an attack with knives and a hammer, FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle said at a news conference Friday.
“He was willing to sacrifice himself,” Barnacle said.
US Attorney for western North Carolina Russ Ferguson said the planned attack in Mint Hill, a bedroom community near Charlotte, targeted “places that we go every day and don’t think that we may be harmed.”
Worried he might attempt violence before New Year’s Eve, the FBI placed Sturdivant under constant surveillance for days, including on Christmas, Ferguson said. Agents were prepared to arrest him earlier if he left his home with weapons, he said. “At no point was the public in harm’s way.”
The fact that Sturdivant encountered two undercover officers while allegedly planning the attack should reassure the public, Ferguson said. He declined to identify the grocery store and restaurant cited in the complaint, citing the ongoing investigation.
If convicted, Sturdivant faces up to 20 years in prison, according to court documents.
An FBI affidavit says the investigation began last month after authorities linked Sturdivant to a social media account that posted content supportive of Daesh, including imagery that appeared to promote violence. The account’s display name referenced Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the former leader of the extremist group.
Some experts argue that Daesh is powerful today partly as a brand, inspiring both militant groups and individuals in attacks that the group itself may have no real role in.
The affidavit says Sturdivant had been on the FBI’s radar in January 2022, when he was a minor, after officials learned that he had been in contact with a person in Europe the FBI says was an Daesh member, and had received instructions to dress in black, knock on people’s doors and commit attacks with a hammer.
At that time, Sturdivant did actually set out for a neighbor’s house armed with a hammer and a knife but was restrained by his grandfather, the affidavit says.
The FBI in Los Angeles last month announced the disruption of a separate New Year’s Eve plot, arresting members of an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group who federal officials said planned to bomb multiple sites in southern California.
Other Daesh-inspired attacks over the past decade include a 2015 shooting rampage by a husband-and-wife team who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, and a 2016 massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, by a gunman who fatally shot 49 people.
Christian Sturdivant was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization after investigators say he shared plans for the attack with an undercover FBI employee posing as a supportive confidant.
Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remained in custody after a federal court appearance Friday. An attorney representing him Friday did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Another hearing was scheduled for Jan. 7.
The alleged attack would have taken place one year after 14 people were killed in New Orleans by a US citizen and Army veteran who had proclaimed his support for Daesh on social media.
The FBI has foiled several alleged attacks through sting operations in which agents posed as terror supporters, supplying advice and equipment. Critics say the strategy can amount to entrapment of mentally vulnerable people who wouldn’t have the wherewithal to act alone.
Searches of Sturdivant’s home and phone uncovered what investigators described as a manifesto detailing plans for an attack with knives and a hammer, FBI Special Agent in Charge James Barnacle said at a news conference Friday.
“He was willing to sacrifice himself,” Barnacle said.
US Attorney for western North Carolina Russ Ferguson said the planned attack in Mint Hill, a bedroom community near Charlotte, targeted “places that we go every day and don’t think that we may be harmed.”
Worried he might attempt violence before New Year’s Eve, the FBI placed Sturdivant under constant surveillance for days, including on Christmas, Ferguson said. Agents were prepared to arrest him earlier if he left his home with weapons, he said. “At no point was the public in harm’s way.”
The fact that Sturdivant encountered two undercover officers while allegedly planning the attack should reassure the public, Ferguson said. He declined to identify the grocery store and restaurant cited in the complaint, citing the ongoing investigation.
If convicted, Sturdivant faces up to 20 years in prison, according to court documents.
An FBI affidavit says the investigation began last month after authorities linked Sturdivant to a social media account that posted content supportive of Daesh, including imagery that appeared to promote violence. The account’s display name referenced Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the former leader of the extremist group.
Some experts argue that Daesh is powerful today partly as a brand, inspiring both militant groups and individuals in attacks that the group itself may have no real role in.
The affidavit says Sturdivant had been on the FBI’s radar in January 2022, when he was a minor, after officials learned that he had been in contact with a person in Europe the FBI says was an Daesh member, and had received instructions to dress in black, knock on people’s doors and commit attacks with a hammer.
At that time, Sturdivant did actually set out for a neighbor’s house armed with a hammer and a knife but was restrained by his grandfather, the affidavit says.
The FBI in Los Angeles last month announced the disruption of a separate New Year’s Eve plot, arresting members of an extremist anti-capitalist and anti-government group who federal officials said planned to bomb multiple sites in southern California.
Other Daesh-inspired attacks over the past decade include a 2015 shooting rampage by a husband-and-wife team who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, and a 2016 massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, by a gunman who fatally shot 49 people.
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