WASHINGTON: Top US generals said Tuesday that they advised President Joe Biden to keep American troops in Afghanistan and expressed concern that the Taliban has not severed ties with Al-Qaeda.
General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of US Central Command, said they had personally recommended that some 2,500 troops remain on the ground in Afghanistan.
Biden, in April, ordered a complete pullout of US forces from the country by August 31, following through on an agreement reached with the Taliban by former president Donald Trump.
Milley, McKenzie and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were grilled for nearly six hours by members of the Senate Armed Services Committee about the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the chaotic evacuation from Kabul airport.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden had received “split” advice about what to do in Afghanistan, which the United States invaded following the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington.
“Ultimately, it’s up to the commander-in-chief to make a decision,” Psaki said. “He made a decision that it was time to end a 20-year war.”
Milley, who shrugged off calls from some Republican lawmakers for him to resign, was asked whether the pullout and disorderly evacuation, during which 13 American troops were killed in bomb attack, had damaged US credibility.
“I think that our credibility with allies and partners around the world and with adversaries is being intensely reviewed by them to see which way this is going to go and I think ‘damage’ is one word that could be used, yes,” he said.
Milley said the Taliban “was and remains a terrorist organization and they still have not broken ties with Al-Qaeda,” which plotted the 9/11 attacks from Afghanistan.
“It remains to be seen whether or not the Taliban can consolidate power or if the country will fracture into further civil war,” he said. “But we must continue to protect the American people from terrorist attacks emanating from Afghanistan.”
A reconstituted Al Qaeda or Daesh with aspirations to attack America remains “a very real possibility,” he said, but “it’s too early to determine their capability.”
Austin said the United States “did not fully comprehend the depth of corruption and poor leadership” in the Afghan armed forces.
“We helped build a state, but we could not forge a nation,” he said.
“The fact that the Afghan army we and our partners trained simply melted away — in many cases without firing a shot — took us all by surprise,” the Pentagon chief said. “It would be dishonest to claim otherwise.”
Austin said the United States had provided the Afghan military “with equipment and aircraft and the skills to use them” but “in the end, we couldn’t provide them with the will to win.”
Milley also testified about calls he made to his Chinese counterpart in the waning months of the Trump presidency.
He said they were intended to “de-escalate” tensions and the former president had no aim of attacking China.
“I know, I am certain, President Trump did not intend to attack the Chinese,” Milley said.
“My task at that time was to de-escalate. My message again was consistent: stay calm and steady and de-escalate. We are not going to attack you,” he said.
The calls between Milley and his Chinese counterpart, General Li Zuocheng, were first revealed in the book “Peril” by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.
The first call was on October 30, four days before the US presidential election, and the second was on January 8, two days after supporters of Trump stormed the US Capitol in an effort to prevent certification of Biden’s victory.
Some Republican lawmakers have accused Milley of overstepping his authority and called for him to resign.
Milley defended his actions and said the calls were coordinated with the then-secretaries of defense.
“The specific purpose of the October and January calls was generated by concerning intelligence which caused us to believe the Chinese were worried about an attack by the US,” Milley said.
“These military-to-military communications at the highest levels are critical to the security of the United States in order to deconflict military actions, manage crisis, and prevent war between great powers armed with nuclear weapons,” he said.
“At no time was I attempting to change or influence the process, usurp authority, or insert myself into the chain of command,” Milley added.
The top US general nevertheless admitted to speaking with Woodward before the publication of “Peril,” as well as with other journalists who have written highly critical books on the last months of Trump’s term.
“I think it’s very very important to make sure that senior officials talk to the media and all of its various forms in order to explain what we’re doing,” Milley said, noting, however, he could not confirm that his words were accurately represented in the books, having not read them.
US generals say they recommended keeping 2,500 troops in Afghanistan
https://arab.news/m58f2
US generals say they recommended keeping 2,500 troops in Afghanistan
Top Biden official doubts Israel can achieve ‘total victory’ in Gaza
- Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry
WASHINGTON: The Biden administration does not see it likely or possible that Israel will achieve “total victory” in defeating Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said on Monday.
While US officials have urged Israel to help devise a clear plan for the governance post-war Gaza, Campbell’s comments are the clearest to date from a top US official effectively admitting that Israel’s current military strategy won’t bring the result that it is aiming for.
“In some respects, we are struggling over what the theory of victory is,” Campbell said at a NATO Youth Summit in Miami. “Sometimes when we listen closely to Israeli leaders, they talk about mostly the idea of....a sweeping victory on the battlefield, total victory,” he said.
“I don’t think we believe that that is likely or possible and that this looks a lot like situations that we found ourselves in after 9/11, where, after civilian populations had been moved and lots of violence that...the insurrections continue.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to achieve “total victory” against Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.
In response, Israel unleashed a relentless assault on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 35,000 people, according to the figures of the Gazan health ministry, and reducing the densely populated tiny enclave to a wasteland.
Campbell’s comments come as Washington is warning Israel not to go ahead with a major military offensive in Rafah, the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip where over a million people who have already been displaced by Israeli attacks are taking shelter.
Likening the situation in Gaza to that of a recurring insurgency that the United States faced in Afghanistan and Iraq after its invasions there following the Sept. 11 attacks, Campbell said a political solution was required.
“I think we view that there has to be more of a political solution...What’s different from the past in that sense, many countries want to move toward a political solution in which the rights of Palestinians are more respected,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s ever been more difficult than right now,” he added.
Police aim to break up pro-Palestine protests in Amsterdam
- The Eindhoven University of Technology confirmed that there were “dozens of students peacefully protesting outside next to ten to 15 tents”
AMSTERDAM: Police moved in to end a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Amsterdam on Monday after protesters occupied university buildings in various Dutch cities to condemn Israel’s war in Gaza, ANP news agency reported.
Earlier on Monday, a Dutch protest group said it had occupied university buildings in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Groningen and Eindhoven.
In a post on social media site X, Amsterdam police said the university had filed a police report against the protesters for acts of vandalism.
Police made sure no one entered the university buildings and asked protesters to leave the premises voluntarily.
A spokesperson for the University of Amsterdam confirmed the occupation and said it had advised people not affiliated with the protest to leave the building.
The Eindhoven University of Technology confirmed that there were “dozens of students peacefully protesting outside next to ten to 15 tents.”
Students in the Netherlands have been protesting against Israel’s war in Gaza since last Monday and Dutch riot police had previously clashed with protesters at the University of Amsterdam.
Students in the US and Europe have also been holding mostly peaceful demonstrations calling for an immediate permanent ceasefire and for schools to cut financial ties with companies they say are profiting from the oppression of Palestinians.
Ukraine’s first lady and foreign minister visit Russia-friendly Serbia
- Although Serbia has condemned the Russian aggression on Ukraine, it has refused to join international sanctions against Moscow
BELGRADE, Serbia: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba made a surprise visit to Russia-friendly Serbia on Monday, together with Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, in a sign of warming relations between the two states.
On his first visit to Serbia since the start of the Russian aggression on Ukraine in 2022, Kuleba met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and new Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, whose government includes several pro-Russian ministers, including two who have been under US sanctions.
A statement issued by the prime minister’s office after the talks said that “Serbia is committed to respecting international law and the territorial integrity of every member state of the United Nations, including Ukraine.”
Although Serbia has condemned the Russian aggression on Ukraine, it has refused to join international sanctions against Moscow and has instead maintained warm and friendly relations with its traditional Slavic ally.
Serbia has proclaimed neutrality regarding the war in Ukraine, and its authorities repeat that Serbia does not supply weapons to any parties. However, there are reports that Serbia has delivered weapons to Ukraine through intermediary countries. The visit by Kuleba and Zelenska, who toured the Serbian capital with Serbian first lady Tamara Vucic on Sunday, was met with criticism in Moscow. Comments by readers in the Russian state-run media such as “shameful” were published by RIA Novosti.
In what appears to be damage control, soon after his talks with Kuleba on Monday, Vucevic was to meet the Russian ambassador to Belgrade and the two were to tour a big storage facility for Russian gas that is being imported to Serbia.
Pro-Russian President Vucic has informally met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy three times on the sidelines of international conferences. Serbia has supplied Ukraine with humanitarian and financial aid.
Vucic has for years claimed to follow a “neutral” policy, balancing ties among Moscow, Beijing, Brussels and Washington. Although he has repeatedly said that Serbia is firm on its proclaimed goal of seeking European Union membership, under his authoritarian rule the Balkan country appears to be shifting closer to Russia and especially China.
During a high-stakes visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Belgrade last week, China and Serbia signed an agreement to build “ironclad” relations and a “shared joint future.”
Modi’s BJP skips Kashmir as Indian election enters fourth phase
- Millions of Indians across 96 constituencies began voting on Monday
- Ruling party is not fighting elections in Kashmir for first time in 30 years
NEW DELHI: India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is not contesting elections in the Muslim-majority region of Kashmir for the first time in nearly three decades, as voting in the latest round of the national polls got underway on Monday.
The world’s most populous country began voting on April 19 in a seven-phase election that is scheduled to take place over six weeks, with ballots set to be counted on June 4.
India has 968 million people eligible to vote in the general election, where incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist BJP are aiming for a rare third consecutive term in power.
Monday’s voting involved 96 constituencies in the fourth round of polling.
While the BJP, which has been in power since 2014, and its allies are contesting every other part of India as they look to secure a majority of the 543 parliamentary seats, the party is sitting out in the northern Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
This year marks the region’s first election since Modi’s government stripped the valley of its special autonomous status and statehood — which was granted by the Indian Constitution — on Aug. 5, 2019. The move unilaterally revoked the relevant provisions under Article 370, scrapping Kashmir’s flag, legislature, protections on land ownership and fundamental rights, sparking fears of demographic engineering in the region.
“It’s really surprising that the BJP, which claimed to have over 800,000 cadres in the valley, failed to find a single candidate. It shows that the BJP is not popular in the valley,” Sanjay Tickoo, the Srinagar-based leader of the Hindu minority group Kashmiri Pandit, told Arab News.
“I am expecting a record turnout to show the central government what (they) have done to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. This is the reflection of anger … no one is happy in the valley after the abrogation of Article 370.”
Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir is part of the larger Kashmiri territory, which has been the subject of international dispute since the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. Both countries claim Kashmir in full and rule in part.
Modi said his government had been focusing on jobs and development as part of an effort to end violence in the valley, which has for decades witnessed outbreaks of separatist insurgencies to resist control from the government in New Delhi.
But after the BJP lost Kashmir’s three seats in the 2019 election, the party’s popularity slid further after it revoked the region’s autonomous status later the same year and subsequently imposed months of strict communication blockade and jailed hundreds of political leaders.
“The vote expresses not only anger but also apprehension against the anti-Muslim rants that have been going on as well as whatever they have done in Kashmir,” Professor Sheikh Showkat, a Srinagar-based political analyst, told Arab News.
Altaf Thakur, BJP spokesperson in Kashmir, said the party was still taking part in the Kashmir polls by supporting other regional parties.
“It is not correct to say that we are not fighting the election, we are playing the role of kingmaker and whichever way the cadres of the BJP will go, we will win,” he told Arab News.
“It’s not important whether we stand in the elections or not, the important thing is that we have to defeat the dynasty rulers,” he said, referring to the main contenders in the Kashmir polls, the National Conference and People’s Democratic Party.
While they are fighting each other in the valley, both parties have said they oppose the BJP and are part of the Congress party-led opposition alliance, known as India.
For some Kashmiri voters, Monday’s vote was about speaking up for themselves.
“The BJP knew that they cannot tolerate the wrath of the people of Kashmir. They fled the contest without a fight,” Aijaz Ahmed, a businessman from Srinagar, told Arab News.
“I voted today because it gave me an opportunity to express myself and tell the government in Delhi that you cannot keep us silenced. We want an atmosphere without fear and a region where our own identity is not questioned.”
5,000 Filipino pilgrims expected to fly to Makkah for Hajj
- Travelers ‘can expect VIP-like treatment,’ National Commission on Muslim Filipinos says
- First pilgrims will take off from Manila International Airport next week
MANILA: Thousands of Filipino pilgrims are set to travel to Makkah for the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos said on Monday, with the first batch set to leave for Saudi Arabia next week.
In the predominantly Catholic Philippines, Muslims constitute about 10 percent of the nearly 120 million population. Most live on the island of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago in the country’s south, as well as in the central-western province of Palawan.
The commission said that nearly 5,000 Muslims had confirmed they would travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage this year.
“We have already processed 96 percent of the pilgrims,” Zainoden Usudan, chief of Hajj operations at the NCMF’s Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment, said.
“They can expect VIP-like treatment, allowing them to fully concentrate on their pilgrimage.”
Officials from the commission have been working hard to ensure that the difficulties faced by pilgrims last year will not be a problem this time around.
“This time, we are making sure that food will not be a problem,” Usudan said, referring to problems with delayed meal deliveries in 2023.
He said the commission was working with a service provider in the Kingdom that had contingency plans for all aspects of the trip, including transportation.
The first Hajj flight from the Philippines is set to take off from Manila International Airport on May 23.
One of the five pillars of Islam, this year’s Hajj is expected to run from June 14-19. Many pilgrims extend their stays to make the most of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fulfill their religious duty.
