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Operations
Defense Policy / Programs
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News Reports

Current Operations

• Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby Holds a Press Briefing DoD 21 Aug 2021
• U.S. Seeks to Open More Locations to Aid Evacuation From Kabul, General Says DoD News 21 Aug 2021 -- DOD officials provided an overview of efforts to evacuate U.S. citizens and eligible Afghans from Kabul.
• With Security Deteriorating, U.S. Warns Against Traveling To Kabul Airport RFE/RL Gandhara 21 Aug 2021 -- Tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan waited nervously on August 21 to see whether the United States would deliver on U.S. President Joe Biden's new pledge to evacuate all Americans and all Afghans who aided the war effort.
• Afghanistan Evacuees Arrive In Tajikistan, Uzbekistan RFE/RL Gandhara 21 Aug 2021 -- Four Turkish military planes carrying troops evacuated from the country's operations in Afghanistan have landed in Tajikistan, as neighboring Uzbekistan welcomed hundreds of Afghan refugees and put them up in temporary housing on August 21.
• Taliban Leaders Gather In Kabul To Discuss Governing Plans RFE/RL Gandhara 21 Aug 2021 -- The Taliban's senior leadership was gathering in Kabul on August 21 to map out its plans for a future government following the hard-line Islamist group's seizure of the Afghan capital.
• Turkish, Greek Leaders Say They Won't Accept Afghan Migrant Wave RFE/RL Gandhara 21 Aug 2021 -- Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed Afghanistan as concern mounts over a new migration wave to Europe.
• US Embassy Tells Americans: Do Not Go to Kabul Airport VOA 21 Aug 2021 -- The U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued a new security warning Saturday advising Americans not to go to the airport without "individual instructions from a U.S. government representative," noting possible security threats posed by the Islamic State outside the airport gates.
• Taliban Days From 'Inclusive Islamic' Afghanistan VOA 21 Aug 2021 -- A week after retaking power in Afghanistan through stunning military victories, leaders of the Taliban insurgency are still conducting internal talks and meetings with former rivals on forming what they have promised will be an "inclusive Islamic government."
• Greece Builds 25-mile Fence to Fend Off Afghan Refugees VOA 21 Aug 2021 -- Greece has erected a 25-mile fence and installed a new surveillance system on its border with Turkey as fears mount of a surge in Afghan refugees trying to reach Europe. Greece has faced recurring refugee crises since 2015, when more than a million mainly Syrian refugees swarmed through its land and sea borders to escape conflict in their homeland.
• White House: US Has Evacuated 17,000 From Kabul in Past Week VOA 21 Aug 2021 -- The U.S. military evacuated about 3,800 people from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul in the past 24 hours, the White House announced Saturday, and 17,000 since August 14, the Saturday before the Taliban entered Kabul.
• Biden Vows to Bring Americans Home From Afghanistan VOA 21 Aug 2021 -- U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated a vow Friday to stay in Afghanistan until all American citizens who want to leave and Afghans who risked their lives working for the U.S. government during the conflict have been evacuated.
• Afghan Refugees Expected in Uganda VOA 21 Aug 2021 -- Ugandan officials have confirmed the country will be receiving 145 evacuees from Afghanistan on Sunday.
• Erdogan Reiterates Interest in Securing Kabul Airport, Faces Criticism VOA 21 Aug 2021 -- Despite earlier reports that Turkey had dropped plans to secure Kabul's international airport, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Turkey is ready to talk with the Taliban about what role, if any, Turkey would play in Afghanistan.
• Taliban Days From 'Inclusive Islamic' Afghanistan VOA 21 Aug 2021 -- A week after retaking power in Afghanistan through stunning military victories, leaders of the Taliban insurgency are still conducting internal talks and meetings with former rivals on forming what they have promised will be an "inclusive Islamic government."
• WHO: Afghan Medical Facilities Functioning; Concerns About COVID Spread VOA 21 Aug 2021 -- The Taliban swept through Afghanistan, taking most of the country's 34 provincial capitals in about nine days. The insurgent group reached Kabul on Sunday.
• Readout of President Biden's Call with Speaker Pelosi on Afghanistan Evacuations and the Build Back Better Agenda The White House 21 Aug 2021
• Readout of President Joe Biden's Call with President Pedro Sánchez of Spain The White House 21 Aug 2021
• Readout of President Joe Biden's Call with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed The White House 21 Aug 2021
• Fleet Surgical Team 2 Joins USS Arlington for Haiti Mission US Navy 21 Aug 2021 -- Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 2 joined the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) as the ship departed Norfolk to support the United States Agency for International Development/Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA) led humanitarian assistance and disaster relief effort in Haiti to save lives and ease suffering following a 7.2-magnitute earthquake on Aug. 14, 2021.
• USS Arlington Arrives in Haiti to Support USAID US Navy 21 Aug 2021 -- The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS Arlington (LPD 24) arrived in U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations off the coast Haiti to begin humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, Aug. 21.
• Tennessee Guard continues COVID-19 response amid Delta variant Army News 21 Aug 2021 -- Soldiers and Airmen of the Tennessee National Guard have been working alongside and supporting the Tennessee Department of Health, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and various other state and local agencies to combat the spread of COVID-19 since March 2020.

Defense Policy / Programs

• Marines strike ship with pair of Naval Strike Missiles USMC News 21 Aug 2021 -- Marines participating in Large Scale Exercise 2021 employed a pair of Naval Strike Missiles that traveled more than 100 nautical miles through simulated mountain ranges and shipping lanes before striking a naval target ship at sea.
• Gerald R. Ford Departs Norfolk for Newport News, Commences Planned Incremental Availability US Navy 21 Aug 2021 -- The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) departed Naval Station Norfolk to make the transit to Newport News Shipyard in support of her Planned Incremental Availability (PIA), a six-month period of modernization, maintenance, and repairs, Aug. 20, 2021.
• CSTO, SCO Turn Attention To Afghan Situation RFE/RL Gandhara 21 Aug 2021 -- International alliances involving Russia have turned their attention to developments in Kabul, with the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) preparing to meet and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) looking for ways to resolve the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.
• EXERCISE KONKAN 2021 India PIB 21 Aug 2021 -- Exercise Konkan 2021 was held between INS Tabar and HMS Westminster on 16 Aug 21 in the English Channel.
• Secretary Blinken's Call with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Landsbergis US Dept. of State 21 Aug 2021

Defense Industry

Other Conflicts

• Why the EU Sides with Southeast Asia in the South China Sea Dispute VOA 21 Aug 2021 -- European Union members will step up their advocacy of open access to the disputed South China Sea, a key world trade route, despite Chinese claims to nearly all of it as they discuss the issue with Southeast Asian countries, analysts believe.
• FM spox: No Iranian military advisors present in Yemen IRNA 21 Aug 2021 -- Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said here on Saturday that Iran has no military advisors in Yemen, let alone his being killed in bombardments of the invaders.
• Syria: Eighth Anniversary of the Ghouta Chemical Weapons Attack US Dept. of State 21 Aug 2021 -- Eight years ago, on the early morning of August 21, 2013, the Assad regime released the nerve agent sarin on its own people in the Ghouta district of Damascus, killing more than 1,400 Syrians, many of them children.
• Tibetans Chafe at Repression as China Celebrates 70 Years of Rule over Tibet Radio Free Asia 21 Aug 2021 -- China flew in political heavyweights, pumped up a propaganda campaign, and staged a gala celebration in Lhasa this week to mark 70 years since the People's Liberation Army invaded Tibet, in an event that rekindled resentment among Tibetans over broken promises and repression.
• Cameroon Military Raids Separatist-Held Roads, Kill Seven Self-proclaimed Separatist Generals VOA 21 Aug 2021 -- Cameroon says its military has killed seven self-proclaimed separatist generals who blocked traffic for a month on roads in the central African state's English-speaking western regions. The military says during a two-week operation, it recovered 70 vehicles the fighters had seized from civilians and rescued several women and children held hostage in separatist camps.
• A Final Appeal and the Khmer Rouge Tribunal Winds Down VOA 21 Aug 2021 -- The last surviving leader of the Khmer Rouge, Khieu Samphan, has made his final appeal against his conviction for genocide as the long-running United Nations-backed Cambodia tribunal held its last public hearings before winding down.

News Reports

• Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's telephone conversation with Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Shah Mahmood Qureshi Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs 21 Aug 2021
• Beijing Calls On Pakistan To Protect Chinese Nationals Following Deadly Roadside Attack RFE/RL Gandhara 21 Aug 2021 -- Beijing has asked Islamabad to take steps to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals in Pakistan following a deadly suicide attack in the southwestern province of Balochistan.
• Iran President Says His Proposed Cabinet Will Focus On Coronavirus, Economy RFE/RL 21 Aug 2021 -- Recently elected Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said his government will place a priority on fighting COVID-19.
• Thirty Years After Independence From Moscow, Ukraine Struggles To Throw Off Oligarch Yoke RFE/RL 21 Aug 2021 -- When Ukraine's Constitutional Court dismantled much of the nation's anti-corruption legislation in October 2020, dealing a blow to Kyiv's reform agenda and its reputation abroad, many observers discerned what they believe was the influence of powerful local magnates.