Joint Statement

From the US State Department’s Website:

“Joint Statement on Afghanistan Evacuation Travel Assurances”

The text of the following statement was released initially by the Governments of the United States of America, Albania, Australia, Belgium, Belize, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Canada, Central African Republic, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Eswatini, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Korea, Republic of Kosovo, Romania, Rwanda, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, St. Kitts and Nevis, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland , The Bahamas, The Gambia, The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Union of the Comoros, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Yemen, and Zambia with regard to Afghanistan evacuation travel assurances.

Begin Text:  We are all committed to ensuring that our citizens, nationals and residents, employees, Afghans who have worked with us and those who are at risk can continue to travel freely to destinations outside Afghanistan.  We have received assurances from the Taliban that all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with travel authorization from our countries will be allowed to proceed in a safe and orderly manner to points of departure and travel outside the country.  We will continue issuing travel documentation to designated Afghans, and we have the clear expectation of and commitment from the Taliban that they can travel to our respective countries.  We note the public statements of the Taliban confirming this understanding.  End text.

***This statement was initially released on August 29, 2021 and may be updated online***

^ This sounds good, but doesn’t mean much until we see if the Taliban will actually allow Afghani men, women and children with the documentation to leave Afghanistan. It's important the countries (like Russia and China) that don't support this. ^

https://www.state.gov/joint-statement-on-afghanistan-evacuation-travel-assurances/

Nowzad Safe/Where's KSAR?

 From the BBC:

“Afghanistan: Pen Farthing has 'mixed emotions' after landing in UK”

The founder of an animal shelter in Afghanistan has said he has "mixed emotions" after arriving in the UK after leaving Kabul. Paul "Pen" Farthing landed at Heathrow Airport on Sunday morning, having previously been caught up in Thursday's Kabul airport bomb blasts. Mr Farthing's charity Nowzad confirmed he and his animals left the country on Saturday without his staff. He said on Twitter he had "true deep feeling of sadness for Afghan today".

Mr Farthing, a former Royal Marine who is originally from Dovercourt in Essex, set up the Nowzad animal shelter in Kabul, rescuing dogs, cats and donkeys, after serving in Afghanistan in the mid-2000s. Since the collapse of the Afghan government, Mr Farthing and his supporters have campaigned to have his staff, their families and 140 dogs and 60 cats evacuated from the country in a plan he named Operation Ark. But Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has complained some of Mr Farthing's supporters had "taken up too much time of my senior commanders dealing with this issue when they should be focused on dealing with the humanitarian crisis". In a post on Sunday afternoon, Mr Farthing said he arrived at Heathrow with a "partial success" of Operation Ark. "Mixed emotions and true deep feeling of sadness for Afghan today," he said. Mr Farthing added he had "witnessed first hand the compassion Heathrow is showing Afghan refugees".

Dr Iain McGill, a vet on the plane back with Mr Farthing, which made a stop-off in another country before returning to the UK, said there were also between 90 to 100 dogs and 60 to 70 cats on the flight. "The animals, considering what they've been through, are in very good shape on the whole," Dr McGill told the BBC. He said they had been checked and had gone to quarantine kennels, adding: "As you can imagine they're not short of homes for these animals." He added that Mr Farthing was "very concerned for his staff and for all the other people suffering in Afghanistan". The Nowzad charity said on social media that it was a "devastating blow" that their "wonderful team" had been left behind. But speaking to LBC on Saturday, Foreign Affairs Select Committee chair Tom Tugendhat said: "The difficulty is getting people into and out of the airport and we've just used a lot of troops to bring in 200 dogs, meanwhile my interpreter's family are likely to be killed. "As one interpreter asked me a few days ago 'why is my five-year-old worth less than your dog?'," the Conservative MP added. On Friday, the MoD said Mr Farthing and his animals were assisted by the UK Armed Forces through Kabul airport. Confirming the news Mr Farthing and the animals had left Afghanistan on Saturday night, the Nowzad charity said their "thoughts for now are with our staff and the many people and animals who have also been left behind. We will do our utmost to help them". The final British flight left Afghanistan on Saturday, bringing to an end the UK's 20-year military involvement in the country. More than 15,000 people have been evacuated by the UK since 14 August.

^ Pen Farthing (a Former British Marine) and his 140 dogs and 60 cats landed at Heathrow Airport in London, England today. He was forced to leave his Afghani Vets and Workers behind.

There is still no word on American Charlotte Maxwell-Jones of Kabul Small Animal Rescue, her Afghani Vets and Workers or her animals. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-58370218

The 13

This combination of photos released by the 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton/U.S. Department of Defense shows twelve service members killed in the Kabul Airport bombing in Afghanistan on Aug. 26, 2021.

Top Row, from left: Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, Calif., Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, Calif., Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah, Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska, and Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Bottom Row, from left: Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana, Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas, Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri, Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyo., Navy Corpsman, Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio and Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee.

Pictured separately is Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Roseville, Calif.

Pumpkin Mask

 

6 Devastated

 From Yahoo:

“Six of RFK's children 'devastated' by vote to release assassin”

Six of Robert F. Kennedy’s 11 children expressed outrage and vowed “to challenge every step of the way” the California parole board’s vote to release their father’s assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, from prison. “We are devastated that the man who murdered our father has been recommended for parole,” they wrote in a statement issued Friday. “He took our father from our family and he took him from America. … We are in disbelief that this man would be recommended for release.”

The statement was signed by former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, Christopher G. Kennedy (a former Illinois gubernatorial candidate), Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Maxwell T. Kennedy and Rory Kennedy.

Their statement follows news that Douglas Kennedy, a toddler when his father was gunned down in California in 1968, told a two-person board panel that he was moved to tears by Sirhan’s remorse. “I’m overwhelmed just by being able to view Mr. Sirhan face to face,” he said. “I’ve lived my life both in fear of him and his name in one way or another. And I am grateful today to see him as a human being worthy of compassion and love.” Another sibling, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-violence advocate, wrote a letter supporting Sirhan’s parole. RFK's oldest daughter, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, and his widow, Ethel Kennedy, are not listed as having spoken publicly about the parole board decision. Two other children are deceased.

The parole board’s larger staff will review the recommendation for Sirhan’s release over the next 90 days before it is sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who then has 30 days to decide on whether to grant it. Robert F. Kennedy was a U.S. senator from New York running for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination when he was gunned down by Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Five others were wounded. The nation reeled having also seen the assassination of of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, in 1963. Sirhan, who has said he was drunk and couldn’t remember shooting RFK, was convicted of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death, but that sentence was commuted to life when the California Supreme Court briefly outlawed capital punishment in 1972. 

^ I cannot imagine how the 6 children must feel betrayed by their 2 siblings for what they did to help the Murderer of their Father. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/news/six-rfks-children-devastated-vote-171400893.html

KSAR Needs Rescue!

From the Irish Sun:

“DEADLINE LOOMING Kabul Small Animal Rescue running out of time to get dogs, cats and staff out of Afghanistan before Taliban’s deadline”

An animal charity has just days left to evacuate dogs, cats and its staff out of Afghanistan before the Taliban's August 31 deadline. Kabul Small Animal Rescue has been stuck at Kabul Airport for four days - and is running out of time.

The animals have just days to leave the country. The charity said they 'remain hopeful.’ The charity said they 'remain hopeful.’ They wrote on Facebook: "We are all exhausted as we round the corner on our fourth day of Kabul Airport mayhem. "It has been difficult for everyone and we have had some success, but have a long way to go and not much time. "We will remain hopeful and use the time we have remaining to do our very best to move out the staff animals. "We are eternally grateful for all the assistance."

Founder of the charity Charlotte Maxwell-Jones, from the US, said if they are still on the ground when the deadline passes "all bets are off." The charity previously thanked the public for donating to the cause. Earlier this week, they said: "Everyone at KSAR is so grateful for the many donations that have come in to help us all evacuate. "We're also delighted to say that some of the outreach and advocacy efforts have given us some traction when it comes to flight permissions. "We have several contingency plans in the works and are optimistic that we will be able to see concrete results soon. "While things are still difficult here and we would all like to sleep as peacefully as our crashed out puppies, our staff are working hard to collect the animals from rescues throughout the city that have fewer transport options and working on intake of those animals that have been dropped off in anticipation of evacuation flights. "The fundraising efforts continue to blow us away, and we need your continued support to pull off this miracle for all of us. Please consider a donation."

^ I can only hope that Charlotte Maxwell-Jones, her Afghani staff and her animals can get out before the US stops the evacuations because the Taliban have already threatened her (as an American and as a woman) and she is in danger. ^

https://www.thesun.ie/news/7517017/kabul-small-animal-rescue-running-out-of-time-afghanistan-taliban-deadline/

Pen Farthing Safe

 

 

 

From the Nowzad’s Facebook Page:

“We are relieved to confirm that Pen and the Nowzad animals left Afghanistan this afternoon and are now safe.  However, we still have much to do as our wonderful team in Kabul were not allowed through the final barrier. It was a devastating blow to us. We are now working extremely hard to get them evacuated and will not rest until they too are safe.   Our thoughts for now are with our staff and the many people and animals who have also been left behind. We will do our utmost to help them.   The last few days have been extremely difficult and hazardous for Pen and the Nowzad team and we very much appreciate your patience and messages of support as we have strived to get them to safety.  We know that Pen will update you as soon as he is able.  For now, thank you so much for the incredible support you have shown the whole Nowzad team. It has given our staff the strength to cope with this desperate situation.”

^ I am so happy that Pen Farthing (the British Former Soldier) and 173 of his animals made it out of Afghanistan to safety. Unfortunately, he had to leave his Afghani Vets and workers behind due to both the Taliban and the British and Americans Politicians. ^

Sergeant Nicole L. Gee

From Yahoo:

“Marine killed in Kabul attack spent final days with child evacuees”

On Saturday, officials identified 13 U.S. service members who were killed in an ISIS-K attack outside of Kabul's airport. Among them was Marine Corps Sergeant Nicole L. Gee who just days before her death was one of several Marines seen cradling and comforting Afghan children prior to their evacuation from the country.

On August 21, Gee posted a photo of herself holding an Afghan child on Instagram. "I love my job," the 23-year-old Sacramento native wrote. U.S. service members were at the Kabul airport to help evacuate tens of thousands of people left vulnerable after the Taliban took over the country. Gee was sworn into the Marines less than a year ago and was promoted to sergeant three weeks before the Kabul attack, according to posts on her Instagram account.

In a now viral Facebook post, one of Gee's friends, Mallory Harrison, penned an emotional tribute to her friend.  "Her car is parked in our lot. It's so mundane. Simple. But it's there. ... There was an explosion. And just like that, she's gone. ... Her car is still there and she's gone forever," Harrison wrote. Harrison said she and Gee were corporals and sergeants "together" and had been roommates for more than three years.  "We've been attached at the hip from the beginning," she said. "I can't quite describe the feeling I get when I force myself to come back to reality and think about how I'm never going to see her again. How her last breath was taken doing what she loved —helping people — at HKIA in Afghanistan."

Gee was married to a fellow Marine, Jarod Gee, her sister Misty Fuoco said. Nicole posted several Instagram photos of her and her husband celebrating the holidays and celebrating his own promotion to sergeant just a few months ago. "They had a bond like nothing I've ever seen and I'm so devastated that he has lost the love of his life. She was everything to Jarod, the bright sun to his life. They are both Marines and have dedicated themselves to serving this country," Fuoco wrote on a GoFundMe page. "She gave the ultimate sacrifice."

Thursday's bombing killed 13 U.S. service members and dozens of Afghans. Eleven of the 13 killed were Marines, and all but one were under the age of 30. Eighteen other U.S. service members were injured.

^ This is such a sad and heartwarming story at the same time. It really shows the dedication the men and women of the US Military have. ^

https://news.yahoo.com/marine-killed-kabul-attack-spent-204100790.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

USEUCOM's Support

^ This is current as of yesterday and is only valid for USEUCOM (United Stated European Command.) These numbers alone show the true impact of the statement "Suits Not The Boots."

The Suits (Biden. his Advisors, the State Department, etc.) completely failed and continue to fail with the Fall of Afghanistan and the evacuation of American Civilians, Western Civilians and our Afghani Allies.

The Boots (the men and women of the US Military) have worked and continue to work tirelessly to get Americans, Westerners and our Afghani Allies out of Kabul (within the limits set forth by the "Suits.”)

13 US Soldiers were killed and 18 US Soldiers were wounded at the Kabul Airport while doing their mission to save lives.

111,000 people have been evacuated out of Afghanistan by the US Military and are safe from both the Taliban and ISIS, but the work of the US Military doesn't end there.

US Soldiers, their families and volunteers have to feed and care for the thousands upon thousands of men, women and children on bases throughout Europe, the Middle East and the United States on a daily basis - providing everything since most were forced to flee with nothing except the clothes on their back.

It is August and the places the American Bases are at (Qatar, Germany, Italy, Spain, Virginia, Texas, etc.) are extremely hot and keeping the evacuees cool is added on top of being fed, clothed, etc.

Many Soldiers work their regular jobs during the day and then Volunteer their free time to help the men, women and children in need so they know that while the Suits may have failed the Boots have not.

Take a moment to think about all the hard work the men and women of the US Military have done and continue to do so that we ordinary Americans can hold our heads a little higher knowing that someone is doing something right and just in our name. ^

Ida Coming

From News Nation:

“U.S. Gulf Coast braces for Hurricane Ida after Cuba hit”

Hurricane Ida on Saturday strengthened and the reach of its winds expanded over warm Gulf of Mexico waters, prompting tens of thousands to cut short vacations and jam Louisiana highways. Forecasters said it could make U.S. landfall as an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, generating winds of 140 miles per hour, heavy downpours and a tidal surge that could plunge much of the Louisiana shoreline under several feet of water. On Saturday morning, Ida was about 435 miles southeast of Houma, Louisiana, packing top winds of 85 mph and tracking toward a late Sunday landfall, the National Hurricane Center said. “We’re concerned about explosive development shortly before it makes landfall,” said Jim Foerster, chief meteorologist at DTN, which provides weather advice to oil and transportation companies. “It’s going to be moving over some warm water,” he said. Flooding from Ida’s storm surge — high water driven by the hurricane’s winds — could reach between 10 and 15 feet around the mouth of the Mississippi River, with lower levels extending east along the adjacent coastlines of Mississippi and Alabama, the NHC said. Officials ordered widespread evacuations of low-lying and coastal areas, jamming highways and leading some gasoline stations to run dry as residents and vacationers fled the seashore.

POWER OUTAGES EXPECTED Utilities were bringing in extra crews and equipment to deal with expected power losses from the storm. Hundreds of thousands of homes could fall dark as Ida’s strong winds carry well into Louisiana and as far east at Mobile, Alabama, said DTN’s Foerster. Lifelong Gulf resident Hailey DeLaune, 29, told Reuters she and her fiancé spent Friday evening boarding up the windows of his house in Gulfport, Mississippi, and gathering provisions to ride out the storm. “Hurricanes have always been part of my life,” said the high school theology teacher, who was born during 1992’s Category 5 Hurricane Andrew. “You just run through your list and hope for the best.” Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, whose state is reeling from a public health crisis stemming from a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, urged residents to ready themselves for the hurricane immediately. “Now is the time to finish your preparations,” he said at a Friday news conference. “By nightfall tomorrow night, you need to be where you intend to ride out the storm. Edwards declared a state of emergency, and U.S. President Joe Biden issued a pre-landfall federal emergency declaration at Edwards’ request. It authorized the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts in the state.

GASOLINE OUTPUT CUT U.S. energy companies sharply reduced offshore petroleum production by nearly 60% and gasoline refiners cut operations at Louisiana plants in the path of the storm. Regional fuel prices rose in anticipation of production losses. Phillips 66 completed a shut-down of its Alliance refinery on Louisiana’s coast and PBF Energy Inc. reduced its Chalmette, Louisiana, processing, people familiar with the matter said. PBF did not reply to request for comment. Ida, the ninth named storm and fourth hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, may well exceed the strength of Hurricane Laura, the last Category 4 storm to strike Louisiana, by the time it makes landfall, forecasters said. The region was devastated in August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,800 people.

^ It looks like Ida will be a very dangerous storm for Louisiana. ^

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/mid-south/us-gulf-coast-residents-flee-extremely-dangerous-hurricane-ida/

British Leave Kabul

From the BBC:

“Afghanistan: Final UK flight for civilians leaves Kabul, says government”

The UK's final evacuation flight purely for civilians has left Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, the Ministry of Defence has said. Further flights which leave will have UK diplomatic and military personnel on board, it added. The head of the armed forces, Gen Sir Nick Carter, said it was "heartbreaking" they had not been able to rescue everybody. He said hundreds of Afghans eligible to come to the UK remained in Afghanistan. A mass airlift has been under way since the Taliban took control of the capital, with a deadline of 31 August in place for foreign troops to leave the country. The US has been running the airport in Afghanistan's capital, where a suicide bomb attack on Thursday may have killed as many as 170 people - including two British nationals and the child of a British national. Among those killed in the attack was Mohammad Niazi - a taxi driver from London - who had travelled to Afghanistan to help his family get inside the airport. It has not been confirmed whether he was one of the UK nationals referred to by the Foreign Office. His brother Abdul Hamid said Mr Niazi been killed during the firing in the aftermath of the blast. He said his wife and two of his children were still missing.

More than 1,000 UK troops were in Kabul helping to process departures at the airport at the height of the operation. Some have already left and the rest will depart over the weekend. The British ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir Laurie Bristow, who remained at Kabul airport, tweeted that nearly 15,000 people had been evacuated but it was "time to close this phase of the operation now". He added: "But we haven't forgotten the people who still need to leave. We'll continue to do everything we can to help them."

Chief of the defence staff Sir Nick told Radio 4's Today programme: "[The evacuation] has gone as well as it could do in the circumstances... but we haven't been able to bring everybody out and that has been heartbreaking, and there have been some very challenging judgements that have had to be made on the ground." He said the number of Afghans who were eligible to come to the UK but remained in Afghanistan was in the "high hundreds". He suggested some would not have wanted to take the risk of travelling to the airport - or been unable to - rather than it being down to "processing" issues. But he added: "We are forever receiving messages and texts from our Afghan friends that are very distressing. So we're all living this in the most painful way." He said those of them who hadn't been able to leave via evacuation flights but were able to get out another way would "always be welcome in Britain". Those already evacuated include British nationals, as well as almost 8,000 Afghans eligible under the UK's relocation scheme for those who worked for the UK government and other vulnerable individuals. As of Friday, the government said between 800 and 1,100 eligible Afghans and 100 to 150 Britons had not been evacuated. Chairman of the foreign affairs select committee Tom Tugendhat, who served in the military in Afghanistan, told BBC Breakfast he was "extremely sad" so many of his friends had been left behind and he was continuing to work to get people out of the country. However, he said people should "forget" about trying to get to Kabul airport, due to the numerous dangerous checkpoints that have been installed along the motorways. "We're looking at different networks to get people into second countries, and then connecting them to high commissions and ambassadors of the United Kingdom, to get them to the UK safely," he said.

^ The British have stopped evacuating British Citizens and the Afghanis who helped them. The British have left behind around 150 British Citizens and 1,1000 Afghani Allies. I do not know if Pen Farthing and his animals were able to leave or not.  Right now only the United States is still evacuating people, but not for much longer. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58367225

Russians Fine Support

From the MT:

“Russians Fined for Protest in Support of Afghan Women”

Russia has fined two activists for organizing a demonstration in support of Afghan women who face an uncertain future after the Taliban returned to power in the country, a court said Friday. The two activists, Artemy Pityukov and Ksenia Bezdenezhnykh, were fined 200,000 rubles ($2,670) each for "violating public order", a spokeswoman for the Presnensky district court in Moscow told AFP.   The activists took part in a small-scale demonstration on Monday outside Afghanistan's embassy in Moscow. They took turns holding up posters in a "solitary picket" line, one of the last forms of protest in Russia that do not need official authorization. Six activists were detained, according to independent monitor OVD-Info.  Another "solitary picket" took place in Russia's second city Saint Petersburg but without arrests. "Being a woman in Afghanistan is now deadly dangerous," read one of the posters, according to images shared on social media.  Moscow has been cautiously optimistic about the new government in Kabul after the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan in a military takeover earlier this month.  Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said last week that the militant group – known for its severe treatment of women – "is ready to take into account" women's rights. In the past, the Taliban had prevented girls and women from attending school and working jobs, and required them to be accompanied by a male chaperone. They faced corporal punishment or even execution for violating the Taliban's laws.

^ Putin has to clamp down on any demonstrations inside Russia (even if they are for something outside the country) because he knows that ordinary Russians could easily start really demonstrating against him. ^

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/08/27/russians-fined-for-protest-in-support-of-afghan-women-a74919

Time For Answers

From CBC:

“Why Canada failed to rescue 'a hell of a lot more' Afghans, according to former generals”

The Liberal government could have evacuated many more Afghans from the troubled region had it streamlined its cumbersome bureaucratic process and maintained a stronger military and diplomatic presence, former top Canadian military commanders and experts say. While the Canadian government was able to evacuate more than 3,700 people from Kabul, the number should have been "a hell of a lot more," said retired major-general David Fraser, who commanded more than 2,000 NATO coalition troops during Operation Medusa in the Afghan province of Kandahar in 2006. "The international world was surprised by the speed at which the Taliban took over. And [the Canadian government] applied the bureaucracy they had for normal operations," Fraser said.  Fraser, along with retired major-generals Denis Thompson and Dean Milner are all volunteering to help extract Afghan interpreters from Afghanistan. They are all former task-force commanders of Afghanistan, and have blamed government bureaucracy for gumming up the system and creating obstacles for Afghans trying to flee the country. Those Afghans include former interpreters and support staff as well as their families who are now at risk of Taliban arrest or worse for having worked with the Canadian military and other organizations.

'Bureaucratic clumsiness' Earlier this week, another retired Canadian general, former chief of the defence staff Rick Hillier told CBC's Power & Politics that Canada had "not shone greatly" and that the operation had been "so cluttered by bureaucratic clumsiness, bureaucratic inefficiency, bureaucratic paperwork." He was joined by other veterans and advocates who had complained for weeks about Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's handling of the crisis, which included complicated forms for Afghans to fill out, unrealistic and confusing application requirements and complete silence from the department after paperwork has been submitted. Former lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie, who is also former Liberal MP, also took the government to task, tweeting: "Canada's poor initial response in Kabul points to an extreme of centralized political micro-management." This week, Canadian officials announced that evacuation operations had finished ahead of the planned U.S. withdrawal from the country and that no more Canadian-operated flights were planned to take people out of Kabul.

Canada urges those left in Afghanistan to stay put and not lose hope However, Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families, and those seeking refuge in Canada still remain and that it's still not known how many potential migrants to Canada are still stuck in Afghanistan. Officials said they have received applications representing 8,000 people and that two-thirds of those applications have been processed.  Some of those applications, said Hillier, would have been difficult to fill out in Canada — "let alone someone in Afghanistan where paperwork is non-existent and identity forms and background stuff is sometimes very difficult or impossible to find."

'Nowhere near the numbers' Milner agreed that the extra paperwork and bureaucracy meant people leaving Afghanistan were "nowhere near the numbers that we would have liked to have." "When you've got tight timelines, you've got to understand what to cut out," he said. "You've got to be able to get to the cut to the chase." Instead, Afghans with basic documentation should have just been allowed to be airlifted to third-party locations where they could have been rigorously assessed through the "normal Canadian bureaucratic process," Fraser said. Thompson, who has expressed frustration with Ottawa's handling of the evacuation, told CBC News on Friday that at this stage, with the government airlift operation over, he didn't feel it prudent to criticize Ottawa for its response.   He said his focus was on the future and securing the passage of as many Afghans as possible.  Still, days earlier, he told CBC News Network about Afghans waiting outside the perimeter of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul and of a family, having dodged Taliban checkpoints, being denied access even though they had documentation and Canadian passports. He said he also heard from families who had been split up: some allowed to go, others denied because of inappropriate paper work. Thompson said there was a "bottleneck" at the gate entrance, that there needed to have been a "much more flexible entrance criteria" and that the measures being applied didn't "even meet the common sense test," he said earlier this week. Friday, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau defended his government's actions, saying the speed with which the Taliban took control of Afghanistan came as a surprise to many around the world. "I think a lot of people on the ground and around the world thought there would be more time," he said. "We accelerated our processes over the past number of weeks and months. We did everything we could." Meanwhile, the government has said visas issued to those Afghans eligible to come to Canada will remain valid even if they haven't left the country yet. It also said it's waiving immigration paperwork fees for Afghans outside and inside Canada.

No robust military presence to negotiate The Liberal government has also been criticized for failing to help Afghan interpreters and their families get through Taliban checkpoints to the airport or negotiate safe passage. "[Canada] had to ask a lot of favours of a lot of other countries because we don't have a robust military presence there," former anchor and correspondent Kevin Newman, who volunteers with Veterans Transition Network, told CBC Radio's The Current. "Many, many countries have set up a much more robust attempt to get people safely through Taliban checkpoints to the airport," he said.  When Western embassies closed as the Taliban moved in,  many other countries moved their staff onto the airfield.  "But we folded up our entire shop and came home, which would mean that it would be almost impossible to negotiate with the Taliban at that point," Thompson said. That meant, without that diplomatic footprint on the ground, Canada was unable to negotiate bus convoys inside the airport, he said. "All of our allies had eyes and boots on the ground this week at Kabul's airport. Canada did not. It closed its embassy and withdrew all its diplomats and military by jet to Ottawa just as the Taliban was rolling into town," Newman recently wrote for Substack. "The government left no one behind to talk to the Taliban, or our allies, as they organized and negotiated the rescue of thousands." Christian Leuprecht, a security expert and professor at the Royal Military College and Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., suggested Canada's so-called evacuation strategy was to "basically piggyback on the Americans and we'll try to get as many people out by putting as few Canadian resources at risk as possible." "Our footprint was pretty small," he said. "We didn't send any troops and equipment that could complement the U.S. effort."

Lacking political direction What was lacking throughout was political direction, in part, because the election call meant many of the decision-makers were no longer in Ottawa, said Leuprecht. "I think basically what the bureaucracy here got was: 'We've got a problem. Go figure it out.' And this sort of crisis requires clear political direction because the bureaucratic machine is not set up to kind of figure things out." With no direction, Canada took the minimalist approach, he said, which meant deploying as few military assets as possible. "I think that is really sort of ultimately why the Canadian response was sort of relatively muted."

^ This really sums-up the failings of many people in the Canadian Government. I hope that there is an independent investigation done to see exactly who – besides Trudeau – failed and that anyone found to be in the wrong either resigns from the post or is removed. Canada has abandoned Canadian Citizens to Terrorists and that is not acceptable. ^

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/afghanistan-canada-taliban-evacuation-1.6155596

Tacugama Chimpanzees

From  the BBC:

“Sierra Leone's chimpanzees: The newly weds who set up a sanctuary”

Celia was rescued with burn wounds from local hunters in Sierra Leone. She is being fed milk by a care staff. Bala Amarasekaran and his wife, Sharmila, spotted the baby chimpanzee tied to a tree in a village in a rural part of Sierra Leone. He was for sale. The couple bought the animal and pledged to care for him. Little did they know that this chance encounter would change their lives. Three decades later, they run a sanctuary devoted to saving the critically endangered subspecies known as the Western chimpanzee. "We didn't understand what we were getting into," Mr Amarasekaran says. "We were newly married and we had this affection seeing this baby chimp and we thought: 'OK, we'd bring him home and nurse him.' That's all we thought about. "But once he came into our lives, I think we got attached. "We rescued another one and another until we had seven or eight chimps in our house and that is what drove us," he adds. The Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary the couple set up is now home to about 100 Western chimpanzees. It sits in a patch of pristine rainforest on the outskirts of the capital, Freetown.

These primates mostly live in the forests of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. They are also found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Senegal. Western chimpanzees have been found to use tools unknown in other chimpanzee populations, a 2016 paper in the American Journal of Primatology said. These include cracking nuts, hunting bush babies with spears and throwing stones. But they are under threat. The population is estimated to have declined by 80% between 1990 and 2014, to about 52,800.They mostly live in the wild. Only 17% of Western chimpanzees are to be found in protected areas.

 As urbanisation and development eat into their forest habitat, Western chimpanzees have been put "on a trajectory towards extinction unless drastic measures are taken" to protect them, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In 2016, the organisation moved their status on its Red List of threatened species from being endangered critically endangered, reflecting their increasingly dire situation.

In 2019, Sierra Leone became the first country in the world to declare the primate a national animal, in a bid to reverse this trend. "Sierra Leone has a significant population. Between Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, we probably have 70% or 75% of these Western chimpanzees and if we do not address this issue, as three nations, we will watch them disappear right before our eyes," Mr Amarasekaran warns.

The conservationist, who gave up his 15-year career as an accountant and has dedicated his life to the chimps, sees it as a sense of obligation. "For every rescue, we try to do our best to make their lives different, because they have suffered at the hands of humans," he says. Mr Amarasekaran feels he has a special connection with every chimp at the sanctuary and adds: "They still have that lifelong relationship with me and I think that will last forever." The chimpanzees are also attached to the people who take care of them every day. Among the chimpanzees at the sanctuary is Celia, a six-month-old orphaned baby. When she arrived at the sanctuary she could not sit or walk.

Celia was rescued from the hands of poachers after having been burnt when people set fire to some land in order to clear it. Posseh Kamara - also known as Mama P - is responsible for looking after her, including bottle-feeding her. "I feel good every day when I wake up because I have to work with my baby chimps. I grew to have a love for the job and for the baby chimps," Mrs Kamara says.

Most of the rescued chimpanzees arrive malnourished and abandoned, often traumatised after being separated from their group. They are then cared for and rehabilitated at Tacugama. Mrs Kamara, who has grandchildren of her own, says it breaks her heart to see what the baby chimpanzees have to go through. She adds that she is proud of the progress she has made with Celia. As the chimpanzees grow older, they are brought together with others and use an enclosure where they learn skills before being released to join the 100 others that now call this sanctuary their home.

Tourists and local people, including children, spend time at the sanctuary to learn about the chimpanzees and wildlife in general. Mr Amarasekaran says educating people about the risks facing the Western chimpanzees is essential, and the sanctuary is working with communities across Sierra Leone. It has a growing international profile but for the founder it is most important to get the message across to people at home "Sometimes you get [more] recognition from afar than from within," he says.

^ This is such an interesting story and a great cause (and the chimpanzees are so cute. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58303790

Alitalia Ending

From Yahoo:

“Alitalia Is Shutting Down — Here's What to Know If You Have a Flight Booked”

The era of Alitalia is over. Italy's largest airline plans to suspend operations on Oct. 15. No new flights can be booked for travel after that date. Passengers with tickets for flights on or after Oct. 15 are being offered the option to move up their trips or request a full refund, the bankrupt airline said.

Alitalia got its start in 1946, just after the end of World War II. At its peak in the 1990s, more than 25 million passengers boarded its flights annually for destinations including Rome, Milan, New York, and beyond. It was also a favorite of Sophia Loren, who appeared in the airline's ads in the 1960s. But the Italian flag carrier has struggled for years, despite counting another very important passenger among its frequent fliers: the pope. Four different popes have flown Alitalia for 57 years, visiting more than 171 countries, the Diocese of Brooklyn noted. But the Vatican won't have to struggle to find a new airline after Pope Francis' last trip on Alitalia next month to Hungary and Slovakia. Italy plans to launch a new flag carrier called ITA on Oct. 15, and the airline is buying all of Alitalia's planes. It doesn't plan to cover them with its own branding, so you won't notice much of a difference at the airport.

It's unclear exactly what ITA's route map will look like, but Politico reported that ITA plans to fly between Italy and New York, Boston, Miami, and Tokyo this year. Additional routes to Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Los Angeles are on the agenda for 2022, according to the outlet. It's not yet clear how ITA plans to integrate Alitalia frequent flier members. The airline has specified travelers with flights after Oct. 15 that were booked with miles could have those miles deposited into their accounts.

^ I’ve never flown them, but know others who have and they liked it. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/alitalia-shutting-down-heres-know-163142685.html

Continued Shortages

From News Nation:

“These foods are extra hard to find right now because of shortages, supply chain issues”

Notice your grocery store shelves looking a little bare lately? You’re definitely not the only one. Supply chain issues have created shortages of highly specific ingredients. “Meat products are still one of the harder products to keep in stock,” explains Rodney Holcomb, food economist at Oklahoma State University. “Following last year’s concerns about meat availability, many consumers are stockpiling meat out of concerns of another pandemic shutdown.” Holcomb says concerns over the delta variant have some shoppers buying a little more than typical, just in case they need to buckle down and stay at home for a while. A lot of ready-to-eat items like frozen meals or shelf-stable boxes of mac and cheese are in especially high demand, so they may be harder to find. But it’s not just heightened demand causing issues – supply is also a problem right now. An aluminum shortage is making canned products like sodas, soups and canned meats hard to find, too, Holcomb says. Those are packaged in aluminum and shelf-stable, so they’re both in short supply and in high demand. Even when you can find your groceries, they’re likely more expensive. The price of meat, poultry, fish and eggs rose 5.9% from July 2020 to July 2021, according to the Department of Labor. Overall food-at-home costs are up 2.6%.

What’s causing the shortages and high prices? “We use the term ‘shortage’ but it’s really more of a food supply bottleneck,” explains Holcomb. “We still have the same production potential, but labor shortages are having widespread impacts across harvesting, processing, packaging, and shipping.” We saw issues with meat shortages throughout 2020, Holcomb explains, not because there wasn’t enough livestock to consume. Rather, COVID-19 outbreaks would shut down meat processing plants, creating a bottleneck in getting the product out. In other cases, socially distant setups at processing plants and factories ended up reducing efficiency overall. Another thing driving costs up is energy prices, Holcomb adds. Refrigerating perishable food costs money, not just at the store but also all along its journey to the store. Energy prices are high right now (you may have noticed at the gas pump) and those costs are being passed on to consumers. Things were starting to normalize, but the delta variant threw the food chain for a loop. Holcomb expects things to be more stable next year in 2022. “The food industry is very resilient,” he said. “Food industry members are always adjusting to changes in consumer tastes and preferences for new food products, new distribution technologies … COVID just meant that food industry members had to make big adjustments instead of small tweaks. Given a little time, we’ll steady the boat.”

^ There has been a major shortage at the one local market (that is the only market for the 5 surrounding towns) not only from Residents trying to get supplies and food, but also the Summer Tourists. ^

https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/your-money/these-foods-are-extra-hard-to-find-right-now-because-of-shortages-supply-chain-issues/

Hero Names

From GMA/Yahoo:

“What we know about US service members killed in Kabul airport attack”

Thirteen American troops were among the nearly 200 people killed in an attack at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan on Thursday. A detonation set off by an ISIS-K suicide bomber near the airport's Abbey Gate amid evacuation efforts killed at least 170 Afghans, including several children, as well as two Brits and a child of a British citizen, according to Afghan and British officials. President Joe Biden called the U.S. service members killed in the attack "heroes who have been engaged in a dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others."

Those killed included 11 Marines, as well as an Army soldier and a Navy medic, U.S. officials said. "Those warriors who died gave their lives to save thousands of men, women and children, Americans and Afghans alike," Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations, said in a statement. "Their courage and selflessness represent the highest ideals of America. We pay solemn tribute to their sacrifice." The names of the service members are being released 24 hours after next-of-kin notifications, though some of those killed have been identified by family and officials. Here's what we know about them so far.

Navy Medic Max Soviak

Navy Fleet Marine Force Hospital Corpsman Max Soviak, of Ohio, was "very proud" to serve his country, his mother said in a statement to ABC News. "He was very passionate about helping his fellow Americans and trying to get them home safely," Rachel Soviak said. "There are no words to describe the pain our family is feeling. There will forever be a hole in our hearts." The family is praying for the troops to arrive home safely, she said. Max Soviak was a 2017 graduate of Edison High School in Milan, Ohio. School leaders remembered him as "full of life in everything he did." "Max was a good student who was active in sports and other activities throughout his school career," Superintendent Thomas Roth said in a statement. "He was well respected and liked by everyone who knew him."

Marine David Espinoza

Marine David Espinoza was a native of Laredo, Texas, according to Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, who released a statement confirming his death. "Mr. Espinoza embodied the values of America: grit, dedication, service, and valor," Cuellar said. "When he joined the military after high school, he did so with the intention of protecting our nation and demonstrating his selfless acts of service." Espinoza graduated from Lyndon B. Johnson High School in Laredo in 2019 and is survived by his brother, mother and stepfather, Cuellar's office said.

Marine Rylee McCollum

Marine Rylee McCollum, of Bondurant, Wyoming, was among the service members killed, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon confirmed. "I'm devastated to learn Wyoming lost one of our own in yesterday's terrorist attack in Kabul," Gordon said on Twitter. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Rylee McCollum of Bondurant."

Marine Kareem Nikoui

Marine Kareem Nikoui was among those killed in the attack, ABC News has confirmed. Nikoui "always wanted to be a Marine," his father, Steve Nikoui, a carpenter in California, told the Daily Beast. "He was devoted -- he was going to make a career out of this, and he wanted to go," Nikoui told the outlet. "No hesitation for him to be called to duty."

Marine Hunter Lopez

Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez was the son of two members of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department in Southern California -- Capt. Herman Lopez and Deputy Alicia Lopez -- the department said. The 22-year-old planned on "following his parents' footsteps" and becoming a deputy himself upon returning home from his deployment, Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a Facebook post announcing his death. As a teen, Lopez was a Riverside Sheriff's Explorer Scout with the Palm Desert Station. After graduating from La Quinta High School, he joined the Marine Corps in September 2017, Bianco said. "Like his parents who serve our community, being a Marine to Hunter wasn't a job; it was a calling," the Riverside Sheriff's Association said in a statement. "He loved his family, and as we grieve for Hunter and his fellow Marines taken from us too soon, there are simply no words to express how deeply he will be missed." His family is requesting all donations be made to the Riverside County Deputy Sheriff Relief Foundation in their name.

^ These are a few of the brave American Soldiers that were killed at the Kabul Airport. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/know-us-members-killed-kabul-222216817.html

14 Medals!

The US Paralympic Team has so-far won 7 Gold Medals, 6 Silver Medals and 1 Silver Medal. Way to go Team USA! We really need some good news right now. Keep it up.

Honoring Our Heroes

                                              

^ Take a moment to remember the 13 American Soldiers killed and the 18 American Soldiers Wounded at the Kabul Airport yesterday.

They were working hard, under impossible conditions to save thousands upon thousands (over 111,000 so far) of: American, Canadian, British, French, Polish, Spanish Dutch, Australian, Belgian, Austrian, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Lithuanian, Luxembourgish, Mexican, New Zealander, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovakian, Slovenian, Singaporean, South Korean, Swedish, Turkish, Swiss, Ukrainian and Afghani Men, Women and Children. ^

Sirhan Parole

From News Nation:

“RFK assassin Sirhan wins parole with support of 2 Kennedys”

U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin was granted parole Friday after two of RFK’s sons spoke in favor of Sirhan Sirhan’s release and prosecutors declined to argue he should be kept behind bars. The decision was a major victory for the 77-year-old prisoner, though it does not assure his release. The ruling by the two-person panel at Sirhan’s 16th parole hearing will be reviewed over the next 90 days by the California Parole Board’s staff. Then it will be sent to the governor, who will have 30 days to decide whether to grant it, reverse it or modify it.

Douglas Kennedy, who was a toddler when his father was gunned down in 1968, said he was moved to tears by Sirhan’s remorse and he should be released if he’s not a threat to others. “I’m overwhelmed just by being able to view Mr. Sirhan face to face,” he said. “I think I’ve lived my life both in fear of him and his name in one way or another. And I am grateful today to see him as a human being worthy of compassion and love.” Sirhan, who was in a blue prison uniform with a paper towel folded like a handkerchief and tucked into his pocket, smiled as Kennedy spoke.

The New York senator and brother of President John F. Kennedy was a Democratic presidential candidate when he was gunned down June 6, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles moments after delivering a victory speech in the pivotal California primary. Sirhan, who was convicted of first-degree murder, has said he doesn’t remember the killing. Sirhan Sirhan, 77, told members of the California Parole Board at this 16th bid for freedom that he had learned to control his anger and was committed to living peacefully. “I would never put myself in jeopardy again,” he said. “You have my pledge. I will always look to safety and peace and non-violence.”

Some Kennedy family members, Los Angeles law enforcement officers and the public submitted letters opposing Sirhan’s release, Parole Board Commissioner Robert Barton said at the start of the proceeding held virtually Friday, where Sirhan appeared from San Diego County prison. “We don’t have a DA here, but I have to consider all sides,” Barton said, noting it would consider arguments made in the past by prosecutors opposing his release, depending on their relevance. His lawyer, Angela Berry, argued that the board should base its decision on who Sirhan is today. Prosecutors declined to participate or oppose his release under a policy by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, a former police officer who took office last year after running on a reform platform. Gascón, who said he idolized the Kennedys and mourned RFK’s assassination, believes the prosecutors’ role ends at sentencing and they should not influence decisions to release prisoners.

^ I would never help the person who murdered my Father to get out of prison no matter how many decades have passed. RFK must be looking down and shaking his head in disbelief. Hopefully whatever Governor California has at the time will not sign his release and he will stay in prison until he dies as he deserves. ^

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/northeast/rfk-assassin-sirhan-sirhan-seeks-parole-for-16th-time/

Disgraced Trudeau

From the CBC:

“Canada urges those left in Afghanistan to stay put and not lose hope”

The federal government is urging those left in Afghanistan to stay put while the coalition mission changes, and vows to keep helping those still trying to flee the country. "We're going to continue to exhaust every option," Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino told a news conference this morning. "Whether it's by getting them out on coalition flights, whether it's by working with other regional partners to establish air bridges beyond the Aug. 31 timeline within which the coalition will withdraw and by, yes, looking at other ways to get them to third countries." Mendicino said Canada secured 500 seats on an American flight out of Afghanistan Thursday for those eligible to come to Canada. He suggested such flights might not happen again now that the evacuation effort on the ground is wrapping up.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau called on those still trapped in Afghanistan to not "lose hope" and said the government is seized with the task of getting more people out.  "At the moment, we're asking people to stay put because there is a lot of things that are going on at the moment and we're going to keep in constant contact with them," he said. "Some people may make the decision that they'll seek to get to a third country. Many of the people on the ground there are best placed to make the decision about what their lowest-risk, safe route is. But we will be ready in all of the countries that they may possibly come to, to receive them at our consulates." Yesterday, Gen. Wayne Eyre, the acting chief of the defence staff, announced that Canadian evacuation operations had finished ahead of the planned U.S. withdrawal from the country on Tuesday and that no more Canadian-operated flights are planned to take people out of Kabul.

The Taliban, a designated terrorist group in Canada, has asserted control over Afghanistan in recent weeks, nearly 20 years after it was ousted in a U.S.-led invasion following the 9/11 attacks. The Taliban's sweep to power has spurred many people fearing reprisals to flee the country — including Afghans who worked with Canadian troops. Eyre said Canada has helped to evacuate more than 3,700 people from Kabul. The government acknowledged that a number of people are still stuck there — including Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families, and those seeking refuge in Canada. Garneau said it's still not known how many potential migrants to Canada are still stuck in Afghanistan. Officials briefing reporters Thursday morning said they have received applications representing 8,000 people and that two-thirds of those applications have been processed. But they said they don't know exactly how many people didn't make it out. They said that not all of the people who applied to come to Canada are still in Afghanistan and many might have fled to neighbouring countries. The government said visas issued to those Afghans eligible to come to Canada will remain valid even if they haven't left the country yet. It also said it's waiving immigration paperwork fees for Afghans outside and inside Canada.

Officials said there are no embassy staffers left in the country and that the final Canadian Armed Forces personnel have also left. Garneau said regional partners are speaking to the Taliban regime about returning the Kabul airport to normal operations to clear the way for humanitarian aid and getting more people out. He also announced that Canadian diplomat David Sproule, a former ambassador to Afghanistan from 2005 to April 2007, will now serve as a special envoy for Afghanistan.

The Liberals have faced mounting criticism of their response to the crisis. On Thursday, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole went on the attack, saying the government started too late. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Trudeau knew about the problems with the evacuation effort but didn't act in a timely way to help. Today, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau defended his government's actions, saying the speed with which the Taliban took control of Afghanistan came as a surprise to many around the world. "I think a lot of people on the ground and around the world thought there would be more time," he said. "We accelerated our processes over the past number of weeks and months. We did everything we could."

^ Canada has stopped its evacuations and have abandoned Canadian Citizens and Afghan helpers to fend for their lives against both the Taliban and ISIS. Germany has done the same as has every other country except the UK and the US - which will in a day or two.

Abandoning those who helped you the past 20 years - especially when you made promises to help them - is a shame. Abandoning your own Citizens is a disgrace. ^

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/afghanistan-canada-mission-1.6155450

Friday!

 

Friend

 

Pen Caught in Attack

From the BBC:

“Afghanistan: Charity worker Pen Farthing caught up in Kabul attack”

An ex-Royal Marine who was near to the explosions outside Kabul airport has told how "all hell broke loose" as gunmen fired near his vehicle. Dozens of people have been killed in two blasts near the airport after warnings that a terror attack could be launched in Afghanistan. Paul 'Pen' Farthing said his mission to get 200 dogs and cats out alongside his staff had been blocked by US policy.

Mr Farthing said there were chaotic scenes at the airport. "All hell broke loose at the airport circle which is where I was, which is probably about a mile from the explosions across at the Abbey Gate and we had Taliban there firing into the air," Mr Farthing, who founded the Nowzad shelter, told the BBC. "One let off a full magazine on automatic from his AK-47 right next to the window of our bus where we had women and children in. "And as we were trying to then flee from the airport we were getting tear-gassed so we were obviously trying to drive the vehicle when we can't see anything. It was just the most horrific thing."

Mr Farthing, originally from Dovercourt in Essex, said US President Joe Biden had "stopped" his attempt to get the animals out of the country. "There's nothing I can do. The staff are telling me it's time for me to go. They don't think a foreigner will be welcome here," he said. "Staff have asked me to take as many dogs and cats as I can. But now I can't get them past the Taliban check points." He said the Taliban were stopping people from Afghanistan coming to the airport even if they also had British passports.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed the twin blasts occurred in a "complex attack" outside Hamid Karzai International Airport and there were "a number of US and civilian casualties". A senior Kabul health official told the BBC more than 60 people had died and more than 140 people were injured. American officials said 11 US marines and a navy medic were killed. The Ministry of Defence said there had been no UK military or government casualties reported.

Mr Farthing and his supporters have been campaigning to have his staff and their families, as well as 140 dogs and 60 cats, evacuated from Kabul since the collapse of the Afghan government. He has dubbed the plan Operation Ark and made a plea on Twitter to ensure his "safe passage" into Kabul airport on Thursday. Addressing the Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, Mr Farthing said: "Dear Sir; my team and my animals are stuck at airport circle. We have a flight waiting. Can you please facilitate safe passage into the airport for our convoy?"

A privately funded plane due to fly from Luton Airport to rescue them out of the country was cancelled earlier amid safety concerns. One from a country neighbouring Afghanistan is now set to be used instead but it is said it cannot land in Kabul until Mr Farthing is granted entry into the airport. Mr Farthing set up the Nowzad animal shelter, rescuing dogs, cats and donkeys after serving in Afghanistan in the mid-2000s. He has said he would not leave the country without his staff or animals. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said earlier this week he was not prepared to prioritise animals ahead of people "in real danger". Mr Wallace has since tweeted to say: "I never said I would not facilitate. I said no-one would get to queue jump. "As I have said, we will facilitate at all stages but the priority will be people not pets." Mr Wallace urged people to "let my civil servants and military get on with dealing with one of the most dangerous and challenging evacuations for a generation".

^ Sadly, it looks like the Pen and his animals aren’t going to get out before August 31^st. The British Government has slowed them down. The Taliban have slowed them down. Their evacuation plane has slowed them down. The British Troops and the American Troops won’t come and help them get to Kabul Airport. I am watching, waiting and hoping that he, his Afghani Staff and his animals will get out before August 31, 2021. ^

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-58345074

More Fake Promises

From yahoo:

“Biden promises to hunt down terrorists behind devastating Kabul attack”

Speaking to the American people in the wake of a devastating terror attack at the Kabul airport that left scores dead on Thursday — including numerous U.S. troops — President Biden promised the U.S. would strike back against those responsible. “To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this — we will not forgive, we will not forget, we will hunt you down and make you pay,” the president said in a somber White House address. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr., the head of U.S. Central Command, said earlier in the day that one of the explosions was caused by at least one suicide bomber presumed to be working with the Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, and that more attacks were likely. Biden also said ISIS-K was behind the attack.

A pair of explosions near Hamid Karzai International Airport killed a number of people Thursday afternoon in what the U.S. described as a “complex attack.” The Pentagon said 13 U.S. service members died in the attack and an additional 15 were injured, along with numerous Afghan nationals, in the single deadliest day for American forces in the country since 2011. An Afghan official told the Associated Press that 60 Afghans were killed and 143 were wounded in the airport blast. Biden said that he and first lady Jill Biden are “outraged, as well as heartbroken” at the news. He alluded to military parents who might be “feeling you're being sucked into a black hole in the middle of your chest,” and spoke of his late son, Beau Biden, who served tours in Iraq and Kosovo as an Army officer. Biden emphasized that while the U.S. is assessing how and when to respond, the ongoing evacuation mission in Kabul would continue, and that remaining American citizens would be removed from the country, along with Afghans who had assisted U.S. forces. “I’ve also ordered my commanders to develop operational plans to strike ISIS key assets, leadership and facilities. We will respond with force and precision at our time at a place we choose in a moment of our choosing,” the president said. Biden added that the military would be given “whatever they need.” Before taking questions from reporters, Biden asked for a “moment of silence” for the fallen American personnel. In response to a question about whether he bore responsibility for the situation in Afghanistan, Biden said yes, while also noting that former President Donald Trump had negotiated the original withdrawal agreement with the Taliban. “But here’s the deal: You know, I wish you — you know as well as I do that the former president made a deal with the Taliban” Biden said. McKenzie and other U.S. officials have warned that further attacks in Afghanistan are likely. “We believe it is their desire to continue those attacks and we expect those attacks to continue and we’re doing everything we can to be prepared for those attacks,” McKenzie told reporters at the Pentagon, adding that the U.S. had enough forces on the ground to counter enemy militants.  In public remarks and interviews since the rapid fall of Afghanistan’s Western-backed government, Biden warned against the threat of ISIS-K, a group U.S. intelligence agencies say is a sworn enemy of the Taliban. “These troops and innocent civilians at the airport face the risk of attack from ISIS-K,” Biden said last Sunday. The Kabul airport has been the epicenter of the rushed effort by U.S. forces to evacuate tens of thousands of Americans, Afghans and third-country nationals.

 Worried that any Americans and Afghans who aided U.S. forces left behind would be at risk of persecution by the new Taliban government, some current and former officials have called on the White House to extend its self-imposed deadline of Aug. 31 for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Biden has also been criticized for his prediction last month that the Taliban would not rapidly retake the country as U.S. forces left. Congressional Republicans and a number of leading Senate Democrats have described the withdrawal as chaotic and haphazard. “This is a full-fledged humanitarian crisis, and the U.S. government personnel, already working under extreme circumstances, must secure the airport and complete the massive evacuation of American citizens and vulnerable Afghans desperately trying to leave the country,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said in a statement Thursday. The White House, meanwhile, has defended its efforts to evacuate the country. “This is now on track to be the largest airlift in U.S. history,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during a briefing Wednesday when presented with criticism of the late August deadline. “So no, I would not say this is anything but a success.”

As of Thursday morning, the U.S. said it had facilitated the evacuation of approximately 95,700 people since Aug. 14, including about 13,400 taken out of the country overnight. At least 1,000 Americans are thought to still be in the country, according to McKenzie. Biden spent much of Thursday in the White House Situation Room with Cabinet members including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, according to the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris joined those meetings virtually during her flight from Vietnam to Guam. Harris is set to return to Washington, D.C., on Thursday, canceling the last leg of her overseas trip to campaign for embattled California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The White House either canceled or delayed several of Biden’s public events scheduled for Thursday, including a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

^ Americans, our Western Allies, our Afghani Allies and our Enemies like ISIS know Biden's word means nothing now. He is a liar plain and simple. We all remember when he promised American Citizens and the Afghanis who helped us-  just a few days ago - "We will get you out."

As we remember the American Civilians, the Western Civilians, the Afghani Civilians that helped us who we will abandon to the Taliban and ISIS we now must remember the dead American Soldiers.

This failure is because of the Suits (Commander-In-Failure Biden) and not the Boots (American Troops.) ^

https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-promises-to-hunt-down-terrorists-behind-devastating-kabul-attack-220247134.html