The former president made inaccurate claims about the murder rate in New York, the withdrawal from Afghanistan and windmills at a conservative conference.
Tag Archives: Afghanistan War (2001- )
As Taliban Settle In, Kabul’s Green Zone Comes Back to Life
Walking down its streets a year ago was like wandering into the modern ruins of another empire come and gone from Afghanistan. Now, the Taliban have adopted the former diplomatic enclave as their own.
Ties to Kabul Bombing Put ISIS Leader in Somalia in U.S. Cross Hairs
Bilal al-Sudani’s financing of the ISIS branch in Afghanistan that killed 13 U.S. troops in 2021 elevated him on U.S. kill-or-capture lists.
A Brief History of Spying With Balloons
A Chinese balloon seen floating over the northwestern United States this week was a reminder of how governments have used balloons for reconnaissance for more than a century.
The World Has Fallen for the Taliban’s Lies Once Again
The world must punish the Afghan regime for its broken promises.
Military Investigation Reveals How the U.S. Botched a Drone Strike in Kabul
Documents obtained through a lawsuit reveal how biases led to the deadly August 2021 blunder, and that officials made misleading statements concealing their assessment of civilian casualties.
For Sale on eBay: A Military Database of Fingerprints and Iris Scans
German security researchers studying biometric capture devices popular with the U.S. military got more than they expected for $68 on eBay.
Do Right by Our Afghan Allies. Pass the Afghan Adjustment Act.
Thousands of Afghan refugees in the U.S. are still living with uncertainty as they wait for resolution of their immigration status.
Orphaned in Afghanistan, Adopted in America: The Battle for Baby L.
Now 3, she lives with a U.S. Marine and his wife, but her Afghan family claims she was taken under false pretenses. A court may soon decide.
Republican Gains in Congress Would Pressure Biden on Ukraine and Iran
Officials in the Biden administration expect plenty of complications, including summons to hearings over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Has War Changed, or Only War Photography?
In the decades between Robert Capa and Lynsey Addario, our image of battle lost its aura of nobility.
White House Tightens Rules on Counterterrorism Drone Strikes
A classified new policy requires President Biden’s approval to add suspected terrorists to a kill list. The Trump administration had decentralized control over targeting decisions.
A Year Under the Taliban
A single year of extremist rule has turned life upside down for Afghans, especially women. A photographer who has long called the country home captured the jarring changes.
Bill to Grant Afghan Evacuees a Path to Residency Hits Snags
The White House and members of both parties had hoped to attach the legislation to a must-pass spending bill this month. But some Republicans have raised security concerns.
Marking 9/11, Biden Remembers the ‘Precious Lives Stolen From Us’
Members of the Biden administration honored the victims of the attacks, which, 21 years later, remain deeply painful for the family members who lost loved ones.
Anne Garrels, Fearless NPR Correspondent, Dies at 71
She reported on conflicts around the world and for a time was the only American broadcast journalist reporting from Baghdad during the U.S. “shock and awe” bombing campaign in 2003.
Judge Recommends Rejecting Bid by Sept. 11 Families to Seize Frozen Afghan Funds
A federal judge said the Afghan central bank’s assets could not legally be used to pay off judgment debts owed by the Taliban to relatives of victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The Bloody Uprising Against the Taliban Led by One of Their Own
In northern Afghanistan, hundreds of Shiite Muslims joined an uprising led by a former Taliban commander. Times journalists spent time with the rebels massed to defend themselves.
Liz Cheney Paid the Price of ‘True Patriotism’
Readers praise her willingness to stand up to Donald Trump. Also: Aiding Afghans; bike helmets; guns in Philadelphia; conspiracy “theories.”
Surviving Relatives of U.S. Drone Strike Victims Remain Stranded in Afghanistan
Nearly a year after the strike that killed 10 civilians, more than 30 people the Biden administration pledged to help resettle in the U.S. are still trying to leave the country.
Muslim Killings in Albuquerque Stir Sectarian Ghosts
An Afghan family struggled for a foothold in a new home in the U.S. Now one of them is charged with killing fellow Muslims.
Afghanistan, One Year After the Fall
A year after their stunning victory and takeover, the Taliban are still struggling to shift to a governing, political force.
U.S. Says Al Qaeda Has Not Regrouped in Afghanistan
A new intelligence assessment of the Al Qaeda threat was prepared after a drone strike killed Ayman al-Zawahri, the group’s leader. But some outside counterterrorism specialists said it was overly optimistic.
One Year Under Taliban Rule
Five Afghan women reflect on the anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal.
How the Taliban Has Rolled Back the Clock Since Seizing Power
Nearly a year since the Taliban seized power, new restrictions have reshaped the social fabric. Schools and jobs are again off-limits for women, music has been banned, and beards are mandatory for men — just like in the 1990s.
The Tumultuous Summer That Changed the World
Over the span of just a few weeks in 2021, the Taliban’s offensive shifted from rural threat to urban conquest before they walked into Kabul on Aug. 15. Times photographers were there to document that fateful summer in Afghanistan.
She’s at Brown. Her Heart’s Still in Kabul.
In their first year at U.S. universities, women who escaped the Taliban are struggling to adjust — and to reckon with what they left behind.
The Taliban’s Dangerous Collision Course With the West
After barring girls from high school — and harboring an Al-Qaeda leader — the regime now risks jeopardizing the billions of dollars of global aid that still keeps Afghans alive.
How the C.I.A. Tracked Ayman al-Zawahri, the Leader of Al Qaeda
The U.S. search for Ayman al-Zawahri had spanned decades. His presence on a balcony at a safe house in Kabul presented an opportunity to strike.
Killing of al-Zawahri Stirs Debate Over Biden’s Afghan Strategy
President Biden now confronts the question of what, if anything, he will do in response to the revelation that the Taliban were again sheltering a leader of Al Qaeda.
Al-Zawahri’s Death Puts the Focus Back on Al Qaeda
The terrorist network has lost eight of its top leaders in recent years. But it has more total fighters than it did on Sept. 11, 2001.
Ayman al-Zawahri Is Gone, but Al Qaeda Is Resilient
The administration clearly misjudged Al Qaeda’s trajectory in Afghanistan and U.S. influence over the Taliban.
Al Qaeda Leader Killed: What We Know
The United States announced that a C.I.A. drone strike killed the Qaeda leader, a longtime ally of Osama bin Laden who was considered a mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks. Here’s a guide to the strike and its implications.
Killing of Top Qaeda Leader Offers Lessons on U.S. Afghanistan Involvement
The American drone strike is a symbol of success but also of failures in nation building.
Far From Kabul, Building a New Life, With Music and Hope
The students of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music fled after the Taliban seized power. Now they are trying to remake their school, and their dreams, in Portugal.
Military Clears Crew of Plane That Took Flight as Afghans Fell to Their Deaths
Crowds of people had surged onto the runway at the airport in Kabul during the final days of the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan.
The Corpse of a Russian Soldier, and the Cold but Human Urge to Look
Why does war’s wreckage — the downed helicopters, the destroyed tanks and the dead — draw crowds? A former Marine ponders the question as he stands before the badly burned body of a Russian fighter.
These Veterans Started Businesses Inspired by Their Deployments
Some veterans have started businesses that draw from their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, and thrived.
Afghanistan Tries to Stamp Out Opium Again
The multibillion-dollar trade has survived previous bans. Now, the Taliban are going after solar-powered water pumps to try to dry up poppy crops in the middle of a national economic crisis.
Biden Approves Plan to Redeploy Several Hundred Ground Forces Into Somalia
The president also signed off on targeting about a dozen Shabab leaders in the war-torn country, from which Donald J. Trump largely withdrew in his final weeks in office.
In Afghanistan, Collecting Scrap Metal Is a Risky Pursuit
Discarded metal left by decades of conflict has become a livelihood for impoverished Afghans. But many have been killed by unexploded munitions.
Eid Under the Taliban Shows a Changed Afghanistan
For many Afghans the holiday this week served as a reminder of the dissonance between the promise of peace many had imagined and the realities of the end of the war.
‘I Lost Everything’: Pakistani Airstrikes Escalate Conflict on Afghan Border
The airstrikes killed at least 45 people, stoking fears of a violent resurgence of the conflict in eastern Afghanistan, which has become a base for Pakistani militants.
Seeking Arms for Ukraine, Pentagon Buyers Scour Eastern European Factories
Soviet-designed ammunition is part of the ‘life blood’ for Ukrainian troops fighting Russia, and the United States is keeping it flowing.
Afghan Restaurateurs Provide Hope to Refugees Fleeing the Taliban
In Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., established Afghan restaurateurs are reaching out to help refugees fleeing the return of the Taliban.
The Casualties at the Other End of the Remote-Controlled Kill
Capt. Kevin Larson was one of the best drone pilots in the U.S. Air Force. Yet as the job weighed on him and untold others, the military failed to recognize its full impact. He fled into the California wilderness.
More Russians Consider Costs of War in Ukraine as Casualties Mount
Many Russians have been in the dark about their country’s losses. As news of more Russian deaths arrives, the reactions range from anger at the Kremlin to parroting the state’s messaging that blames “Nazis’’ in Ukraine.
Taliban Take On a Treacherous, Avalanche-Prone Pass
After overthrowing the government, the Taliban are now trying to save what’s left of the roads they spent years blowing up, with none more critical than a two-mile-high pass through the Hindu Kush.
Taliban Outlaw Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan
The move will have far-reaching consequences for the many farmers who turned to the illicit crop as a brutal drought and economic crisis have gripped the country.
Desperate for Cash, Afghans Toil in Mines That Are Deadlier Than Ever
Faced with life-threatening hunger, thousands labor in the coal mines of Baghlan. But safety measures that the former government once provided are gone.