Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar urged the world to expand economic ties instead of imposing sanctions, as Afghanistan faces a deepening economic crisis, high unemployment, widespread poverty, and restrictions on women’s education.
Taliban deputy prime minister for economic affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on Saturday urged regional and global countries to expand economic ties with Afghanistan, calling for engagement rather than sanctions and political pressure.
According to a statement issued by Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat, Baradar made the remarks while inaugurating a commercial market in Balkh province, presenting trade and investment as key pillars of economic recovery.
Baradar said a stable and economically resilient Afghanistan would not threaten other nations, arguing that closer regional cooperation could contribute to shared prosperity and strengthen cross-border connectivity.
He said the Taliban administration supports broad-based economic and political engagement at regional and international levels, including transit trade, infrastructure development and private-sector investment.
The comments come as Afghanistan’s main trade routes with Pakistan have remained largely closed for more than two months following rising tensions between the Taliban and Islamabad, disrupting imports, exports and supply chains.
Baradar has previously warned that Afghanistan could block imports of Pakistani goods, including medicines, a move economists say could worsen shortages and push prices higher in domestic markets.
Afghanistan is meanwhile grappling with a deep humanitarian and economic crisis. United Nations agencies estimate that more than half of the population depends on aid, while poverty has surged since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Aid groups say unemployment affects as much as 75% of the workforce, with the collapse of foreign aid, banking restrictions and limited investment leaving millions struggling to secure food, healthcare and basic services.
The economic hardship is compounded by sweeping social restrictions, including bans on girls’ education beyond the sixth grade, exclusion of women from universities and limits on female employment, policies Western governments cite as major barriers to restoring normal economic relations.
Diplomats and analysts say sustained sanctions relief and foreign investment are unlikely unless the Taliban ease education and social restrictions, warning that continued isolation risks deepening Afghanistan’s economic collapse and humanitarian emergency.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Urges World to Expand Economic Ties Instead of Sanctions
Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai urged authorities to reopen schools and universities to girls, saying education beyond sixth grade is essential for Afghanistan’s future.
Hamid Karzai urged Afghanistan’s rulers to reopen schools and universities to girls, saying education was essential for the country’s future and long-term self-reliance.
In a post on X on Saturday, Decemebr 20, Karzai said knowledge and learning were the foundations of progress and dignity in any society, adding that Afghanistan could not develop while denying education to half its population.
He said the country urgently needed trained professionals, including doctors, engineers, economists and specialists in other fields, warning that continued restrictions would weaken national capacity and economic recovery.
Karzai’s comments came as the academic year ends and students prepare for the nationwide university entrance exam, known as the Kankor, from which girls remain excluded.
Girls in Afghanistan have been barred from attending school beyond the sixth grade and from universities since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, making Afghanistan the only country where such sweeping education bans are in place.
The restrictions have drawn sustained criticism from the United Nations, human rights groups and Western governments, which say the policy deepens poverty, isolates Afghanistan internationally and undermines prospects for stability.
Taliban officials say the bans are temporary and linked to their interpretation of Islamic law, but no timeline has been given for reopening schools, leaving millions of Afghan girls without access to formal education.
Karzai urges reopening of schools and universities for girls in Afghanistan
Once-stalwart GOP backers of programs for Afghans who helped the war effort are hedging their support after the Nov. 26 National Guard shooting.
Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have long come together around supporting Afghans who worked with U.S. forces during the war in Afghanistan. Not anymore.
The November shooting of two National Guard members by an Afghan who’d been granted asylum in the U.S. has rendered the once-popular cause a taboo topic in Republican circles.
Until the shooting, GOP lawmakers had mostly worked to protect programs to aid Afghans seeking asylum from the larger Trump administration crackdown on foreign nationals in the United States. Now once-stalwart backers of programs for these Afghans are hedging their support and calling for changes to the vetting process. Some of those making the biggest reversals face voters in 2026.
“I’m sympathetic, obviously, to people who have helped America in the war effort, but all that support was predicated upon a rigorous vetting process, which I don’t have confidence in,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Cornyn, who faces two formidable primary challengers this year, helped write a 2021 law that updated the Special Immigrant Visa category for Afghans who helped the United States during the two decades America spent fighting Taliban insurgents in the country.
Asked his current stance on the SIV program, Cornyn said, “I don’t have any confidence in it” in light of the vetting issues.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who has previously backed the resettlement of Afghan allies and condemned the Biden administration for inaction in helping Afghans, is also focusing on the need for reforms.
“We can be grateful President Trump is taking decisive action to strengthen vetting and prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again,” said Blackburn, who is retiring from the Senate and running for Tennessee governor, in a speech on the Senate floor.
It’s a stunning reversal of fortunes for the effort to help Afghans who aided the U.S., coming just weeks ahead of the end-of-year deadline for Congress to extend the deadline for Afghans to apply for Special Immigrant Visas. And it comes as advocates warn that there is an insufficient number of visas for the number of applicants waiting to enter the United States.
The U.S. admitted nearly 200,000 Afghan nationals in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Officials who served in the Biden administration have maintained that the U.S. did adequately vet and screen those who were admitted and that only a small number have encountered legal trouble since then.
Thousands of Afghans who worked with the U.S. military and their families still wait at military bases and refugee camps around the world for a small number of SIVs. Military personnel at U.S. bases overseas typically conducted initial vetting of Afghans.
Republican leaders, said one congressional staffer, have “poisoned the Afghan allies conversation” even as a small bipartisan group of lawmakers tries to keep the efforts to help Afghans alive.
“Republicans want this debate to die,” the staffer added. The individual, like others, was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations about the legislation.
Shawn VanDiver, head of a nonprofit called AfghanEvac that advocates for programs to help Afghans who aided the U.S., said he was shocked by House Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to ax the provision reestablishing State’s Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts from the NDAA.
“Speaker Johnson has been good on this” previously, VanDiver said. “We expected the president to turn this into a circus … This is the president using a terrible tragedy to turn prejudice into policy.”
The plight of Afghans who helped U.S. forces has been one of few issues to unite Democrats and Republicans in Washington, even as Congress became more polarized. Congressional Democrats and Republicans joined forces during the Biden administration to increase the number of Special Immigrant Visas available to Afghans following the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of the country. Legislation to provide Afghans with a path to U.S. citizenship or permanent residency has also enjoyed bipartisan co-sponsorships, though it has not become law.
Since the Nov. 26 shooting of two West Virginia National Guard members, which killed one service member and critically injured another, there’s been little appetite in Congress to increase the number of visas — let alone increase the legal pathways to citizenship — for Afghans.
The shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, served in an Afghan military unit with ties to the CIA. Lakanwal was admitted to the United States under Biden, and the Trump administration approved his asylum claim in April. While investigators have not disclosed any motive for the attack, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said he was “radicalized” in the United States. Republicans have seized on the issue to renew their attacks on the resettlement of Afghan refugees and the security screening process.
It has also become politically dangerous for Republicans up for reelection in the midterms to voice any support for the Afghan visa programs.
“When a senator from Texas takes 11 votes to support mass amnesty and then votes to accelerate Afghan SIV pathways, it doesn’t signal America First. It signals a bid for clout among Washington insiders,” Hunt’s campaign said in a statement.
Democrats and some Republicans have asked for caution. While the Biden administration’s process was criticized in a 2022 Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s report, which found that federal officials “did not always have critical data” to properly vet Afghan refugees, they argue that thorough vetting still occurs.
“Individuals are already vetted through numerous interagency databases including through the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the National Counterterrorism Center,” a group of House Democrats led by Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) wrote in a Thursday letter to Trump and Noem.
Democrats are particularly incensed about the removal of the CARE office provision from the NDAA. That office, eliminated during a July overhaul of the State Department, was a hub across the U.S. government to process visas for, and manage the relocation and integration of, Afghans allowed into the United States.
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), who co-sponsored the original legislation to reauthorize State’s CARE office, said her Republican colleagues are turning their backs on Afghans.
“My colleagues need to grow a spine and stop letting Stephen Miller do their jobs, or else they will go down in history as betraying the very Afghans we promised we would never leave behind,” she said, referring to the Trump adviser who is seen as the main architect of the president’s immigration policy.
Johnson’s move dashed hopes that any legislation to help Afghans who supported the U.S. war effort could advance in this Congress.
“That was everyone’s hopes and dreams on this issue,” said a second congressional staffer. “It was literally authorizing the CARE office at State. If that’s dead, you can extrapolate that nothing more substantive on this is ever going to pass.”
Lawmakers have until Dec. 31 to decide whether to extend the SIV program. About 35,000 Afghans are approved to enter the United States, but fewer than 7,000 SIVs remain to be allocated, based on the numbers Congress authorized in previous years.
In the past, when the number of visas has come close to running out, Congress has increased the cap.
Another bipartisan bill, the Afghan Adjustment Act, would create a pathway for Afghans to obtain permanent residency and eventually U.S. citizenship. That bill already faced headwinds during both the Trump and Biden administrations given political opposition to immigration.
VanDiver said he wants lawmakers to use a discharge petition to bring the CARE office legislation and other bills to help Afghans to a vote in the House without Johnson’s approval. It is unclear whether such a petition will materialize before Congress adjourns for the holidays.
The Republican co-sponsors of the legislation to reestablish the CARE office have not commented on its removal from the NDAA. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.)’s office did not respond to a request for comment about whether the New York Republican still supported the Enduring Welcome Act.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) still backs the legislation — but he’s not running for reelection.
“The creed of the military is no man left behind,” McCaul said in an AfghanEvac video. ”And we promised them that we would protect them and yet we failed in that duty, in my judgment.”
Republicans drop support for Afghan wartime allies after National Guard shooting
Some Republicans in Congress are splitting from the Trump administration over its crackdown on legal immigration from Afghanistan, especially for those migrants who helped U.S. war efforts there.
Over the past year, the U.S. has paused visa and other programs for Afghan nationals, among others. Those already in the country have also been stripped of temporary permission to stay.
Further immigration restrictions followed after an Afghan national was charged in the deadly shooting of a National Guard member in Washington, D.C., last month.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, N.C., cautioned against a “knee-jerk reaction” that could block a number of Afghans with valid cases for temporary or permanent immigration status from coming to the U.S.
“One thing we’ve forgotten is how important that is for our special operators,” Tillis said, referencing examples of his own constituents with deep attachments to Afghans abroad. “It puts them in a more dangerous spot if we lose sight of that.”
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, also worried about the impact on Afghans from the cuts.
“There are Afghan citizens who acted as guards, drivers, interpreters, cooks for our troops,” Collins said. “I’ve talked to veterans who have been very concerned about the safety of Afghans who have helped us. So I think the answer is more intensive and careful vetting than occurred during the Biden administration.”
The GOP divisions come as President Trump spent the bulk of his 2024 presidential campaign vowing to launch the largest deportation effort in American history.
Afghan soldiers who assisted U.S. troops have, in the past, enjoyed bipartisan support for their immigration cases.
Meanwhile, Trump has promoted the idea that only some people are welcome in the U.S.
“I’ve also announced a permanent pause on Third World migration, including from hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries,” Trump said last week at an event in Pennsylvania.
Policy changes throughout the year
On his first day in office, Trump paused the refugee resettlement program, effectively stranding thousands of people already approved to come to the U.S.
This included Afghans who had helped U.S. troops, immigration advocates said. Afghanistan was one of the top countries sending refugees to the U.S. in fiscal year 2024, according to Ho
The refugee program has since been significantly scaled back, and the target demographic for entrants is now white South Africans, according to the administration.
In June, Trump added Afghanistan to a list of 19 countries for which travel to the U.S. would be restricted.
And after the attack on National Guard members in D.C. around Thanksgiving, the Trump administration paused processing asylum cases, green cards and other immigration services for those from the countries listed in June’s travel ban. It also paused processing all visas specifically for Afghans.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man charged in connection with the shooting, was admitted to the U.S. in 2021 under the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program. He was then granted asylum earlier this year under the Trump administration.
“This animal would’ve never been here if not for Joe Biden’s dangerous policies which allowed countless unvetted criminals to invade our country and harm the American people,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in response to a request for comment about the Republican divisions.
It is not clear what could have been uncovered through additional vetting before Lakanwal arrived to the U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said the suspect could have been radicalized after coming to the U.S. At the same time, advocates have long criticized agencies such as the CIA and DHS for failing to provide resources, including for mental health, for Afghan soldiers transitioning to life in America after experiencing harrowing violence.
Questions about Congress’s role
Immigrant advocacy groups accuse lawmakers of ceding their power to the president when it comes to immigration policy.
“Instead of asserting its constitutional role, Congress has allowed itself to be sidelined, failing to provide meaningful oversight,” Shawn VanDiver, the founder of the organization AfghanEvac, which advocates for Afghans who worked with U.S. troops, said during a press conference. “Failing to modernize the asylum, refugee, or [special immigrant visa] systems. The vacuum they have left is being filled with fear-mongering, not facts; politics, not policy.”
Congress this year has passed very few immigration-related bills, mostly focusing on funding the Department of Homeland Security’s enforcement efforts. Many other legislative efforts to facilitate or reform immigration processes have been at a standstill.
But some Republicans are happy to leave immigration in the administration’s hands.
“Primarily, that’s an executive branch issue,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., who sits on the Homeland Security Committee, said about the vetting process of Afghans and other immigrants.
“Our staff are not the ones that are actually doing the vetting. The vetting process does exist and is out there. It’s just a matter of its execution at this point.”
Republican leaders also appear aligned with the Trump administration on the topic.
“Republican leadership tanked months of bipartisan work,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., who introduced the provision, said in a statement. “It is truly shameful that my Republican colleagues, some of whom served in Afghanistan and uniquely understand the debt we owe our allies, have once again put blind loyalty to Trump over American principles and obligations.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told NPR that one solution to the question of Afghan vetting would be to pass the “Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act,” which provides a pathway for Afghans to apply for legal permanent residency, following additional vetting, and is supported by senators of both parties. The bill was introduced in August, but has not seen a committee vote.
“I’d like to see the bill that I sponsored, which would have increased vetting on anybody applying here, to take effect before we make another decision,” Cassidy said.
Still, enthusiasm to tackle anything immigration-related in this Congress is low.
John Cornyn, R-Texas, has in the past supported measures for special immigrant visas for Afghan military interpreters and translators. But he told NPR that now is not the right time to restart that conversation, without elaborating on his reasons.
“It’s premature to talk about that,” Cornyn said.
Republicans are divided on Afghan immigrant policy after the National Guard shooting
Over 17 million people in Afghanistan face severe food insecurity this winter, with malnutrition rising sharply, as WFP warns urgent humanitarian assistance is critically needed.
The World Food Programme has warned that more than 17 million Afghans are facing severe food insecurity as winter approaches, marking a sharp deterioration from last year’s conditions.
According to WFP’s latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report released Tuesday, acute hunger has worsened nationwide, placing three million more people at risk compared with the previous year.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) highlighted that nearly four million Afghanistan children are at risk of acute malnutrition, stressing that access to healthcare and nutritional support remains critically low. Similarly, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that returning migrants face extreme poverty and food shortages, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.
The agency estimates that nearly four million Afghan children will suffer from acute malnutrition during the coming winter, warning that untreated cases could lead to a rise in child deaths.
John Ayliff, WFP’s country director in Afghanistan, said the organisation has repeatedly warned of a deepening humanitarian crisis, adding that new data confirms those fears as mortality risks increase.
Multiple shocks are compounding the crisis, including prolonged drought affecting half the country, economic collapse, job losses, recent earthquakes, and the forced return of over 2.5 million migrants from Iran and Pakistan.
Despite soaring needs, humanitarian funding for Afghanistan is declining. WFP says it urgently requires $468 million to deliver life-saving food assistance to six million of the country’s most vulnerable people through the harsh winter ahead.
Over 17 Million in Afghanistan Face Severe Hunger as Winter Approaches, Warns WFP
Meanwhile, some deportees from Pakistan have called on the government to provide shelter and land in their home provinces, highlighting their dire conditions.
As part of ongoing efforts to address the challenges faced by Afghan refugees returning from neighboring countries, the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing has announced that the practical distribution of land to needy returnees has begun in several provinces and remains underway.
According to a spokesperson for the ministry, free residential plots are currently being distributed in the provinces of Kandahar, Laghman, Kunduz, and Balkh to families who have recently returned to the country.
Eligible families are referred to the ministry by the Commission for Refugee Affairs, and the size of land plots is determined based on the number of family members.
According to the ministry’s spokesperson, land distribution is being carried out as follows:
Over 800 families in Kandahar
45 families in Laghman
303 families in Balkh
Nearly 400 families in Kunduz
Mohammad Kamal Afghan, the ministry spokesperson, said: “We have accelerated this process in other provinces as well. Once provincial authorities confirm the lists, the Ministry of Urban Development will begin distribution in those areas, allowing vulnerable returnee families to obtain permanent shelter.”
He added that necessary steps are being taken to expedite the land allocation process in other provinces too.
Meanwhile, some deportees from Pakistan have called on the government to provide shelter and land in their home provinces, highlighting their dire conditions.
Rahmatullah, a returnee from Pakistan, said: “We returned empty-handed. We have no home and are lost, not knowing where to turn.”
Abdul Wali, another deportee, told TOLOnews: “The government must support returnees and offer more aid. We have no place to stay, no land, nothing in our home province.”
Abdul Wasi, also deported from Pakistan, said: “All we ask from the government is to provide us with food, shelter, and land. We want nothing more.”
With the forced return of Afghan migrants from neighboring countries, especially Iran and Pakistan, continuing, thousands of families are returning to severe shortages of shelter and basic necessities.
Many of these families lived abroad for years and, upon return, lack permanent housing or land in Afghanistan.
Land Distribution for Returnee Refugees Begins in Several Provinces
He warned Pakistani officials that a conflict with Afghanistan would serve the interests and desires of the United States.
The former leader of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Siraj-ul-Haq, has said that the people of Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa do not want a war between Kabul and Islamabad.
He warned Pakistani officials that a conflict with Afghanistan would serve the interests and desires of the United States.
Siraj-ul-Haq claimed that the U.S. is instigating conflict between the two countries to regain control over Bagram Airbase.
Siraj-ul-Haq stated: “I also tell the rulers of Pakistan, the ministers who talk of war and speak of building another Tora Bora, these are American desires. Dragging Afghanistan and Pakistan into conflict is a decision made by [former U.S. President] Trump.”
He voiced these concerns amid ongoing unresolved tensions between the two countries.
Meanwhile, some political analysts also blame the Pakistani military for fueling mistrust in the region.
Mohammad Aslam Danishmal, a university professor, said: “The only source of mistrust in the region is the Pakistani military. They have jeopardized the interests of India, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, and China.”
Najib-ur-Rahman Shamal, a political analyst, added: “Pakistan is influenced by its military and armed forces, and ongoing instability and insecurity in the region will only lead to more tension.”
Previously, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan had also stated that certain military circles in Pakistan are unhappy with a strong and stable central government in Afghanistan and are trying to provoke tensions between Kabul and Islamabad under various pretexts.
Siraj-ul-Haq: Tensions Between Kabul and Islamabad Serve U.S. Objectives
The head of Pakistan’s Ulema Council also emphasized that Pakistani soil must not be used against Afghanistan.
The Minister of Vice and Virtue of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, referring to a recent fatwa by religious scholars in Kabul, has emphasized that in the event of any aggression against Afghanistan, jihad becomes an individual obligation (fard al-ayn) upon all citizens of the country.
Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, speaking at a jihadist school in Nuristan province, added that the fatwa was issued by prominent religious scholars from across the country.
Hanafi said: “Renowned scholars gathered in Kabul and unanimously issued a fatwa stating that if anyone attacks this Islamic system or violates the sovereignty of Afghanistan, jihad becomes an individual obligation upon every Afghan.”
Meanwhile, the head of Pakistan’s Ulema Council has welcomed the fatwa issued by Afghan religious scholars and has urged the Afghan government to work towards its implementation.
Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi added that religious scholars on both sides of the hypothetical Durand Line seek peace, and there is no difference between the stance of Afghan and Pakistani religious scholars.
Ashrafi stated: “The statement of Afghan scholars raised two points, including that no aggression or violent action within Afghanistan is acceptable. We share the same position. So, what is the disagreement about? Let us implement these positions.”
The head of Pakistan’s Ulema Council also emphasized that Pakistani soil must not be used against Afghanistan.
Ashrafi, stressing that peace and stability in the region benefits all, expressed gratitude to Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia for their efforts to mediate between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
He said: “We thank Turkey, Qatar, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for facilitating dialogue. Our goal is to establish peace in this region.”
Earlier, a number of religious scholars at a gathering in Kabul issued a fatwa supporting the current system, defending the country’s territorial integrity, preventing the use of Afghan soil against other countries, opposing the military involvement of Afghans in other countries, and promoting unity among Muslims.
Hanafi: Defending Islamic System ‘Obligation for Every Afghan’
Britain has warned its citizens against travelling to Afghanistan, citing severe security risks, closed borders, rising violence and limited consular assistance.
Britain’s Foreign Office on Monday issued a strong warning advising its citizens not to travel to Afghanistan, describing conditions across the country as extremely dangerous.
In an updated travel advisory, the ministry said the security situation remains unstable nationwide, with the risk of violence high and several border crossings currently closed.
The advisory highlighted recurring tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, noting that past disputes have escalated into armed clashes in border areas, increasing risks for civilians and foreigners.
British officials also warned of a heightened risk of detention, saying UK nationals could face arrest and prolonged imprisonment lasting months or even years.
The Foreign Office stressed that Britain’s capacity to assist its citizens in Afghanistan is severely limited, as the UK does not maintain an active embassy in the country.
The warning reflects broader international concerns about security, restricted mobility and limited diplomatic access since political changes in Kabul, according to Western officials.
British citizens currently in Afghanistan were urged to exercise extreme caution, closely follow official guidance and consider leaving when safe and legal routes are available.
UK Advises Citizens Against Travel to Afghanistan Over Security Risks
Harris, Blinken, Austin silent on Operation Allies Welcome
Former top Biden administration decision makers were silent on whether they stand by the vetting procedures deployed for “Operation Allies Welcome,” the Afghan resettlement program that was utilized by the alleged National Guard attacker to get to the U.S.
The heinous incident that claimed the life of one West Virginia National Guard member and gravely wounded another on Thanksgiving Eve sprung back to the forefront last week when House Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., infuriated Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when he referred to it as an “unfortunate accident.”
The attack renewed questions over whether Democrats still stand by the vetting processes put in place by the previous administration — and whether officials involved in the Afghanistan withdrawal and refugee resettlement would revise those decisions today.
Fox News Digital has reached out to several members of the Biden administration with roles directly or tangentially related to the Afghanistan withdrawal and the resettlement of Afghan refugees.
Inquiries to former President Joe Biden’s office, former Vice President Kamala Harris and a second request to an individual listed as Harris’ literary agent were not returned within a week.
Messages sent to former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley [Ret.], as well as via an official at the Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs – where he is listed as a visiting professor – also went unanswered.
Milley, though a general, was not in a command position – as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is an advisory role.
In that regard, he did not make any operational decisions, but instead was in the president’s ear when it came to military advice. Milley later told senators on Capitol Hill that he recommended maintaining a small, 2,500-troop force in Afghanistan.
Fox News Digital also reached out to former Central Command (CENTCOM) commander, Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie via his new role at the University of South Florida, for comment – which was not returned.
CENTCOM covers the Middle East and was tasked with overseeing security and evacuation operations out of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
Messages sent to addresses listed for National Security Adviser Jacob Sullivan and Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer were not returned. Finer is now a visiting fellow at Columbia University’s School of Public and International Affairs, and Sullivan’s wife – Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., is in her first term in Congress.
Sullivan was a key adviser to Biden during the withdrawal and was later pressed by CNN whether he feels “personally responsible for the failures” therein.
He replied that the “strategic call President Biden made, looking back three years, history has judged well and will continue to judge well. From the point of view that, if we were still in Afghanistan today, Americans would be fighting and dying; Russia would have more leverage over us; we would be less able to respond to the major strategic challenges we face.”
A woman who answered a line listed for former Secretary of State Antony Blinken redirected Fox News Digital to a press liaison. That request was not returned.
Blinken, as leader of the State Department, was the point person for the diplomatic aspect of the withdrawal. He advised Biden on what to do about the Taliban’s “Doha Agreement” that was forged by the previous Trump administration, while the department coordinated overflight rights, temporary housing and other issues regarding the refugee outflow from Kabul.
A woman who answered an extension listed for former Pentagon chief Gen. Lloyd Austin III [Ret.] said she would take a message and that Austin would return the call if he wished.
As Pentagon chief, Austin was the top bureaucrat in the U.S. military structure at the time of the withdrawal.
After the Thanksgiving Eve attack, U.S. Citizenship for Immigration Services administrator Joe Edlow announced a review of the green card system, citing suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal’s situation.
His predecessor, Biden-appointed Ur Jaddou, did not respond to a request for comment.
Fox News Digital also reached out to alleged addresses linked to former Homeland Security Adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall, but did not receive responses. Fox News Digital also reached out to the Belfer Center at Harvard, which recently cited that Sherwood-Randall would be rejoining their ranks to lead their “Initiative on Bioconvergence, Biosecurity, and Bioresilience.”
Fox News Digital also attempted to reach Harris’ national security adviser, Phil Gordon, via his new role at a global advisory firm, but did not receive a response.
Gens. Mark Milley and Lloyd Austin III, left, join Alejandro Mayorkas, right, behind Joe Biden, center-front. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Tracey Jacobson, now the chargé d’affaires for the U.S. in Dhaka, Bangladesh, led the administration’s Afghanistan coordination task force charged with processing and relocating Afghan allies. She did not respond to an inquiry.
During the Afghan withdrawal, Jacobson was named by the Biden administration to lead an Afghanistan coordination task force as part of its “whole-of-government effort to process, transport and relocate Afghan Special Immigrant Visa applicants and other Afghan allies,” according to Biden.
Former U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus was asked by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign in 2022 or risk being the first Biden administration official fired, according to The New York Times.
DHS officials ultimately cut his access to the agency’s social media accounts, according to the paper, and a report from Heritage Foundation fellow Simon Hankinson cited that he ultimately left the job soon after.
His role would have also placed him in the midst of the orchestration of Operation Allies Welcome and Operation Allies Refuge. He was also unable to be reached for comment.
Another Mayorkas deputy, then-FEMA Director Robert Fenton Jr., was reportedly tasked with setting up Operation Allies Welcome centers to help evacuees “integrate successfully and safely into new communities.”
Fenton remains the Region 9 administrator for the agency, tasked with an area covering the west coast and South Pacific protectorates. An inquiry to Fenton was not returned.
Mayorkas himself could not be reached directly for comment. Efforts to reach him via a law firm he was or is connected to, as well as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he is a visiting scholar, were either unsuccessful or not returned.
Biden officials go silent when asked about Afghan refugee program after guardsmen shooting
The United Nations says aid workers are still in a “race against time” to remove rubble and rebuild after the devastating earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan last month, killing at least 2,200 people and cutting off remote areas.
The 6.0-magnitude quake on Aug. 31 was shallow, destroying or causing extensive damage to low-rise buildings in the mountainous region. It hit late at night, and homes — mostly made of mud, wood, or rocks — collapsed instantly, becoming death traps.
Satellite data shows that about 40,500 truckloads of debris still needs to be cleared from affected areas in several provinces, the United Nations Development Program said Wednesday. Entire communities have been upended and families are sleeping in the open, it added.
The quake’s epicenter was in remote and rugged Kunar province, challenging rescue and relief efforts by the Taliban government and humanitarian groups. Authorities deployed helicopters or airdropped army commandos to evacuate survivors. Aid workers walked for hours on foot to reach isolated communities.
“This is a race against time,” said Devanand Ramiah, from the UNDP’s Crisis Bureau. “Debris removal and reconstruction operations must start safely and swiftly.”
People’s main demands were the reconstruction of houses and water supplies, according to a spokesman for a Taliban government committee tasked with helping survivors, Zia ur Rahman Speenghar.
People were getting assistance in cash, food, tents, beds, and other necessities, Speenghar said Thursday. Three new roads were under construction in the Dewagal Valley, and roads would be built to areas where there previously were none.
“Various countries and organizations have offered assistance in the construction of houses but that takes time. After the second round of assistance, work will begin on the third round, which is considering what kind of houses can be built here,” the spokesman said.
Afghanistan is facing a “perfect storm” of crises, including natural disasters like the recent earthquake, said Roza Otunbayeva, who leads the U.N. mission to the country.
Afghanistan Peace Campaign
