Why the US Lost in Afghanistan (w/Jon Lee Anderson, the Journalist Who Saw the Taliban Rise Twice)
Why the US Lost in Afghanistan (w/Jon Lee Anderson, the Journalist Who Saw the Taliban Rise Twice)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huk5XUm2p34
Tag: Afghanistan
The Taliban is facing serious challenges from multiple rebel groups.
The Taliban is facing serious challenges from multiple rebel groups.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3HD9w8uCow
Trump’s Horrific Plan to Send Our Allies to Die
Trump’s Horrific Plan to Send Our Allies to Die
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h741EMOcUg
Trump may send Afghan allies who were promised new lives in the U.S. to Congo instead, advocacy group says
“Hundreds of Afghan refugees who helped the United States fight the Taliban may be sent to the Democratic Republic of Congo after the Trump administration halted their U.S. resettlement, an advocacy group said.
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The Democratic Republic of Congo, a Central African country where the Afghans have no ties, is experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with more than 600,000 refugees there already after decades of armed conflict.
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Trump has blocked virtually all paths to the U.S. for Afghan allies, more than 190,000 of whom were resettled in the U.S. from August 2021 until mid-2025. Afghan allies and their family members have been detained by U.S. immigration officials, with one of them dying last month after less than 24 hours in custody. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the death of Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, was being investigated.)”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/trump-may-send-afghan-allies-081118731.html
How much is the Iran war costing taxpayers? Here’s what estimates show
“The first six days of war in Iran cost U.S. taxpayers at least $11.3 billion in munitions alone, according to Pentagon estimates reviewed by lawmakers, and experts say the ongoing cost could increase exponentially. That total does not include the cost of operating and maintaining the military force engaged in the war or battle damage sustained from Iran’s attacks.
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While initial cost estimates of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were around $50 to $60 billion, they ended up costing a combined $8 trillion, according to analysis by Costs of War.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/much-iran-war-costing-taxpayers-212311982.html
A Deadly Attack Sparks Broad Punishment for Innocent Afghans
“While the administration stokes fear about Afghan immigrants, data paint another picture. A 2019 study from the Cato Institute showed that the incarceration rate for Afghans between 18 and 54 was 127 per 100,000, a stark comparison to the 1,477 per 100,000 for native-born Americans.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reported that, according to a 2024 Department of Health and Human Services study, refugees brought a $123.8 billion net fiscal benefit to the U.S. between 2005 and 2019, contributing $581 billion in taxes while receiving $457.1 billion in government support. This combats the Trump administration’s objections based on the net cost of admitting refugees to the U.S.
While refugees’ earnings may be limited on arrival, IRC says they “increase significantly” with time. A median household income of $30,500 in a refugee’s first five years in the U.S. becomes a median income of $71,400 after being here for 20 years. That number exceeds the national median income by nearly $4,000.
IRC also reported that more refugees become entrepreneurs (13 percent) than their U.S.-born counterparts (9 percent), benefitting their communities.
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The administration is using an isolated act of violence to justify sweeping crackdowns on refugees and wartime allies who were already thoroughly vetted.”
https://reason.com/2025/12/04/a-deadly-attack-sparks-broad-punishment-for-innocent-afghans/
Trump’s Crackdown on Afghan Refugees Won’t Make America Any Safer
“Trump has halted all asylum decisions and paused visas for Afghan passport holders. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has announced that the government is “actively re-examining” all Afghan nationals who entered the country under President Joseph Biden. CBS reports that the administration is thinking of expanding its travel ban from 19 to 30 countries.
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New data leaked to and analyzed by David J. Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, show that of the people taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since October 1, 73 percent had no criminal conviction. Nearly half had no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges; about a quarter had no conviction but did have pending charges. Of those with a criminal conviction, the majority had vice, immigration, or traffic violations. Only 5 percent had a violent criminal conviction.
Since January, the number of individuals arrested by ICE without a criminal record or criminal charge has grown by 1,500 percent.
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Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, nearly 200,000 Afghan nationals have migrated to the U.S. as part of Operation Allies Welcome and its successor, Operation Enduring Welcome—programs designed to resettle Afghans who aided the U.S. during the two-decade Afghanistan War. Another 260,000 Afghans are still waiting to come to the U.S., according to Shawn VanDiver, the president of #AfghanEvac and a proponent of the Afghan refugee programs.
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Sharif Aly, president of the International Refugee Assistance Project, told the Associated Press that refugees are “already the most highly vetted immigrants in the United States.” Revetting and reinterviewing the hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees peacefully living in the U.S. is not only cruel, Aly argues, but a “tremendous waste of government resources.”
Unfortunately, legal limbo is nothing new for Afghan refugees. Many of them legitimately fear for their lives if they return to Afghanistan after aiding the U.S. Now they face an even more uncertain future.”
https://reason.com/2025/12/03/trumps-crackdown-on-afghan-refugees-wont-make-america-any-safer/
Why Afghanistan and Pakistan are fighting
A group in Pakistan with ties to the Taliban attacked Pakistan and want to give Pakistani territories to Afghanistan. Afghanistan doesn’t recognize the current border, which was drawn by the British and separates ethnic groups. Afghanistan’s other borders also separate groups, including Persians from Persia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0X2rqzKTgM
ICE Arrests Afghan Asylum Seeker With Brain Cancer After He Asks for Directions
“He had a valid work permit and a pending asylum claim, but Ihsanullah Garay was still detained. He now faces deportation while battling brain cancer.”
https://reason.com/2025/10/20/ice-arrests-afghan-asylum-seeker-with-brain-cancer-after-he-asks-for-directions/
Deadly Clashes Along Af-Pak Border
Fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Thousands claimed dead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnZHTbFDrSk