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03 Sep 21. Private companies at ‘Army 2021’ forum strive for survival as Russian military orders shrink. For years, Russia has faced international sanctions that limited its ability to build or acquire state-of-the-art military capabilities. Now, President Vladimir Putin and the country’s military leaders are trying a new tactic to acquire and develop the weapons they need: They’re asking Russian small businesses for help.
“The country’s defense complex has enormous potential, which allows it to solve problems of a very different scale. But it is really difficult to master the production of civilian products by the military-industrial complex. It has no experience of working in tough market conditions. Business should come to the rescue,” Sergey Katyrin, the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told reporters following the arms trade show Army 2021 last month.
Last week, dozens of private Russian companies, many of which already perform defense work, took part in the annual Army forum, which ran Aug. 22-28. The small businesses – working in a range of topics, from information technology to optics – were trying to capture the attention of Russia’s largest prime contractors.
At first glance, Army 2021 was a display of traditional Russian military might. But behind the scenes were military and civilian industry officials and experts discussing two critical issues facing local businesses: import substitution and production diversification.
United Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of the state corporation Rostec, is no stranger to import substitution. After several Western companies declined to provide composite materials for the MC-21 jetliner, UAC turned to domestic providers, including private companies.
Speaking to Defense News, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Trade described the effort to replace foreign-made materials as a “splash” for Russian industry. For example, Russia has successfully replaced Ukrainian-sourced engines for ships and helicopters with homemade versions.
However, circumstances in the field of microelectronics are more complicated. Many Russian manufacturers lack the ability to produce their own microelectronics, instead turning to Asian countries.
According to Russian arms export agency Rosoboronexport, a boost to the local development of microelectronics and related components will require a government investment of 798 billion roubles (U.S. $11 billion) to 2024.
The presence of such foreign-made components in Russian-made devices creates an obstacle for domestic firms seeking business with the military. One of them is Siltech, a producer of devices that scan product labels and keep track of the data.
The company attended Army 2021, and its manager, Grigory Britvin, said it’s been unable to win business with the Defence Ministry because its products depend on foreign-made materials. But he said he doesn’t regret the company’s approach, citing bureaucratic red tape as the problem.
Nevertheless, he added, “we are a commercial company, and the speed [of acquisition] is a question of survival for us.”
But Vladimir Kuznetsov, the head St. Petersburg-based KUBO, which makes electric motors and servo drives for robotics and mechatronics, says military acquisition officials are beginning to change their approach.
“They understand that without modern solutions and modern technology, there will be no modern army,” he said, emphasizing that private businesses are the solution.
03 Sep 21. DoD in the hotseat over R1.1 billion in on-going South African corruption and fraud cases. A Department of Defence (DoD) presentation has revealed over 90 ongoing cases of corruption and fraud amounting to roughly R1.19bn across all divisions of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). The virtual DoD presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV) on 25 August lists on-going corruption and fraud (C&F) cases, some dating back as far as 1998, although most of the cases are in the last decade.
C&F cases are handled by the Inspectorate Division, Military Police, Legal Services, Defence Intelligence and the Finance Division. According to the presentation, out of the 447 cases that have been received or opened, 40 have been finalised, 48 are in military court, 16 in commercial court, five in civilian court and 354 cases are still under investigation. There have been 14 convictions in 2021, ranging from minor fines to dismissal from the SANDF.
There are 93 high profile (above R100 000) cases. The presentation did not give much information on these cases, but it did detail the division the case concerns and the amount involved. The most corrupt and fraudulent division by a significant margin is the SA Army, with 60 high profile cases. In comparison to the other divisions, the second highest number of high profile C&F cases lies within the South African Military Health Service (SAMHS), with six cases.
Going by amounts under investigation, the Logistic Division is by and large the most corrupt and fraudulent: an irregular contract was awarded to a company last year for “COVID-19 related equipment” (possibly PPE) amounting to R400 million. In another case concerning the Logistics Division in the 2019/2020 financial year, a supplier was awarded work for R239 million through the “life capability project” (possibly Project Thusano). The report of the case has been submitted to the Chief of the SANDF, General Rudzani Maphwanya, and Secretary for Defence Gladys Kudjoe for a decision.
The third largest is a fraud case is against the SA Army. In the 2017/2018 financial year, R120 million was used to purchase 20 000 software licenses but only 15 000 were delivered. The Military Police are awaiting feedback from the Special Investigating Unit on the outcome of the investigation.
In one of five high profile C&F cases against the SA Navy, a tender for R52 million was awarded to a private contractor for maintenance and repair of operational mechanical equipment and cleaning and repair of bulk storage tanks in the 2013/2014 financial year. The case is at the commercial court in Bellville awaiting decision.
In one of five high profile C&F cases against the SA Air Force, R34 million is under investigation in a fraud case. The case concerns a company that is not approved by the Tender Board but was however awarded a tender for X-ray machines and scanners.
According to the presentation, well over half of the high-profile C&F cases were opened in the past five years, possibly indicating the DoD is going through its worst spell of C&F since its inception in 1994. The Military Police are still investigating some cases that are now 13 years old. One case still under investigation, a fraud case in the SA Army for orders and salaries claimed for days not worked, dates back to 1998.
Kudjoe said one of the reasons for cases taking so long to reach finalisation and the backlog of cases is due to the lack of capacity of the Inspector General and Military Police. The court system and defendants using the court system to buy more time is another reason cases are taking so long. In the next meeting, the DoD says it will give more information on these cases and present the reasons for many of the cases taking five years and more to reach a verdict.
The presentation was lambasted by members of the PCDMV for being hard to follow, lacking critical information and leaving more questions than answers. The presentation was riddled with spelling and numerical errors. The presenter from the DoD was not speaking in conjuncture with his slides and could not provide answers to basic questions of importance to the PCDMV. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
01 Sep 21. Treasury proposes R700m extra funding for SANDF. The National Treasury has proposed that R700m in additional funds be allocated to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) for its deployments internally and in Mozambique.
The Treasury on Tuesday briefed the Standing Committee on Appropriations on its Second Special Appropriation Bill, proposing the additional funding to cover the costs of the deployment of military personnel to assist police with bringing order to the recent unrest and riots mainly in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal provinces; and for the deployment of the SANDF to Mozambique for a period of three months, as part of the Southern African Development Community Standby Force.
Of the R700m, R354 442 000 would go toward the compensation of employees and R324 260 000 towards goods and services.
The Bill aims to address the impact of the recent unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic and also seeks additional urgent funding allocations in the 2021/22 financial year for Social Development, Defence, Police, and Trade, Industry and Competition. If Treasury gets its way, R32bn will be allocated to address the impact of the unrest and COVID-19.
Treasury is also seeking R250m of additional funds be allocated to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for the deployment of police personnel to deal with the recent unrest and riots. This is mostly for things like fuel.
Now that it has been presented to Parliament, the bill will be considered so the allocations can be approved.
The SANDF is deployed to ensure civil order under Operation Prosper. The initial deployment from July to August was costed at R615m, and the extension to 13 September will require an additional R254 914 500, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s deployment letter. Ten thousands troops remain on Prosper duty.
Up to 1 495 personnel have been authorised to be deployed to Mozambique under Operation Vikela. The SANDF deployment is for three months (15 July to 15 October) at a cost of R984m, but may be extended. South African troops and equipment began arriving in Mozambique in July. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
01 Sep 21. Taiwan says China can ‘paralyse’ its defences, threat worsening. China’s armed forces can “paralyse” Taiwan’s defences and are able to fully monitor its deployments, the island’s defence ministry said, offering a stark assessment of the rising threat posed by its giant neighbour.
Beijing is stepping up military activities around the island, which it views as Chinese territory. It has never renounced the use of force to bring democratic Taiwan under its control.
In its annual report to parliament on China’s military, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry presented a far graver view than it did last year, when the report said China still lacked the capability to launch a full assault on Taiwan.
This year’s report said that China can launch what it termed “soft and hard electronic attacks”, including blocking communications across the western part of the first island chain, the string of islands that run from the Japanese archipelago, through Taiwan and down to the Philippines.
China “can combine with its internet army to launch wired and wireless attacks against the global internet, which would initially paralyse our air defences, command of the sea and counter-attack system abilities, presenting a huge threat to us”.
China has also improved its reconnaissance abilities using Beidou, China’s answer to the U.S.-owned GPS navigation system, the ministry added.
This means Beijing can monitor movements around Taiwan, helped by China’s regular use of its own spy planes, drones and intelligence gathering ships, it said.
China’s Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Although Taiwan’s report noted, like last year, that China still lacked transport abilities and logistical support for a large-scale invasion, the Chinese military is working to boost those abilities.
With precision missile attacks that can hit anywhere on the island, China is also capable of “paralysing” Taiwan military command centres and combat capacity of its naval and air forces, it said.
Chinese spies in Taiwan could launch a “decapitation strike” to destroy political and economic infrastructure, it added.
With the deployment of mid- and long-range missiles and more exercises involving its aircraft carriers, China is trying to position itself to delay “foreign military intervention” in an attack on Taiwan, the ministry said.
President Tsai Ing-wen has made bolstering Taiwan’s own defences a priority, building up its domestic defence industry and buying more equipment from the United States, the island’s most important arms supplier and international backer. (Source: Reuters)
31 Aug 21. U.S., Ukraine Leaders Discuss Strategic Partnership During Pentagon Meeting. The United States will continue to urge Russia to end its illegal occupation of Ukraine’s Crimea and looks to strengthen bonds between the United States and Ukraine, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III told Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Defense Minister Andrii Taranto at the Pentagon today.
The Ukrainian delegation is in Washington to discuss the larger aspects of the U.S.-Ukraine relationship.
Ukraine is in conflict with Russia, which occupied and annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Russia had agreed to respect the sovereignty of all nations in Europe.
“Our support for Ukraine sovereignty, territorial integrity, and Euro-Atlantic aspirations is unwavering,” Austin said at the beginning of the meeting. “We again call on Russia to end the occupation of Crimea and to stop perpetuating the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and we will continue to stand with you in the face of this Russian aggression.”
The United States wants to strengthen the strategic defense partnership with Ukraine. To that end, Austin signed a strategic defense framework agreement with Taranto. The document is meant to enhance cooperation between the two nations and “advances shared priorities by ensuring that our bilateral security cooperation continues to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression,” Austin said.
The agreement also looks at defense industry reforms in support of Ukraine’s NATO membership aspirations, and deepening cooperation in such areas of Black Sea security, cyber defense, and intelligence sharing.
The two men will also sign a research, development, test and evaluation agreement. This will provide a framework for bilateral armaments and military technical cooperative projects.
Since the Russia aggression, the United States has provided Ukraine with more than $2.5bn in aid. This year, that includes Javelin missiles.
Austin said the United States remains committed to Ukraine, and he thanked the nation for its help in Afghanistan and in the evacuation effort. Austin told Ukraine’s president that he looks forward to a more secure, prosperous, democratic and free Ukraine. (Source: US DoD)
31 Aug 21. Australia announces new grant funding for defence exporters. The companies will use the grant to purchase new equipment or increase manufacturing capabilities. The Australian Government has announced new grant funding of more than $880,576 (A$1.2m) to boost the export capabilities of six local businesses. The move is part of the federal government’s strategy to support growth in the domestic defence sector through the Defence Global Competitiveness grants programme.
Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said: “Small businesses that develop some of the most innovative and world-leading defence capabilities are the backbone of Australia’s industrial base.
“From acquiring new specialist components, to manufacturing engines for unmanned aerial vehicles, or making new static targets for international customers, these six small businesses are expanding into global markets, generating local jobs and strengthening the sovereign industrial base on which Defence relies.”
South Australia’s Electro Cad Australia and New South Wales’ Repetition Engineering (trading as Challenge Engineering) each received a funding grant of A$240,000.
Electro Cad will use the funding to install a dedicated clean room and purchase new equipment to manufacture complex defence components while Repetition Engineering will spend it to procure additional machinery.
South Australia’s JTM Gaskets received A$211,260 to buy new equipment to boost production, while Victoria-based business Trakka Corp will use its A$193,192 grant to procure specialist equipment to carry out in-house environmental stress screening for the components they produce.
The government also allocated A$166,000 to Gaardtech for boosting fabrication capabilities.
Western Australia’s Orbital Corporation will utilise a A$195,624 grant to boost production capabilities for propulsion systems and flight componentry for tactical uncrewed aerial vehicles.
Minister Price added: “By supporting these companies to invest in new equipment or to increase their manufacturing capabilities, it is enabling them to increase their production capabilities and offer more competitive priced equipment internationally.”
The federal government is also encouraging industry suppliers to apply for the fourth generation of contracts to deliver services to defence bases. These contracts are expected to add around $882m (A$1.2bn) per annum to the Australian economy. (Source: army-technology.com)
31 Aug 21. Bio-weapons experts call for tighter controls as Covid highlights risk. Demand for stronger enforcement of BWC treaty as representatives meet in Geneva. Experts convening in Geneva for an annual Biological Weapons Convention gathering have called for tougher powers to enforce the treaty as the Covid-19 pandemic sharpens global awareness of biological threats. “The pandemic provided stark illustration that the inevitable uncertainty surrounding the origin of biological events can fuel speculation and mistrust that can have cascading global effects,” academics and research institutions, including the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the British non-profit VERTIC, said in a joint statement on Monday at the start of the eight-day meeting, attended by representatives of the 183 BWC members and bio-weapons experts. “The BWC is well positioned to establish a trusted clearing house for gathering and analysing information related to the origin of significant biological events,” they added. Twenty months after the first cases of Covid-19 were identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the origins of the virus remain hotly debated. A World Health Organization fact-finding mission to the city in January 2021 was inconclusive and criticised for having gained limited access to Chinese facilities and data. A US intelligence probe ordered by President Joe Biden in May into whether Sars-Cov-2 — the virus that causes Covid-19 — emerged naturally or could have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology failed to reach a definitive conclusion. Beijing has rejected any suggestion of a leak from the laboratory.
Diplomatic sensitivities would prevent any formal reference to the so-called lab-leak theory at the Geneva conference, but the reluctance of Chinese officials to give inspectors more access was undermining faith in Beijing’s commitment to the BWC, said Filippa Lentzos, a social scientist at King’s College London who is researching biological agent threats. “The whole saga will have implications on confidence in China’s commitments, but none of that will be aired publicly,” said Lentzos, who will be attending the meeting. Researchers work at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2017. The convention bans the development, stockpiling, transfer and use of biological weapons but does not include formal measures to ensure compliance by member states. It covers dual use research — technology that can be used for either defensive or offensive purposes — but gives governments room for manoeuvre. Conducting such activity for offensive military use is prohibited, while research and development for defence or prophylactic purposes is allowed. Although it remains unproven that Sars-Cov-2 emerged from a research facility rather than naturally, experts are calling for a global mechanism to provide independent, transparent and accredited fact-checking of major biological events. They argue that little is known about the biological research conducted by different governments because the BWC is too weak. When the convention was crafted, James Leonard, the US chief negotiator, described it as a “gentleman’s agreement”. Andy Weber, assistant secretary of defence for nuclear, chemical and biological defence programmes under President Barack Obama, said the convention lacked any mechanism for enforcement or the verification and inspection of biological research. “There was an effort in the late 1990s, early 2000s, to add a verification provision based on the success of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which has very good verification and inspection capabilities . . . but that was blocked, mostly by the United States,” he said. Staff at the Wuhan Institute have in the past expressed concern about some of the research conducted there, particularly where it may have intersected with work by the Chinese military. Artist’s impression of the Sars-Cov-2 virus. The pandemic has sharpened global awareness of biological threats © National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases During a December 2011 panel held by the US government’s National Institutes of Health, Yuan Zhiming, a microbiologist at the Wuhan Institute, warned: “In China, there is no regulation on the identification of dual use research, and there’s no regulation on the classification of research and classification of information.” There were “very legitimate questions around the dual use of what they’re doing in this [Wuhan] facility, but again it’s not implying they’re necessarily doing anything in contravention of the BWC”, said Lentzos. “What is legitimate is drawing attention to Chinese military involvement in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, both in terms of leadership, in terms of co-authorship on publications, in terms of the funding going into all those things, which is a lot of stuff we don’t know about and the Chinese are not being very open or transparent about.” The Wuhan Institute did not respond to a request for comment.
China’s foreign ministry told the Financial Times that it remained committed to protecting the convention and said the US had undermined efforts to establish a mechanism for biological weapons inspections when it withdrew from talks in the early 2000s on broadening the BWC’s powers following concerns by US pharmaceutical groups. “Since the US thinks it is practical to inspect Wuhan labs, then it has no reason to oppose [such a mechanism] and has even less reason to reject inspections of Fort Detrick,” the ministry said, referring to the home of the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Maryland. In response to calls for an independent inspection of the Wuhan Institute, China has repeatedly suggested, without providing credible evidence, that Sars-Cov-2 may have originated at the US facility. “Fort Detrick keeps a large number of viruses that seriously threaten human safety, and there are many security risks and loopholes at Fort Detrick,” a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry told a press conference in June. (Source: FT.com)
31 Aug 21. South Korea proposes 4.5% increase in 2022 defence budget. South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has proposed a defence budget of KRW55.23trn (USD47.6bn) for 2022. The MND said on 31 August that the new expenditure, which will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval, is a year-on-year increase of 4.5%. South Korea is one of the fastest growing large defence markets in the world, according to Janes Defence Budgets. (Janes Defence Budgets) This proposed increase reflects concerns in Seoul about North Korean military modernisation. Pyongyang announced plans earlier in 2021 to accelerate the development of capabilities including tactical nuclear weapons, nuclear-powered submarines, and hypersonic missiles. The MND said in a press release that its proposed budget for 2022 comprises KRW17.34trn for force modernisation and KRW37.89trn for military operations, increases of 5.7% and 2% respectively.
The force modernisation expenditure includes about KRW12.46trn for military procurement and KRW4.88trn for research and development (R&D). The MND said it is aiming to spend 87% of these expenditures on local products and technologies. R&D funding in 2022 will increase by nearly 13%, it said.
In terms of major programmes, the MND said the proposed 2022 allocation includes funding for the procurement of military surveillance satellites, air defence systems, tactical communications capability, Hyundai Rotem K-2 main battle tanks, Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters, and FFX III guided-missile frigates. Major R&D projects funded through the budget include the KF-21 fighter, which received KRW454bn, next-generation submarines (KRW421bn), small satellites (KRW11.2bn), and a long-range artillery interceptor system (KRW18.9bn). The proposed funding also comprises increases for defence-industrial support measures including innovation in 4th Industrial Revolution technologies. Other MND priorities in the proposed budget include funding for military personnel welfare, training facilities and infrastructure, and logistics and sustainment. (Source: Jane’s)
31 Aug 21. Japan requests USD50bn defence budget for 2022. Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has requested a defence budget of JPY5.48trn (USD50 bn) for 2022 amid what Tokyo views as an increasingly intense security environment.
The request, proposed on 31 August, represents a 2.9% nominal rise in annual spending: the fastest rate of expansion in Japan’s defence expenditure since 2018.
Janes Defence Budgets forecasts modest real-terms growth in Japan’s defence budget over the coming few years. (Janes Defence Budgets)
Analysis by Janes suggests that if the proposed budget is approved later this year Japan’s total defence spending in 2022 – including costs for hosting US forces and military veterans’ pensions – would likely reach JPY5.60trn. This would return the full extent of defence spending to 1.0% of GDP: a threshold below which it fell following the nominal budget cut of 0.7% in 2021. The proposed budget reflects Japan’s continued emphasis on developing capability in space, cyber and electromagnetic domains in response to military modernisation in North Korea and China and the latter’s regional assertiveness.
It also indicates Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s commitment to continue his predecessor Shinzo Abe’s policy of bolstering the defensive capabilities of Japan’s remote islands, including those near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. These islands are controlled by Japan but claimed by China and Taiwan. The 2022 defence budget includes funding for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) to establish a new camp on the southwestern Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture where, by fiscal year (FY) 2023–24, it plans to deploy surface-to-air and anti-ship missile batteries, along with about 570 troops. The service has also requested JPY21.5bn to develop facilities on islands including Ishigaki, Miyako, Yonaguni, and Amami, a JGSDF spokesperson told Janes. (Source: Jane’s)
31 Aug 21. How will China play the Afghanistan card? Are fears Beijing will exploit the void left by the US in Afghanistan overblown? ASPI’s Michael Shoebridge weighs in. The US and coalition withdrawal from Afghanistan following a 21-year occupation has sparked debate over potential geostrategic consequences, with some observers fearing Beijing may look to establish a foothold in the region.
According to Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at the New Delhi–based Centre for Policy Research, an opportunistic China could leverage a Taliban-led Afghanistan’s mineral wealth and geographical position.
“China would achieve this by offering the Taliban the two things they desperately need — international recognition and economic aid,” he notes.
“With Russia also likely to recognise the Taliban’s leadership in Afghanistan, the group will have little incentive to moderate its violence, despite its current attempts to polish its image.”
But according to Michael Shoebridge, director of ASPI’s defence, strategy, and national security program, the US withdrawal is “bad news” for Beijing.
The civil unrest and instability in Afghanistan, expected to ensue as factions struggle for power, are expected to pose direct security threats to China, which shares a border with the embattled country.
“Beijing will play its ‘non-interference’ card to minimise its engagement in Afghanistan and seek to largely quarantine the Afghan situation from bleeding into China,” Shoebridge writes.
“To the extent that the Taliban can deliver security, Beijing will seek to exploit Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, but we should have low expectations about the scale of that effort.”
According to the ASPI analyst, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will likely have a “nakedly transactional, wary relationship” with the Islamist Taliban regime.
“If the US putting more than US$2trn into Afghanistan for security and development didn’t work, it’s hard to see how China extracting some of Afghanistan’s US$1trn in mineral wealth will create a markedly better future, except perhaps for particular winners in China’s economy,” he continues.
“For the CCP, Afghanistan is about risk mitigation and damage minimisation, not a glittering opportunity, and the Afghan people’s interests rank low on Beijing’s priority list.”
Afghanistan’s internal dynamics, he adds, will hinder any possibility of a stable China-Afghanistan partnership.
“Afghanistan is not an empty space and the Taliban are well short of being in a position to first provide security and then deliver services to 37 million Afghans, if indeed that is even their intent,” Shoebridge argues.
“Afghanistan’s reserves of lithium, copper and gold are still in the ground because of the country’s history of insecurity, lack of a solid legal framework and high levels of corruption.
“None of that seems likely to improve under Taliban rule with cashed-up mercantilist Chinese entities offering inducements to particular leaders.”
Shoebridge flags the likelihood of an enduring civil war in Afghanistan, with the remnant of former security forces, cashed-up and equipped with US military hardware, potentially challenging Taliban rule in some parts of the country.
He continues: “Compounding this, Afghanistan remains an extremely dense patchwork of tribal and other networks.
“Any overarching Taliban cohesion across Afghanistan has been driven largely by the focus on the common foreign enemy.
“Now that that adversary is gone, so has that driver of Taliban cohesion. We should expect fissures and pressures to erupt in the Taliban itself as the different armed and tribal groups it’s made up of attempt to move from insurgency to government.”
This combination of factors, he writes, would more likely result in a “maelstrom than a void”.
“None of this makes for a beautiful friendship — or a happy future for the people of Afghanistan — despite the photo opportunities and grand narratives,” Shoebridge concluded. (Source: Defence Connect)
31 Aug 21. Taliban celebrate ‘complete independence’ as last U.S. troops leave Afghanistan.
Summary
- Last U.S. troops leave Kabul airport
- Celebratory gunfire erupts over Kabul
- Scores of American civilians left behind
- Biden thanks military for dangerous evacuation
Aug 31 (Reuters) – Celebratory gunfire echoed across Kabul as Taliban fighters took control of the airport before dawn on Tuesday following the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops, ending 20 years of war that left the Islamic militia stronger than it was in 2001.
Shaky video footage distributed by the Taliban showed fighters entering the airport after the last U.S. troops took off a minute before midnight, marking the end of a hasty and humiliating exit for Washington and its NATO allies.
“The last U.S. soldier has left Kabul airport and our country gained complete independence,” Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf said, according to Al Jazeera TV.
The U.S. Army shared an image taken with night-vision optics of the last U.S. soldier to step aboard the final evacuation flight out of Kabul – Major General Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division.
America’s longest war took the lives of nearly 2,500 U.S. troops and an estimated 240,000 Afghans, and cost some $2trn.
Although it succeeded in driving the Taliban from power and stopped Afghanistan being used as a base by al Qaeda to attack the United States, it ended with the hardline Islamic militants controlling more of the country than they ever did during their previous rule from 1996 to 2001.
Those years were marked by the brutal enforcement of the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law, and the world is now watching to see whether it forms a more moderate and inclusive government in the months ahead.
Thousands of Afghans have already fled fearing Taliban reprisals. A massive but chaotic airlift by the United States and its allies over the past two weeks succeeded in evacuating more than 123,000 people from Kabul, but tens of thousands who helped Western countries during the war were left behind.
A contingent of Americans, estimated by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as under 200 and possibly closer to 100, wanted to leave but were unable to get on the last flights.
General Frank McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, told a Pentagon briefing that the chief U.S. diplomat in Afghanistan, Ross Wilson, was on the last C-17 flight out.
“There’s a lot of heartbreak associated with this departure. We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out. But I think if we’d stayed another 10 days, we wouldn’t have gotten everybody out,” McKenzie told reporters.
As the U.S. troops departed, they destroyed more than 70 aircraft, dozens of armored vehicles and disabled air defenses that had thwarted an attempted Islamic State rocket attack on the eve of the U.S. departure. read more
“NATIONAL DISGRACE”
President Joe Biden, in a statement, defended his decision to stick to a Tuesday deadline for withdrawing U.S. forces. He said the world would hold the Taliban to their commitment to allow safe passage for those who want to leave Afghanistan.
“Now, our 20-year military presence in Afghanistan has ended,” said Biden, who thanked the U.S. military for carrying out the dangerous evacuation. He plans to address the American people on Tuesday afternoon.
Biden has said the United States long ago achieved the objectives it set in ousting the Taliban in 2001 for harboring al Qaeda militants who masterminded the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
The president has drawn heavy criticism from Republicans and some of his fellow Democrats for his handling of Afghanistan since the Taliban took over Kabul earlier this month after a lightning advance and the collapse of the U.S.-backed government.
Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the U.S. withdrawal a “national disgrace” that was “the direct result of President Biden’s cowardice and incompetence.”
But Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse tweeted: “Bravo to our diplomats, military, and intelligence agencies. An airlift of 120,000 people in that dangerous and tumultuous situation is something no one else could do.”
Blinken said the United States was prepared to work with the new Taliban government if it does not carry out reprisals against opponents in the country.
“The Taliban seeks international legitimacy and support. Our position is any legitimacy and support will have to be earned,” he said.
The Taliban must revive a war-shattered economy without being able to count on the billions of dollars in foreign aid that flowed to the previous ruling elite and fed systemic corruption.
The population outside the cities is facing what U.N. officials have called a catastrophic humanitarian situation worsened by a severe drought.
A Taliban official in Kabul said the group wants people to lead an Islamic way of life and get rid of all foreign influences.
“Our culture has become toxic, we see Russian and American influence everywhere, even in the food we eat. That is something people should realise and make necessary changes. This will take time but will happen,” he said. (Source: Reuters)
30 Aug 21. What happens now that U.S. troops have left Afghanistan?
For the first time since 2001 there are no American troops in Afghanistan after the United States completed the evacuation of most of its citizens and thousands of at-risk Afghans.
More than 114,000 people have been airlifted from Kabul airport in the past two weeks as part of the U.S. effort.
But the end of the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan raises a new set of questions for Biden and his administration.
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WHAT HAPPENS TO AMERICANS AND AT-RISK AFGHANS LEFT BEHIND?
The United States has evacuated more than 5,500 U.S. citizens since evacuation flights began on Aug. 14. A small number of American citizens have chosen to continue to stay in Afghanistan, many of them so they can be with family members.
The Biden administration has said it expects the Taliban to continue allowing safe passage for Americans and others to leave Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdrawal is completed.
But there are concerns about how those citizens will be able to leave if there is no functioning airport.
Tens of thousands of at-risk Afghans, such as interpreters who worked with the U.S. military, journalists and women’s rights advocates, have also been left behind.
It is unclear what their fate will be but officials are concerned that the Taliban may retaliate against them.
The Taliban have pledged to allow all foreign nationals and Afghan citizens with travel authorization from another country to leave Afghanistan, according to a joint statement issued by Britain, the United States and other countries on Sunday.
WHAT HAPPENS TO KABUL AIRPORT AFTER U.S. FORCES LEAVE?
For the past two weeks, the U.S. military has been securing and operating Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport with nearly 6,000 troops.
The Taliban are in talks with governments like Qatar and Turkey to seek assistance to continue civilian flight operations from there, the only way for many people to leave Afghanistan.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday that repairs need to be made at Kabul airport before it can be reopened to civilian flights.
Turkey, which is part of the NATO mission, has been responsible for security at the airport for the past six years. Keeping the airport open after foreign forces hand over control is vital not just for Afghanistan to stay connected to the world but also to maintain aid supplies and operations.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE U.S.-TALIBAN RELATIONSHIP LOOK LIKE?
The United States has said it does not plan to leave diplomats behind in Afghanistan and will decide on what to do in the future based on the Taliban’s actions.
But the Biden administration will have to determine how it is able to ensure a humanitarian and economic crisis does not break out in the country.
The United Natinos says more than 18 million people – over half Afghanistan’s population – require aid and half of all Afghan children under 5 already suffer from acute malnutrition amid the second drought in four years.
Some countries including Britain have said that no nation should bilaterally recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan.
WHAT KIND OF THREAT IS POSED BY ISLAMIC STATE?
The one area of cooperation between the United States and Taliban could be on the threat posed by Islamic State militants.
There are questions about how Washington and the Taliban can coordinate and potentially even share information to counter the group.
Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), named after a historic term for the region, first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and quickly established a reputation for extreme brutality.
The group claimed responsibility for an Aug. 26 suicide bombing outside the airport that killed 13 U.S. troops and scores of Afghan civilians.
The United States has carried out at least two drone strikes against the group since then and Biden has said his administration will continue to retaliate for the attack.
ISIS-K is a sworn enemy of the Taliban. But U.S. intelligence officials believe the movement used the instability that led to the collapse of Afghanistan’s Western-backed government this month to strengthen its position and step up recruitment of disenfranchised Taliban members.
(Source: Reuters)
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