Charles Lister Profile picture
Aug 15, 2021 13 tweets 16 min read Read on X
NEW - #Taliban prepping for a conference inside #Afghanistan's Presidential Palace.

Reports said they planned to re-proclaim the Islamic Emirate of #Afghanistan.
During the AJA-televised conference, one #Taliban commander (is that Mullah Zakir?) says he spent 8yrs in #Guantanamo.

A clear salt-in-wound moment for the U.S.
One #Taliban commander speaking from #Afghanistan's Presidential Palace says #Taliban forces have been "coordinating with" U.S. officials today, amid their entry into #Kabul.
4 months ago, 3,000 U.S. troops were in #Afghanistan -- the ANDF was tenaciously fighting & holding almost all frontlines.

Today, 6,000 U.S. troops have returned -- 100% of #Afghanistan has fallen to the #Taliban & #NATO forces are desperately evacuating their citizens for good.
Taking into consideration all the prisons captured & emptied over the past 2 weeks, it'd seem reasonable to say that 1,000s of #Taliban fighters & 100s of #AlQaeda & #ISIS operatives have found freedom in #Afghanistan.

AQ (AQ & AQIS ) in particular given new life lately.
Now that the U.S. has disengaged from #Afghanistan & 99% of intelligence networks have been dissolved, U.S. officials are suggesting #AlQaeda could regenerate "much faster than expected."

... No sh*t Sherlock.

apnews.com/article/joe-bi…
1,000s of Afghans are stuck at #Kabul Airport desperate to get on a flight out of #Afghanistan -- but U.S. forces stopped civilian flights today for security reasons.

Multiple reports of injuries amid desperate runs on gates, while U.S. troops have been firing into the air.
This plane took off from #Kabul this morning reportedly carrying more than x5 the number of people it’s designed to — some of those left behind tied themselves to the rear & fell off after takeoff.

I have no words. #Afghanistan

As #Kabul awoke to its first full day of #Taliban rule since 2001, @clarissaward of @CNN is reporting from the streets — extraordinary reporting from the very best in the business:

@clarissaward @CNN “It’s very easy to say #Trump set us up for this & we’re just simply following through, but any responsible leader who was listening to all of the advice he was getting would have taken a more measured approach.”

- My comments to @nwadhams
of @business:

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
@clarissaward @CNN @nwadhams @business When the US announced withdrawal, the #UK pushed #NATO states to form a new coalition to stay in #Afghanistan -- nobody agreed.

"This wasn't the right time or decision to make, of course, #AlQaeda will come back," #UK Defense Secretary @BWallaceMP said.

theguardian.com/world/2021/aug…
@clarissaward @CNN @nwadhams @business @BWallaceMP The amount of weaponry captured by the #Taliban in recent weeks is mind-boggling.

Yesterday, they got EMB 314 Super Tucanos, worth ~$10 million each.

This video shows a single (enormous) haul of U.S.-made M16s, M4s & crates of Berettas.

@clarissaward @CNN @nwadhams @business @BWallaceMP What does the collapse of #Afghanistan into #Taliban rule mean for terrorism & counterterrorism going forward?

Here’s some rapid-fire thoughts on my mind, for @MiddleEastInst & @MEI_CTE:

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More from @Charles_Lister

Jun 24
Last night, Saraya Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that killed 25 people at the St Elias Church outside #Damascus on Sunday.

This is a group with a murky history -- a 🧵 Image
Ansar al-Sunna first emerged in the public on Feb 1, 2025 -- claiming responsibility for massacring ~12 Alawites in #Hama several days earlier.

But the group was formed in June 2024 (~6months pre-#Assad's fall) in #Idlib by #HTS defectors & operatives aligned with Huras al-Din.
At least 3 Ansar al-Sunna operatives were detained by #HTS's General Security Service in October 2024 -- they were deemed to be an #ISIS sleeper cell.

GSS interrogations revealed communication with militants in Deir ez Zour.
Read 8 tweets
May 2
What's happening in #Syria's #Druze-majority governorate of #Suwayda?

A 🧵:
Last night, almost all of #Suwayda's #Druze religious, civil & military leaders agreed a deal w. #Damascus to begin a gradual integration of #Syria's Interior Ministry, by folding #Druze militias into the "Public Security" force -- & later, more into the Defense Ministry.
This morning, that deal began moving -- with ~700 #Druze militiamen fast-tracked into a #Suwayda-specific Public Security force responsible for security in the (a) capital & (b) border areas. ~1,300 more men are in process to join too.
Read 9 tweets
Apr 30
Amid hostilities in #Sahnaya, let's get one thing straight -- this is *not* a "gov't vs. Druze" conflict. By any means.

#Syria's Druze are extremely divided -- especially the clerics.

And more than any other actor, #Israel is preying on that division.
While some #Druze clerics (like Hijri) appear determined to hold hard against #Damascus, others (like Hinawi & Jarbou) seem determined to find a middle ground compromise.

Then there's Druze in #Israel (working with the IDF) & in #Lebanon (backing #Damascus). Image
Image
Image
Image
The most powerful #Druze militias (Rijal al-Karama, Ahrar al-Jabal etc) -- HQ'd in #Suwayda -- have signed a framework security agreement with #Damascus & work jointly with the Interior Ministry. They worked together to end fighting in #Jaramana & same overnight in Sahnaya. Image
Read 9 tweets
Apr 15
When it comes to reports of a US military withdrawal from #Syria, there are many moving parts in play, but it's clearly coming.

The US military's decisive shift in posture & priorities post-#Assad offered the clearest evidence. A 🧵: Image
Since #Assad fell in Dec 2024, the US military has established relations with #Damascus & proactively facilitated & pushed talks between the #SDF & #Syria's new gov't.

For CENTCOM: the #SDF *must* integrate into the new #Syria.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/02/20/syr…
The March 10 framework agreement signed by #Syria President Ahmed al-Sharaa & #SDF leader Mazloum Abdi was a direct result of US mediation -- and from March 6, of *intense* pressure on the #SDF (by @CENTCOM's Gen Kurilla & @CJTFOIR's MG Leahy). Image
Read 8 tweets
Apr 1
For years, #Syria's crisis was a complex geopolitical battleground, involving #Russia, #Iran, #USA, #Turkey, #Israel & more.

With #Assad out, a dangerous geopolitical face-off is intensifying -- between #Turkey & #Israel. A 🧵:
Since #Assad fell 4 months ago, #Israel has launched ~750 airstrikes & 100+ ground incursions into #Syria, seeking to cripple #Syria militarily -- while demanding a complete demilitarization of the south.

See my latest on this: foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/27/isr…
With the #HTS-led military victory in #Syria, #Turkey -- in theory -- has the most to gain, and to a large extent, it's moved methodically to establish its influence.

But for now, the transitional gov't in #Damascus wants to balance its regional relations.
Read 9 tweets
Mar 9
The information space around #Syria has collapsed into a toxic pot of vitriol, wild misinformation and... some facts.

Large numbers of people are tragically dead, but the circumstances & context are far more complex than is being widely conveyed. A 🧵:
In the lead-up to Thursday night, pro-#Assad gunmen had launched 46 attacks on interim gov't forces in 6/14 of #Syria's governorates -- but what happened Thursday night was a whole other level.

3 days later, more than 400 gov't forces are confirmed as dead.
Almost all of those 400 gov't forces were locally-deployed -- many killed by summary execution, burned to death & buried alive.

In the 1st night of fighting, pro-#Assad gunmen also launched attacks on rival villages -- some Sunni, others Alawite.
Read 9 tweets

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