This excellent article tells the history of #Yemen [AND of oil tankers] through the prism of the FSO Safer, the floating, imminent ecological and humanitarian catastrophe that the #Houthis are using not only for leverage but also as a potential bomb. newyorker.com/magazine/2021/…
Gen. Milley: "On 11 November 2020 I received an unclassified, signed order directing the...military to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan no later than 15 January 2021. After further discussions involving the risks associated with such a withdrawal, the order was rescinded."
Milley: "[T]he #Taliban was and remains a terrorist organization and they still have not broken ties with Al Qaeda. I have no illusions who we are dealing with."
Milley: "I think that our credibility with allies and partners around the world, and with adversaries, is being intensely reviewed [as a result of the Afghanistan withdrawal]."
The submarine deal with France never made sense on any level, not only because of anti-nuclear idiocy, insane cost overruns and absurd delays, but also because the first sub wasn't scheduled for delivery until 2035 and the last until 2050! bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
I don't know if France is inviting Russia in as part of some hare-brained scheme to reduce or supplement its own footprint or whether Russia is just displacing France across the continent as it seemingly did in CAR, but this is not great: reuters.com/world/africa/e…
Seems pretty clear Russia had a role in the coup: "Several hundred Malians rallied in the capital Bamako on Friday to support the army, as well as Russia, AFP journalists said, after the military reasserted control in the unstable Sahel state this week." africanews.com/2021/05/29/mal…
State Department: I mean, this current Taliban cabinet isn't ideal, what with being all-male, all Taliban old guard and all terrorists, but we won't judge it because it's only interim and the REAL Taliban government in the future might be inclusive!
Very interesting discussion with @ObaidullaBaheer, @jmurtazashvili, and Michael Semple on Taliban "governance" and the conundrum of humanitarian aid provision, funds, and engaging with the Taliban given the looming humanitarian catastrophe.
My own opinion on this issue is that NGOs and governments empowering, legitimizing, and subsidizing brutal regimes and insurgents like the Houthis, Taliban, Assad, TPLF, AQ, etc out of humanitarian concern does far more harm than good 👇