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A year after withdrawal, 50% of Americans say Afghanistan war was a mistake
One year after the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, 50% of Americans say the United States made a mistake in sending troops to the country, while 46% say it did not.
According to Gallup, this close division of views is similar to two readings last year -- one taken before the withdrawal was complete and one afterward -- as well as in February 2014.
At all other times since the start of the war in 2001, a majority of Americans thought that going to Afghanistan was not a mistake.
The Afghanistan war cost the U.S. more than $2 trillion.
About one month after then-President George W. Bush ordered the first attacks on Afghanistan by U.S. troops, the effort enjoyed broad bipartisan support.
Yet by 2004, 41% of Democrats considered the war in Afghanistan a mistake, and 26% of independents agreed, compared with 11% of Republicans.
Since then, Democrats and independents have been far more likely than Republicans to say the U.S. had made a mistake by sending troops.
In a poll conducted after the collapse of the former government, 28% of Republicans said the war was a mistake. But now, about a year later, that figure has risen nine percentage points to 37%.
Mawlawi Hebatullah Akhundzada, the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), has issued a decree to establish special courts to address pensions, Bakhtar news agency reported on Saturday.
According to the decree, the courts must confirm and process pensions in accordance with Sharia and law.
Pensioners have repeatedly voiced concern over delay in payment, saying that their financial challenges are growing.
Earlier this year, IEA's supreme leader banned money being deducted from salaries of government employees for pensions.
He also requested information on the tenure of employees and the total amount deducted from salaries for pensions.
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Blinken urges immediate lifting of restrictions on women’s education and work in Afghanistan
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to immediately lift restrictions on women's education and work.
Marking two years of the ban on women's education in universities and women's work in NGOs, Blinken said on X that women and girls are the lynchpin to a more stable and prosperous Afghanistan.
“It’s been two years since Taliban (IEA) banned women and girls from universities and Afghan women from working in NGOs. Afghan women and girls are the lynchpin to a more stable, peaceful, and prosperous Afghanistan. We call on the Taliban (IEA) to immediately reverse these edicts,” he said.
The Ministry of Higher Education announced in December 2022 that women and girls could not attend public and private universities "until further notice".
Previously, girls' education above the sixth grade was also suspended.
Former US envoy for Afghanistan peace, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on Saturday that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) can learn from Ahmad al-Sharaa, leader of Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, on how to join the mainstream international system.
He noted on X that the US bounty for the arrest of Ahmad al-Sharaa is being removed.
“Others in similar circumstances can learn from Ahmad al Shara how to join the mainstream international system. Are the Taliban paying attention?” he said.
Ahmad al-Sharaa has said that there are many differences between them and the Islamic Emirate.
He has said that he will not prevent the education of women and girls, respect the rights of minorities and will launch an inclusive political process.
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