ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The technology that allowed passengers to ride elevators without an operator was tested and ready for deployment in the 1890s. But it was only after the elevator operators’ strike of 1946—which cost New York City $100 million—that automated elevators started to get installed. It took more than 50 years to persuade people that they were as safe and as convenient as those operated by humans. The promise of radical changes from new technologies has often overshadowed the human factor that, in the end, determines if and when these technologies will be used. Brookings: Michael Lokshin and Nithin Umapathi: AI for social protection: Mind the people
CHINA – RUSSIA – MIDDLE EAST
Two of the most powerful men in the world are gathering for face-to-face talks in one of the wealthiest and most influential nations on Earth. The United States, for decades the undisputed global hegemon, is not involved.”.These words appeared in Newsweek hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first in-person summit in over two years since the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the globe. As anticipated, the February 4 meeting in Beijing, which came as the XXIV Winter Olympic Games prepared to open in the Chinese capital, was followed by a joint statement outlining a plan to deepen bilateral coordination between China and Russia on a range of issues, from foreign policy and defense to trade and economic endeavors. Valdai Discussion Club, Tom O’Connor: The Emergence of the China-Russia Consensus in the Middle East
HONG KONG
The start of 2022 has seen Hong Kong’s COVID-19 pandemic firewall well and truly breached. Months had passed with only isolated community cases, but by the end of January there were hundreds of new cases being identified weekly. The rapid spread of COVID-19 caught officials off guard, leading to harsh lockdowns and mass testing. East Asia Forum, Nicholas Thomas: Hong Kong’s cracking zero-COVID strategy
INDIA
Late last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the repeal of three laws intended to liberalise agricultural trade within the country. The announcement attracted worldwide attention, giving some indication of how enormous a political headache the laws had become. East Asia Forum, Peeling back the onion on India’s farm protests
IRAN NUCLEAR TALKS
Western partners in nuclear talks with Iran in Vienna have to make decisions on crucial issues to help reach an agreement, Iranian officials said on Thursday on Twitter. Reuters: Decisions need to be taken by the West to reach nuclear deal, Iran negotiator says
PAKISTAN – RUSSIA
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s upcoming visit to Moscow is an indication of Russia’s long-term commitment to include the whole of Asia among its top foreign policy priorities. Despite negative propaganda by some media outlets, Russia has always stayed modern and effective in its approach to maintaining an independent foreign and defence policy, thereby asserting its role as one of the most important global players, writes Muhammad Athar Javed, Director General of Pakistan House, an Islamabad-based Think Tank of International Affairs. Valdai Discussion Club: Growing Pakistan-Russia Relations: Future of Economic & Strategic Cooperation
RUSSIA – UKRAINE (impact, reactions, consequences)
Finland Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Thursday said Russia’s attack on Ukraine will change the debate around NATO membership within her country. The Hill, Lexi Lonas: Finland says debate on NATO membership ‘will change’ after Russian invasion
The main immediate goal for the Ukrainian resistance will be to survive. If it can do so, and keep inflicting damage on the occupiers, then Vladimir Putin’s gamble will be on course to fail. RUSI, Malcolm Chalmers, Jonathan Eyal, Neil Melvin: A Sombre Hour for Europe
Le dinamiche militari messe in atto dalla Russia dimostrano la volontà di distruggere le linee di comando dell’Ucraina, annichilire il paese e lasciarlo senza possibilità di reazione. Il rischio che un’operazione a lungo termine possa impatanare Mosca in un conflitto urbano, una guerriglia devastante anche in termini di consensi. Formiche, Emanuele Rossi: Le prime valutazioni militari sull’attacco russo in Ucraina
Nord Stream 2 pronto ma fermato da Scholz dopo l’attacco russo. Eastmed, ancora solo sulla carta, improvvisamente bloccato dagli Usa. Ci resta solo il Tap, che provvede al 10% del fabbisogno italiano. Formiche, Francesco De Palo: Guerra e gas. Tutti i conti in tasca all’Ue
La lezione da trarre da queste prime ore è di prepararsi a uno scenario più ampio di quello ucraino. Ecco perché il prossimo obiettivo potrebbero essere i Paesi baltici: Estonia, Lettonia e Lituania, tutti membri della Nato e dell’Unione europea dal 2004 e la loro appartenenza all’Alleanza atlantica cambierebbe completamente lo scenario. Formiche, Stefano Vespa: I Paesi baltici nel mirino di Putin e i rischi per la Nato
“Adottare misure di difesa cibernetica alte e massimi controlli interni per la protezione delle proprie infrastrutture digitali”. La nota dell’Agenzia diretta da Roberto Baldoni. Formiche, Gabriele Carrer: Ucraina, l’Italia alza le difese cyber. Le raccomandazioni dell’Agenzia
Amid reports on Thursday that people were fleeing en masse from the Ukrainian capital of Kiev following Russia’s so-called “special military operation,” UN humanitarians warned of the “devastating” consequences of military action. UN News: Ukraine: Humanitarians fear ‘devastating’ consequences
Perdono tutti gli indici azionari del mondo. Calano anche le crypto, a cominciare da Bitcoin. Schizzano gas, petrolio e materie prime. Formiche, Ferruccio Michelin: L’invasione di Putin colpisce borse, criptovalute e materie prime
Shortly after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday, the Ukrainian embassy in Ankara was quick to appeal to Turkey. “The Russian Federation has started a war against Ukraine. Peaceful Ukrainian cities are being bombed. We call on our strategic partner Turkey and the friendly Turkish people to support us in this difficult time,” the embassy tweeted. Al Jazeera, Paul Benjamin Osterlund: Erdogan: Russia attack on Ukraine ‘heavy blow’ to regional peace
On Thursday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his armed forces were launching a massive operation against Ukraine, sending frightened Kyiv residents into underground stations for shelter. Many took to the road and tried to flee Ukraine’s capital city. Al Jazeera, Niko Vorobyov: How is the Ukraine invasion being viewed in Russia?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered panic and fear among many Ukrainian civilians, as they scrambled to flee or prepare for the escalation in violence, although many also remained stoic even as missiles fell on multiple cities and Russian forces also attacked from land and sea. Al Jazeera: Panic, fear and stoicism in Ukraine as Russia invades
China on Thursday refused to call Moscow’s military aggression an “invasion” as Russia launched an assault on Ukraine early in the morning. The Hill, Monique Beals: China refuses to call Russia action an ‘invasion’
There is a myth, in wide circulation throughout the Western world, that Vladimir Putin is a strategic mastermind — a geopolitical genius more astute than Clausewitz, more subtle than Sun Tzu and more audacious than Napoleon. The Hill, Andrew Latham: Shattering the myth of Vladimir Putin as a strategic genius
France will respond without weakness to Russia’s act of war against Ukraine, said President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, adding that Russia could expect tough sanctions that would hit its military, its economy and its energy sector. Reuters: Macron: France will respond without weakness to Russia’s “act of war” on Ukraine
NATO has no troops inside Ukraine and has no plans to send any into the country, the alliance’s Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, told a news conference on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Reuters: NATO has no plans to send troops into Ukraine, Stoltenberg says
A Russian opposition activist who called for anti-war protests after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine told Reuters that she had been detained by police on Thursday. Reuters: Russia detains opposition activist who called for anti-war protests in Moscow
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain and its allies would unleash a massive package of economic sanctions to hobble the Russian economy after the Kremlin launched an all-out invasion of neighbouring Ukraine on Thursday. Reuters, Kylie Maclellan and William James: UK PM Johnson vows massive sanctions against Russia
The United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday that the situation in Ukraine was quickly deteriorating after Russia’s invasion and appealed to neighbouring countries to keep their borders open to people seeking a safe haven. Reuters: UN refugee agency urges countries to give fleeing Ukrainians safe haven
People in the southeastern city of Mariupol woke to the sound of explosions on Thursday and some started packing bags to leave after Russia invaded Ukraine. Reuters, Aleksandar Vasovic: Strategic city of Mariupol wakes to blasts as Russia invades Ukraine
Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday, assaulting by land, sea and air in the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. Reuters: Natalia Zinets and Aleksandar Vasovic: Russia invades Ukraine in Europe’s ‘darkest hours’ since WWII
The West will do everything necessary to restore full Ukrainian sovereignty over its lands, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Thursday, promising tough sanctions against Russia for invading its neighbour. Reuters: Italy’s Draghi promises “whatever it takes” to restore Ukrainian sovereignty
The lobby group representing German businesses with interest in Eastern Europe called on friends and partners in Russia to raise their voices and call for Russia’s war on Ukraine to be ended. Reuters: German Eastern business lobby calls on Russians to speak out against war on Ukraine
The Latvian and Estonian foreign ministers, currently in Ukraine, are leaving Kyiv by land after arriving on Wednesday evening, spokespeople for the Latvian and Estonian foreign ministries told Reuters on Thursday. Reuters: Latvian, Estonian foreign ministers leaving Kyiv by land -spokespeople
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday called on all citizens who were ready to defend the country from Russian forces to come forward, saying Kyiv would issue weapons to everyone who wants them. Reuters: Ukraine’s Zelenskiy calls on citizens to fight, promises weapons
Central European countries braced on Thursday to receive people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Poland setting up reception points on its border and Hungary planning to send troops to create a corridor for refugees. Reuters, Krisztina Than and Pawel Florkiewicz: Central European countries prepare to receive Ukrainian refugees
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s secretary general said on Thursday its Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, which has hundreds of observers in the east of the country, is adapting after Russia’s military offensive. Reuters: OSCE says monitoring mission in Ukraine implementing contingency plans
The Indian embassy in Ukraine on Thursday told Indian nationals that the schedule for special flights to Kyiv were cancelled as the country’s airspace was closed. Reuters: Indian embassy in Ukraine says special flights for Indian nationals cancelled
He threatened to impose the harshest sanctions ever on Russia. He worked to galvanize U.S. allies into a united front. He supplied Ukraine with more weapons than any American president before him. And he beefed up U.S. forces on NATO’s eastern flank as reassurance of his commitment. Reuters, Matt Spetalnick, Simon Lewis and Steve Holland: Analysis: Putin’s Ukraine assault confounds Biden strategy, puts leadership to the test
European Union leaders will impose new sanctions on Russia, freezing its assets, halting its banks’ access to European financial markets and targeting “Kremlin interests” over its “barbaric attack” on Ukraine, senior officials said on Thursday. Reuters, Sabine Siebold and Marine Strauss: EU to hit Russia with new sanctions over ‘barbaric’ attack on Ukraine
Ukraine’s armed forces are heavily outnumbered and outgunned by Russia’s, but as Russia begins what may be a large-scale invasion, military experts say they would be capable of mounting significant resistance and inflicting heavy casualties. Reuters: Factbox: How Ukraine’s armed forces shape up against Russia’s
People in Kyiv stood in long queues trying to stock up on supplies on Thursday after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, and a huge traffic jam blocked the main road heading west out of the capital as others tried to flee. Reuters, Maria Tsvetkova: In Ukraine’s capital, some people stock up on supplies, others try to flee
A Russian military convoy in annexed Crimea with the letter “Z” painted on the sides of vehicles was seen driving north towards mainland Ukraine on Thursday, a witness told Reuters. Reuters: Russian military convoy in annexed Crimea seen moving north
Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea on Thursday, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two and confirmation of the worst fears of the West. Reuters, Andrew Osborn and Natalia Zinets: Russia launches full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine has asked Ankara to restrict the passage of Russian warships through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits. TASS: Kiev asks Ankara to close Turkish straits to Russian warships
Ukraine’s State Emergencies Service reported on Thursday that a blast hit the TV Tower in Lutsk and army depots were ablaze in several regions. TASS: Ukraine’s emergencies service reports Lutsk TV tower blast, army depots ablaze – Russian Politics & Diplomacy – TASS
Foreign media reports about a downed Russian plane over Ukraine contradict reality, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday. TASS: Defense Ministry debunks reports of ‘downed’ Russian plane over Ukraine
Ukrainian troops are leaving their positions in large numbers, dropping their weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday, citing intelligence. TASS: Ukrainian troops leaving their positions, dropping weapons
Russia does not intend to invade Ukraine, it is helping the republics that were recognized as independent by Moscow, Head of the Russian State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs Leonid Slutsky told journalists on Thursday. TASS: Russia won’t invade Ukraine, intends to protect DPR, LPR within their borders
The People’s Militia of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) has launched an operation to liberate the temporarily occupied areas of the republic, targeting military facilities and the places where the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ troops and equipment are deployed, LPR Militia Spokesman Ivan Filiponenko said in a video address on Thursday. TASS: LPR militia launches operation to liberate temporarily occupied territory
Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Zbigniew Rau and OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid condemned the Russian president’s decision to start a military operation in Ukraine, the Secretariat said. TASS: OSCE says Russian military action in Ukraine puts millions of lives at grave risk
Moscow kept trying to persuade Kiev to stop shelling Donbass but there was no adequate reaction, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control Konstantin Gavrilov told the Soloviev Live YouTube channel on Thursday. TASS: Moscow kept trying to persuade Kiev to stop shelling Donbass — Russian negotiator
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that Russia’s Armed Forces have been carrying out intensive strikes against Ukrainian military facilities, including air bases since 05:00 (06:00 Moscow time) on Thursday. TASS: Ukraine’s General Staff reports missile, bomb strikes against military facilities
Ukraine’s Border Guard Service claimed on Thursday that Belarusian armed formations participated in ‘an attack of the Ukrainian border.’. TASS: Ukraine’s border guards claim Belarusian troops participated in Ukrainian border attack
Blasts and gunshots have been heard in Crimea’s areas adjacent to the border with Ukraine but law enforcement agencies and the Russian Defense Ministry’s units remain in control of the situation on the peninsula, Crimea’s head Sergey Aksyonov said in an address to the region’s residents on Thursday. TASS: Blasts heard in border areas, situation remains under control
The army of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) will not harm civilians in the Kiev-controlled part of Donbass, LPR head Leonid Pasechnik told the Rossiya-24 TV channel. TASS: LPR army won’t harm civilians in Kiev-controlled part of Donbass
Ukraine’s air defenses are suppressed, military airfield infrastructure is degraded and Ukrainian border guards are not putting up any resistance to Russian troops, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday. TASS: Ukrainian Air Force infrastructure degraded, air defenses suppressed
Numerous private cars are leaving the Ukrainian capital of Kiev as explosions are being heard in the city, a TASS correspondent reported. TASS: Numerous private cars leaving Kiev
Operations of 12 airports in southern Russian cities have been temporarily suspended, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency says on Thursday. TASS: Airport operations in 12 Russian southern cities suspended
Civil defense sirens are being sounded in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday morning, a TASS correspondent reports from the scene. TASS: Civil defense sirens being sounded in Kiev
The Ukrainian State Border Service early Thursday said troops attacked Ukraine from Belarus. “At about 5:00 a.m., the state border of Ukraine in the area with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus was attacked by Russian troops supported by Belarus,” the border service said, according to CNN. The Hill, Mychael Schnell: Ukrainian state border service says troops attacked from Belarus
Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday laid out a list steps for the international community to do in response to Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. “The world must act immediately. Future of Europe & the world is at stake,” Kuleba tweeted. The Hill, Lexi Lonas: Ukrainian minister lays out steps he wants international community to take against Russia
Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said in a statement late Wednesday night that Russia’s military operation in Ukraine brings the “need to expel the current” leadership in Moscow “into sharp focus.”. The Hill, Mychael Schnell: Menendez: Need to expel Kremlin from international community is in ‘sharp focus’
Ukraine declared martial law as Russia launched a military operation in the country. The Hill, Lexi Lonas: Ukraine declares martial law as Russia launches military operation
President Biden spoke late Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and vowed support for Ukraine in the face of Russian attacks. The Hill, Brett Samuels: Biden speaks with Zelensky, vows support for Ukraine after Russian attacks
Lawmakers condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a military operation in Ukraine late Wednesday night, calling for more severe consequences to be imposed on Russia. The Hill, Caroline Vakil: Lawmakers condemn Putin, call for crippling sanctions on Russia amid military operation
A top Ukrainian official said early Thursday local time that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “launched a full-scale war” in the country. The Hill, Olafimihan Oshin: Top Ukrainian official: ‘Putin has launched a full-scale war’
Ukraine’s representative to the United Nations Sergiy Kyslytsya in a fiery speech late on Wednesday called on the Russian ambassador to the U.N. to say on the record that troops “aren’t bombing Ukrainian cities right now.”. The Hill, Sarakshi Rai: Ukraine official questions why Russia is even part of UN security council
Former Vice President Pence said in an interview aired on Wednesday that officials needed “to continue to arm Ukraine” and “sanction every financial institution in Russia” until Russian forces leave Ukraine. The Hill, Caroline Vakil: Pence says ‘we need to continue to arm Ukraine,’ ‘sanction every financial institution in Russia’ until Russia withdraws
President Biden will unveil additional sanctions Thursday in coordination with European allies in response to Russian attacks on Ukraine. The Hill, Brett Samuels: Biden to unveil ‘further consequences’ over Russia’s military operation in Ukraine
Reporters heard sounds of explosions in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine. The Hill, Jordan Williams: Explosions heard in major Ukrainian cities following Putin’s announcement
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a speech announcing a military operation in Ukraine that countries that interfere with Russian actions will face “consequences you have never seen,” The Associated Press reported. The Hill, Lexi Lonas: Putin: Countries that interfere with Russia will face ‘consequences you have never seen’
Stock futures sank and oil prices spiked Wednesday night after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine. The Hill, Sylvan Lane: Stock futures sink, oil spikes after Putin launches invasion of Ukraine
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said at an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin “delivered a message of war.”. The Hill, Lexi Lonas: US ambassador: ‘Putin delivered a message of war’
On February 18, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka visited Moscow and held talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. In a statement to the media, Lukashenka mentioned that military-political issues have taken center stage due to “our Western partners […] scaring the whole world that tomorrow we will attack Ukraine, encircle and destroy it” (President.gov., February 18). Both leaders pointed to Western economic sanctions as instances of unfair competition and a violation of international law. Subsequently, journalist Andrei Kolesnikov of Kommersant ruffled feathers during a brief press-conference. Kolesnikov directed two questions: a playful one to Putin (“Did you sleep well last night, when Russians were scheduled to invade Ukraine?”) and a somewhat cheeky one to Lukashenka (“You recently said that if the West continues to be aggressive, you will rule Belarus forever. What are the current chances for the Belarusian people to lose you?”). Lukashenka replied, “We will now consult the Elder Brother [i.e., Putin] and decide” (YouTube, February 18). The Jamestown Foundation, Grigory Ioffe: Economic Sanctions Deepen Societal Divide in Belarus
On February 22, a day after the Kremlin announced it was recognizing eastern Ukraine’s separatist Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics” as “independent,” Berlin declared it would indefinitely halt the certification of the Russian Nord Stream Two natural gas pipeline (Kyiv Post, February 22). And though this move by Germany was potentially one of the most consequential Western responses to Russia’s blatant transgression of international law, it simultaneously revived questions about where Europe will procure sufficient gas, particularly if Moscow were to disrupt westward flows of energy via the Ukrainian pipeline network. One possible alternative raised during the mounting crisis around Ukraine was to boost volumes of Azerbaijani gas delivered via the Southern Gas Corridor. The Jamestown Foundation, Rauf Mammadov: Can the Southern Gas Corridor Save Europe?
CSIS’s Dr. Seth Jones joins the podcast to talk about the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and what options the Biden administration has in addressing the situation. CSIS: Russia Rolls In
USA
The White House announced steps focusing on long-term supply chain resilience to mark the one-year anniversary since President Biden signed an executive order to strengthen the nations supply chains in the midst of disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hill, Alex Gangitano: White House announces new steps for long-term supply chain resilience
On February 14, 2022, two months after the first Summit for Democracy, the U.S. Department of State released written commitments from 56 governments focused on strengthening democracy, combatting corruption, and defending human rights. Now the post-summit Year of Action can begin in earnest. As two of us discussed in a post right after the Summit, for the event to achieve its objectives, civil society, the private sector, and other good governance champions must work with and hold governments accountable for the implementation of concrete, measurable, and meaningful commitments. Brookings, Norman Eisen, Mario Picon, Robin J. Lewis, Renzo Falla, and Lilly Blumenthal: The Summit for Democracy commitments are out—now what?
Just days after Associate Justice Stephen Breyer announced that he would retire from the Supreme Court, President Joe Biden said that his nominee for the position would be a Black woman. Brookings, Ryan F. Lei, Sa-Kiera T.J. Hudson, and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek: Educating children to make the invisible, visible
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) offers an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate momentum around careers that pay higher wages, require shorter-term credentials, and need a new generation of talent. As millions of workers around the country struggle, leaders need to be ready to harness this funding in ways that expand opportunities to the full diversity of our workforce—women and men, the unemployed and underemployed, and younger students and adult learners. Brookings, Joseph W. Kane and Jack Mills: Harnessing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to train the next generation of workers
Congress instructs the Federal Reserve to aim for maximum employment and price stability. The Fed has defined price stability as inflation averaging 2%, but maximum employment doesn’t lend itself to such a simple measure. In its monetary policy strategy statement, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed’s policy-setting body, says: “The maximum level of employment is a broad-based and inclusive goal that is not directly measurable and changes over time owing largely to nonmonetary factors that affect the structure and dynamics of the labor market….[T]he Committee’s policy decisions must be informed by assessments of the shortfalls of employment from its maximum level, recognizing that such assessments are necessarily uncertain and subject to revision. The Committee considers a wide range of indicators in making these assessments.”. Brookings, Lorena Hernandez Barcena and David Wessel: How does the Fed define “maximum employment”?
Silicon Valley’s frustration with the Department of Defense is both well-known and well-founded. All too often, the department provides initial funding to develop a promising technology, only to fail to deliver funding adequate to sustain a scaled capability. This gap between initial and sustained funding is so well-known that it has nickname—the so-called “valley of death”—and it makes the Pentagon an unreliable partner. It has gotten bad enough that when defense and technology officials recently convened for the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in California, investors and technologists made clear that their collective tolerance for the Pentagon’s inability to work effectively with the defense innovation base is nearing the point of no return. Brookings, Melanie W. Sisson: Why can’t the Pentagon buy the cutting-edge technology it needs?
USA – AFGHANISTAN
So far, the U.S. has reacted to the Taliban’s victory – and the collapse of the Afghan central government – by focusing on the plight of the Afghans who did not make it onto a flight headed to the United States during the collapse and of the Afghans who are now threatened by the Taliban due to their direct support of the U.S. during the fight against the Taliban or from their ties to the Afghans who did. CSIS, Anthony H. Cordesman: Reshaping U.S. Aid to Afghanistan: The Challenge of Lasting Progress
