It’s difficult to choose the single worst portion of Thursday night’s State of the Union address — for sheer unmitigated awfulness, it was a target-rich environment. Personally, however, the lowest point came when Capitol Police arrested Steve Nikoui, the father…
It’s been two years since a suicide bomber detonated 20 pounds of explosives at the Abbey Gate at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul during the single-most-disorganized embarrassment of a withdrawal that the U.S. has conducted. Thirteen U.S. service…
There are no discernible principles behind President Joe Biden’s policy decisions except to undo everything that former President Donald Trump accomplished and to blame Trump for whatever may go badly. Last week featured two perfect examples: Biden’s new offer of…
The only thing left unsaid about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment of Donald Trump is that it’s almost certainly not the only indictment that will be issued against Trump before the 2024 election. A Georgia grand jury’s report —…
A soon-to-be-Republican-led Congress has promised to investigate the calamitous departure from Afghanistan. This is how it should be and is consistent with our country’s tradition of oversight and investigation. But an even more important priority is investigating the armed forces’…
Crisis of Command: How We Lost Trust and Confidence in America’s Generals and Politicians By Stuart Scheller (Knox Press, 272 pages, $28) “He was following the orders he was given.” At this point, former Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller despises those…
On July 31, an American drone delivered a precision strike of two Hellfire missiles into Kabul, Afghanistan, killing al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. It was a historic moment in the U.S. campaign against the group responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks….
Women’s rights have continued to deteriorate in Afghanistan since the country was recaptured in August 2021 after the United States’ disastrous withdrawal. Women’s mobility, access to employment, and education have been severely curtailed, and the burqa has been mandated across…
The case of WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner continues to escalate. It is rapidly becoming a big deal in U.S.-Russian relations. On Thursday, a Russian judge convicted Griner of drug possession and smuggling and sentenced her to nine years in…
We are approaching the one-year anniversary of the collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government and its replacement with the Taliban. The Diplomat’s managing editor, Catherine Putz, spoke with Justine Fleischner of Afghan Peace Watch about what has transpired since then….