World
Taliban parades American weapons 3 years after chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan
![Taliban parades American weapons 3 years after chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan Taliban parades American weapons 3 years after chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/Afghanistan-Taliban.jpg)
Members of the Taliban on Wednesday commemorated the third anniversary of the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan by parading through a former U.S. air base with American weapons and vehicles that had been abandoned.
Bagram Airfield was once the center of America’s war to unseat the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaeda militants responsible for 9/11.
Uniformed soldiers marched with light and heavy machine guns, and a motorcycle formation carried the Taliban flag. Pickup trucks crammed with men of all ages drove through Kabul’s streets in celebration of the takeover.
Members of the Taliban Cabinet lauded achievements such as strengthening Islamic law and establishing a military system that allegedly provided “peace and security.”
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban-appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs, center, inspects the honor guards during a military parade to mark the third anniversary of the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan, in Bagram Air Base in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)
“This is the Taliban rubbing their victory over us in our face,” U.S. Army Veteran Bill Roggio told Fox News Digital.
Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of its Long War Journal, called the parade evidence of U.S. failure in Afghanistan.
“The Biden administration’s effort to get out of Afghanistan quickly has led to the Taliban having an American-supplied arsenal,” Roggio said.
‘PATH TO JUSTICE’: DURBIN URGES AUSTIN TO RETHINK REVOKING 9/11 MASTERMINDS’ PLEA DEALS
Biden’s decision to pull troops from Afghanistan faced widespread global backlash after Taliban insurgents retook the country in a matter of days, on Aug. 15, 2021, 20 years after their ouster by U.S.-led forces. Just a month earlier, Biden told Americans that the likelihood of a Taliban takeover was “highly unlikely.”
The military evacuation, which required thousands of additional U.S. troops on the ground and significant cooperation from the Taliban to complete, ended a day ahead of a deadline on Aug. 30, 2021, leaving behind hundreds of U.S. citizens and thousands of Afghan allies, despite President Biden’s promise to “get them all out.”
On Aug. 26, 2021, during the U.S. military’s mass evacuation at the Kabul airport, suicide bombers killed 183 people, including 13 U.S. service members. The U.S. retaliated by launching two drone strikes against suspected ISIS-K terrorists, one of which ended up killing 10 Afghan civilians, including seven children.
Taliban speeches were aimed at an international audience, urging the West to interact and cooperate with the country’s rulers. Currently, no country recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
![Taliban](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/1200/675/tal.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Taliban fighters celebrate the third anniversary of the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai) (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)
“The Islamic Emirate eliminated internal differences and expanded the scope of unity and cooperation in the country,” Deputy Prime Minister Maulvi Abdul Kabir said Wednesday, using the Taliban’s term to describe their government. “No one will be allowed to interfere in internal affairs, and Afghan soil will not be used against any country.”
Roggio dismissed that last assertion as preposterous, noting that the Taliban has consistently lied about not allowing its soil to be used for terrorist activities against other countries.
“They lied about it pre-9/11. They lied about it while the U.S. was in Afghanistan. They sheltered Al-Qaeda and other groups which they support to this day,” Roggio said.
ROCKET ATTACK LAUNCHED AGAINST US MILITARY BASE IN SYRIA
“What I do believe them on is their desire to maintain control in Afghanistan, to enforce their will, to impose Sharia on its people,” he said. “You can’t doubt them on that one.”
Roggio said the Taliban’s parading on Wednesday was primarily for optics but still demonstrated the terrorist group’s capabilities.
“I don’t think the Taliban is a threat to project power outside its border. But certainly the equipment is useful to project power within Afghanistan to remain in power,” he said.
![TALIBAN](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/06/1200/675/Taliban-military-parade.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Members of the Taliban sit on a military vehicle during a Taliban military parade in Kabul, Afghanistan, in November 2021. (Reuters/Ali Khara)
Despite the Taliban’s grandiose showing of their capabilities on Wednesday, there was no mention of a plan to improve the lives of the Afghan people. Decades of conflict and instability have left millions of Afghans on the brink of hunger and starvation. Unemployment is high and women are banned from attending school beyond sixth grade.
The Bagram parade was the Taliban’s grandest and most defiant since regaining control of the country in August 2021.
The audience of some 10,000 men included senior Taliban officials such as Acting Defense Minister Mullah Yaqoob and Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani. Supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada was not at the parade.
Fox News Digital’s Nikolas Lanum and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
World
Japan Firms See Harris Presidency as Better for Business Than Trump, Reuters Survey Shows
World
How are Belgian vineyards adapting to climate change?
![How are Belgian vineyards adapting to climate change? How are Belgian vineyards adapting to climate change?](https://static.euronews.com/articles/stories/08/65/00/36/1200x675_cmsv2_47e78c7b-c3d0-5f10-acad-c3bc7d3ba1a4-8650036.jpg)
Winegrowers in Belgium’s Walloon region are adapting their wine growing technique due to the growing threat of climate change.
Will climate change force Belgian vineyards to put water in their wine?
At first glance, rising temperatures seem to favour the development of vineyards in a country famous for its beer — in 2023, 3.4 million litres of wine were produced in Belgium, an increase of 13 per cent on the previous year.
For a decade now, the number of vineyards in Belgium has been rising steadily as a result of climate change, according to Sébastien Doutreloup, a climatologist at the University of Liège.
For its help in improving wine production, climate change also brings with it a number of obstacles.
Climatic hazards
In Wallonia, near Dinant, Château Bon Baron is not immune to the vagaries of climate change.
“With climate change, it’s not just a case of warmer weather, where you have more ripening of grapes. It’s more about extremes, and extremes aren’t good. Floods, rain, frost”, Jeanette van der Steen, winemaker and owner of Château Bon Baron, said.
With increased temperatures as a result of global warming vines begin to bud earlier in the season and are then more vulnerable to spring frosts, she explains.
Another danger is the appearance of insects and diseases in the vines of northern Europe, which were previously more widespread in the south.
“There’s an insect called drosophila suzukii. It started in the south of Europe. So at the time, the other countries further north weren’t affected. But apparently the drosophila suzukii is moving further north every year and it has already arrived here in Belgium”, warns Jeanette van der Steen.
Winegrowers adapt
Winegrowers are adapting by changing their techniques. For example, the owner of Château Bon Baron, who advocates for sustainable development, spreads clay on her vines to protect them from water and heat stress. She also thins out the leaves on the vines.
“When the leaves are thinned out, the vines are exposed to heat, cold, rain and wind. This creates a thicker skin, so there’s less risk of insect attack and disease. The grapes are better protected against heat, for example”, she explains.
Climate change is also making it more difficult to predict the start of the harvest.
When Jeannette Van der Steen started out as a winegrower in the 2000s, the harvest in Wallonia began in mid-October. Over years and increasing temperatures, it now starts in early September.
This year, it’s still too early to tell according to the winemaker — who is keeping a close eye on the weather.
World
Matthew Fox to Headline Victor the Assassin Adaptation in the Works at Max
![Matthew Fox to Headline Victor the Assassin Adaptation in the Works at Max Matthew Fox to Headline Victor the Assassin Adaptation in the Works at Max](https://tvline.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/matthew-fox.jpg?w=620)
ad
-
News1 week ago
The ‘Blue Walz’: How a low-key Midwestern governor shot to the top to be Harris’ VP pick | CNN Politics
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Twisters movie review: no winds of change blowing here – FlickFilosopher.com
-
News1 week ago
Kamala Harris holding rally in Pennsylvania to introduce running mate after securing Democratic nomination
-
Politics1 week ago
Mark Kelly posts cryptic message amid Kamala Harris veepstakes speculation
-
World1 week ago
Venezuela launches probe against opposition leaders Gonzalez, Machado
-
Politics1 week ago
Harris VP search comes down to the wire, with Dems divided over Shapiro, Walz, Kelly
-
World1 week ago
At Israel’s ‘Guantanamo Bay’, protesters defend soldiers accused of abuse
-
World1 week ago
EU Commissioner and RAI top management: A sticky August for Meloni