2021.08.28 國際新聞導讀-喀布爾機場恐攻美軍死13人傷15人，拜登總統誓言報復到底、拜登與以色列總理班耐特會晤並同意絕不讓伊朗擁有核武器、以色列放鬆對西岸巴勒斯坦法塔政府之壓迫在經濟上給予支持、巴基斯坦培育塔利班成功但小心反噬

蘇老師講解國際新聞、中東與中亞歷史、中國事務、太空知識的頻道。 Diplomat's daily news review and history research on Middle East and Central Asia, China Affairs and Space Exploration

2021.08.28 國際新聞導讀-喀布爾機場恐攻美軍死13人傷15人，拜登總統誓言報復到底、拜登與以色列總理班耐特會晤並同意絕不讓伊朗擁有核武器、以色列放鬆對西岸巴勒斯坦法塔政府之壓迫在經濟上給予支持、巴基斯坦培育塔利班成功但小心反噬

拜登：如果與伊朗的外交失敗，我們還有其他選擇

貝內特和拜登原定於週四會面，但阿富汗爆炸事件發生在會議預定時間前一小時，導致會議推遲。

通過LAHAV哈爾科夫

2021 年 8 月 28 日 00:17

納夫塔利·貝內特總理於 2021 年 8 月 27 日抵達白宮會見美國總統喬·拜登。圖片來源：LAHAV HARKOV

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華盛頓——美國總統喬·拜登週五在白宮與總理納夫塔利·貝內特會面後表示，如果有必要，美國將考慮外交以外的其他選擇，以確保伊朗永遠不會獲得核武器。

“我們將討論來自伊朗的威脅以及我們確保伊朗永遠不會發展核武器的承諾。我們將外交放在首位，看看這會把我們帶到哪裡。但如果外交失敗，我們準備轉向其他選擇， ”拜登說。

總統發表上述言論之際，伊朗拒絕恢復與美國的談判，以恢復 2015 年旨在限制其鈾濃縮活動的核協議，而伊朗已將其核武器開發時間提前至爆發後約兩個月。

一位外交消息人士稱，美國人似乎對重返伊朗協議的可能性並不樂觀。

貝內特感謝拜登說伊朗永遠不會獲得核武器，這是他希望在會議上聽到的話。

“這些日子說明瞭如果一個激進的伊斯蘭政權獲得了核武器，世界將會是什麼樣子；這種婚姻對整個世界來說將是一場核噩夢，”貝內特說。“伊朗是世界上最大的恐怖、不穩定和侵犯人權行為的出口國。當我們坐在這裡時，伊朗人正在納坦茲和佛多旋轉他們的離心機。我們必須阻止它。我們都同意。”

貝內特說，領導人和他們的工作人員將討論如何遏制伊朗的地區侵略，並永久防止其爆發為核武器。

會後，一位高級外交消息人士表示，貝內特在與拜登談話時使用了冷戰的類比，在一場重大戰役中沒有取得勝利，但美國能夠利用腐朽政權的弱點而沒有以不同的方式支持其人口。消息人士稱，貝內特對抗伊朗的計劃包括“創意”。

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以色列想與美國合作，但“不等待；它已經發生了，”外交消息人士在談到貝內特的反伊朗計劃時說。

據消息人士透露，貝內特還向拜登指出，自伊朗核協議達成以來已經過去了六年，在伊朗推進鈾濃縮活動之前，它為以色列和世界大國爭取時間的主要優勢已經基本消失。

在會議期間，拜登表達了“我們在美國對以色列安全的堅定不移的承諾。我完全、完全、完全支持補充以色列的鐵穹系統，”他說。

總統補充說，美國將努力帶來“增值”，以鼓勵以色列與阿拉伯和穆斯林國家建立新生關係的趨勢。

拜登稱讚以色列新政府是“以色列歷史上最多元化的政府”，並指出，正如他經常做的那樣，自果爾達·梅厄以來，他認識每一位以色列總理。

在向媒體發表聲明之前，拜登和貝內特一對一地會面了 50 分鐘。拜登說，他們已經成為好朋友，並表示貝內特從他做生意的時候就非常熟悉美國鐵路公司到特拉華州的火車路線；拜登以參議員身份乘坐他的家鄉特拉華州和華盛頓之間的火車而聞名。

會後，貝內特告訴以色列媒體，他在會見中“感覺很棒”，並與總統建立了“個人聯繫”，“就像我們認識很久一樣”。他邀請拜登訪問以色列。

貝內特在伊斯蘭國對喀布爾機場的致命襲擊造成 10 多名美國人死亡後表達了他的哀悼。

“那些美國軍人在拯救他人生命的使命中喪生。這就是勇氣和犧牲的定義。願他們安息，”貝內特說。

貝內特補充說：“特別是在這一天，我想明確表示，以色列始終明確地與美利堅合眾國站在一起。”

美國總統喬拜登和以色列總理納夫塔利貝內特在美國華盛頓白宮橢圓形辦公室會面時聊天（圖片來源：JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS）

總理回到了他反復強調的主題，即他正在從耶路撒冷帶來一種“新精神”，即善意、合作、團結以及儘管意見不同但為共同目標而共同努力的能力。

新聯盟想做好事，但“在中東，做好事是不夠的。如果我們想做好事，我們必須強大，”貝內特說。

“我們不能忘記我們身處世界上最艱難的地區這一事實，”他補充說，並列出了以色列邊境的許多恐怖組織。“這就是為什麼我們必須比我們所有的敵人加起來更強大。”

貝內特還表示，以色列已經並且永遠不會要求美國軍隊保衛以色列。

“這是我們的工作。我們永遠不會將我們的安全外包出去。照顧好我們的命運是我們的責任。但我們確實感謝你們提供的工具和支持，你們一直在給予我們，你們正在給予我們，”他說。

談到巴勒斯坦人，拜登只說：“我們還將討論如何促進以色列人和巴勒斯坦人的和平與安全與繁榮。”

一位外交消息人士稱，貝內特和美國人了解彼此對巴勒斯坦人的立場，並將“解決”他們在定居點等問題上的分歧，貝內特計劃在這些問題上以近年來的速度繼續增長。

與此同時，貝內特和拜登政府一致認為，以色列可以努力改善巴勒斯坦人的生活質量，無論是在經濟上還是讓他們通過檢查站進入以色列變得容易。

消息人士稱，貝內特強調哈馬斯有必要從加沙釋放以色列人質和士兵的屍體。他告訴拜登政府，美國人有特殊責任追回以色列國防軍士兵哈達爾·戈爾丁（Hadar Goldin），哈馬斯自 2014 年以來一直扣押其屍體，因為哈馬斯違反美國談判達成的停火協議殺死了他。

會議提出了在耶路撒冷開設巴勒斯坦領事館的問題，貝內特表示反對。

“美國在耶路撒冷設有領事館已有 130 年，但後來他們關閉了它，”外交消息人士說。“保持現狀和做出改變（通過重新開放領事館）是有區別的。如果我們允許改變，那麼會有更多的人提出要求。”

總統還表示，他將指示他的工作人員開展以色列和美國之間的簽證豁免計劃，國務卿安東尼·布林肯在周三與貝內特會面後宣布了這一計劃。

領導人還討論了 COVID-19 疫苗接種工作，包括輝瑞疫苗的加強注射。

Blinken、國家安全顧問 Jake Sullivan、駐聯合國大使 Linda Thomas-Greenfield、白宮中東和北非協調員 Brett McGurk、駐以色列臨時大使 Michael Ratney 和負責近東事務的助理國務卿 Barbara Leaf 參加了與貝內特和拜登會面的第二部分。以色列國家安全顧問埃亞爾·胡拉塔、內閣秘書沙洛姆·什洛莫、總理參謀長塔爾·甘茲維、軍事安全阿維·吉爾、駐美國和聯合國大使吉拉德·埃爾丹以及貝內特的外交顧問希姆里特·梅厄。

貝內特和拜登原定於週四會面，但阿富汗爆炸事件發生在會議預定時間前一小時，導致會議推遲。

週四晚上，貝內特和拜登通了電話。

拜登感謝貝內特在阿富汗事件發生後願意推遲他們的會面，並表示期待與他會面。

美國國務卿安東尼·布林肯在華盛頓的威拉德酒店會見了以色列總理納夫塔利·貝內特。（信用：路透社）

在延遲之後，貝內特和他的代表團將留在華盛頓直到安息日之後，週六晚上啟程前往以色列。

貝內特對華盛頓的訪問是在阿富汗撤軍危機開始幾天后完成的。他的工作人員和拜登政府官員表示，由於伊朗核方面的發展，這個時機很重要。然而，喀布爾危機從周二開始就給這次旅行蒙上了陰影。

總理週三會見了美國國防部長勞埃德·奧斯汀、國務卿安東尼·布林肯和國家安全顧問傑克·沙利文。

在周五與拜登會面前半小時，貝內特通過視頻會議參加了他 6 年前去世的父親吉姆貝內特的追悼會。

Biden: If diplomacy fails with Iran, we have other options

Bennett and Biden were supposed to meet on Thursday, but the bombing in Afghanistan took place an hour before the meeting's scheduled time, leading to its postponement.

By LAHAV HARKOV

AUGUST 28, 2021 00:17

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrives at the White House to meet with US President Joe Biden, Agust 27, 2021. CREDIT: LAHAV HARKOV

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WASHINGTON - The US will consider options other than diplomacy if necessary to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, US President Joe Biden said, following his meeting with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the White House on Friday.

"We are going to discuss the threat from Iran and our commitment to ensure Iran never develops a nuclear weapon. We're putting diplomacy first and seeing where that takes us. But if diplomacy fails, we're ready to turn to other options," Biden said.

The president's remarks come at a time when Iran is refusing to return to negotiations with the US to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, meant to restrict its uranium enrichment, while Iran has advanced its development of a nuclear weapon to about two months from breakout.

A diplomatic source said the Americans did not seem optimistic about the chance of returning to the Iran deal.

Bennett thanked Biden for saying Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon, which was something he had hoped to hear coming into the meeting.

"These very days illustrate what the world would look like if a radical Islamic regime acquired a nuclear weapon; that marriage would be a nuclear nightmare for the entire world," Bennett said. "Iran is the world's number one exporter of terror, instability and human rights violations. And as we sit here right now, the Iranians are spinning their centrifuges in Natanz and Fordo. We've got to stop it. And we both agreed."

Bennett said the leaders and their staff will discuss ways to roll back Iran's regional aggression and permanently keep it from breaking out to a nuclear weapon.

Following the meeting, a senior diplomatic source said that Bennett used the analogy of the Cold War when speaking to Biden, where it was not won in a major battle, but the US was able to take advantage of the weaknesses of a rotting regime without the support of its population in varying ways. Bennett’s plan to counter Iran includes “creative ideas,” the source said.

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Israel wants to cooperate with the US, but is “not waiting; it’s already happening,” the diplomatic source said of Bennett’s plan to counter Iran.

Bennett also pointed out to Biden, according to the source, that six years have passed since the Iran nuclear deal was reached, and the main advantage it had of buying Israel and world powers time before Iran could advance uranium enrichment is mostly gone.

During the meeting, Biden expressed his "unwavering, unwavering commitment that we have in the United States to Israel's security. And I fully, fully, fully support replenishing Israel's Iron Dome system," he said.

The US will work to bring "value added" to encourage the trend of Israel's nascent ties with Arab and Muslim states, the president added.

Biden praised the new Israeli government as "the most diverse in Israel's history," and noted, as he often does, that he has known every Israeli prime Minister since Golda Meir.

Biden and Bennett met one-on-one for 50 minutes, before giving a statement to the press. Biden said that they had become good friends and remarked that Bennett was very familiar with the Amtrak train route to Delaware from his days as a businessman; Biden was known for taking the train between his home state of Delaware and Washington as a senator.

After the meeting, Bennett told Israeli media that that he had an “excellent feeling” in the meeting, and built a “personal connection” with the president, “like we knew each other a long time.” He invited Biden to visit Israel.

Bennett opened his remarks by expressing his condolences following the deadly ISIS attack on the Kabul airport, which killed over 10 Americans.

"Those American service members lost their lives on a mission to save other people's lives. That is the definition of courage and sacrifice. May they rest in peace," Bennett said.

Bennett added that "especially on this day, I want to make clear that Israel always stands together with the United States of America unequivocally."

US President Joe Biden and Israel's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett chat during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US (credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)

The prime minister went back to his much-repeated theme that he is bringing a "new spirit" from Jerusalem, of goodwill, cooperation, unity and the ability to work together for shared goals despite differences of opinion.

The new coalition wants to do good, but "in the Middle East, it's not enough to be good. If we want to do good, we have to be strong," Bennett stated.

"We cant lose sight for a moment of the fact we are in the toughest neighborhood in the world," he added, listing the many terrorist groups on Israel's borders. "This is why we have to be stronger than all of our enemies combined."

Bennett also said Israel has and never will ask American troops to defend Israel.

"That's our job. We will never outsource our security. It's our responsibility to take care of our fate. But we do thank you for the tools and the back you've been giving us and you're giving us," he stated.

When it comes to the Palestinians, Biden only said: "We also are going to discuss ways to advance peace and security and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians."

A diplomatic source said that Bennett and the Americans know each other’s stances on the Palestinians, and will “muddle through” their disagreements on matters like settlements, where Bennett plans to continue growth at the pace of recent years.

At the same time, Bennett and the Biden administration agree that Israel can work to improve Palestinians’ quality of life, both economically and easing their passage through checkpoints into Israel.

Bennett emphasized the need to for Hamas to release Israeli hostages and soldiers’ bodies from Gaza, the source said. He told the Biden administration that the Americans have a special responsibility to recover Hadar Goldin, an IDF soldier whose body Hamas has been holding since 2014, because Hamas killed him in violation of a US-negotiated ceasefire.

The issue of opening a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem arose in the meeting, and Bennett said he is opposed.

“America had a consulate in Jerusalem for 130 years, but then they closed it,” the diplomatic source said. “There’s a difference between keeping the existing situation and making a change [by reopening the consulate]. If we allow the change, then more people will ask for it.”

The president also said he will direct his staff to work on a visa waiver program between Israel and the US, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced after his meeting with Bennett on Wednesday.

The leaders also discussed the COVID-19 vaccination efforts, including the booster shot for the Pfizer vaccine.

Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk, Interim Ambassador to Israel Michael Ratney and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Barbara Leaf took part in the second part of the meeting with Bennett and Biden. The Israeli attendees were National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata, Cabinet Secretary Shalom Shlomo, Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Tal Gan-Zvi, Military Security Avi Gil, Ambassador to the US and UN Gilad Erdan, and Bennett's Diplomatic Adviser Shimrit Meir.

Bennett and Biden were supposed to meet on Thursday, but the bombing in Afghanistan took place an hour before the meeting's scheduled time, leading to its postponement.

Bennett and Biden spoke on the phone on Thursday night.

Biden thanked Bennett for his willingness to postpone their meeting following the events in Afghanistan, and said he looks forward to meeting him.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the Willard Hotel in Washington. (credit: REUTERS)

Following the delay, Bennett and his delegation will remain in Washington until after Shabbat, departing for Israel on Saturday night.

Bennett’s visit to Washington was finalized days after the Afghanistan pullout crisis began. His staff and Biden administration officials said the timing was important due to developments on the Iranian nuclear front. However, the crisis in Kabul overshadowed the trip from its start on Tuesday.

The prime minister met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Wednesday.

Half an hour before the meeting with Biden on Friday, Bennett participated via video conference in a memorial for his father, Jim Bennett, who died 6 years ago.

美國旨在阻止阿富汗援助通過塔利班金庫

聯合國表示，超過 1800 萬人——超過阿富汗人口的一半——需要援助。

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2021 年 8 月 27 日 23:55

2021 年 8 月 26 日，一群人在阿富汗喀布爾機場外向美軍展示他們的文件

（照片來源：路透社/STRINGER）

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美國國務院發言人內德·普萊斯週五表示，美國將繼續成為向阿富汗人民提供人道主義援助的“非常慷慨”的捐助者，並將致力於防止其任何援助通過塔利班的金庫。

儘管美國對 11 天前在一個飽受戰爭蹂躪、人道主義危機不斷蔓延的國家奪取政權的塔利班實施了製裁，但美國仍在採取措施，允許阿富汗境內的人道主義工作繼續進行。

普萊斯對記者說：“我們可以保持對……阿富汗人民的人道主義承諾，在沒有任何資金或援助的情況下通過中央政府的金庫。” “我預計美國將繼續成為阿富汗人民非常慷慨的捐助者。”

2021 年 8 月 25 日，在這張從社交媒體上獲得的圖片中，成群結隊的人在阿富汗喀布爾機場外等候。（來源：TWITTER/DAVID_MARTINON VIA REUTERS/PHOTO FILE）

聯合國表示，超過 1800 萬人——超過阿富汗人口的一半——需要援助，在四年來的第二次乾旱中，阿富汗所有五歲以下兒童中有一半已經嚴重營養不良。

在塔利班表示，他們將尊重人權，不會允許恐怖分子從該國工作。該組織還鼓勵援助組織繼續開展工作，稱只要援助不被用作對阿富汗施加政治影響的手段，援助就是受歡迎的。

隨著外國軍隊在 20 年戰爭後撤出阿富汗，塔利班的攻勢以 8 月 15 日攻占首都喀布爾而告終。 2001 年，美國領導的部隊驅逐了塔利班，因為塔利班拒絕交出基地組織領導人奧薩馬·本·拉登9 月 11 日對美國的襲擊。

US aims to prevent Afghan aid going through Taliban coffers

The United Nations says more than 18 million people - over half of Afghanistan's population - require aid.

By REUTERS

AUGUST 27, 2021 23:55

Crowds of people show their documents to U.S. troops outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 26, 2021

(photo credit: REUTERS/STRINGER)

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The United States will continue to be a "very generous" donor of humanitarian aid to the Afghan people and will aim to prevent any of its assistance from passing through Taliban coffers, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Friday.

The United States is taking steps to allow humanitarian work to continue in Afghanistan despite US sanctions on the Taliban, which seized power 11 days ago in a war-torn country with an unfolding humanitarian crisis.

"We can maintain a humanitarian commitment to … the Afghan people in ways that do not have any funding or assistance pass through the coffers of a central government," Price told reporters. "I expect the United States will continue to be a very generous donor to the Afghan people."

Crowds of people wait outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 25, 2021 in this picture obtained from social media. (credit: TWITTER/DAVID_MARTINON VIA REUTERS/PHOTO FILE)

The United Nations says more than 18 million people - over half of Afghanistan's population - require aid and half of all Afghan children under the age of five already suffer from acute malnutrition amid the second drought in four years.

The Taliban have said they will respect human rights and will not allow terrorists to operate from the country. The group has also encouraged aid organizations to continue their work, saying aid was welcome as long as it was not used as a means of political influence over Afghanistan.

A Taliban offensive - as foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan after a 20-year war - culminated with the capture of the capital Kabul on August 15. US-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001 for refusing to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden for the September 11 attacks on the United States.

美國警惕更多襲擊，白宮：未來幾天最危險

白宮表示，喀布爾撤離的未來幾天可能是最危險的。

通過路透

2021 年 8 月 27 日 21:25

英國聯軍、土耳其聯軍和美國海軍陸戰隊在喀布爾哈米德卡爾扎伊國際機場疏散期間協助一名兒童

（照片來源：SGT. VICTOR MANCILLA/美國海軍陸戰隊/通過路透社提供的資料）

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在伊斯蘭國在喀布爾機場外發動自殺式炸彈襲擊，造成至少 92 人死亡，其中包括 13 名美國軍人後，美國軍隊幫助疏散迫切希望逃離塔利班統治的阿富汗人，他們對周五的更多襲擊保持警惕。

白宮表示，在過去兩週內已將超過 100,000 人帶離該國的疏散行動的未來幾天可能是最危險的。

一些美國媒體表示，週四在機場大門附近發生的襲擊事件的死亡人數要高得多，自塔利班於 8 月 15 日控制該國以來，成千上萬的人聚集在那裡試圖進入機場並乘坐疏散航班。

五角大樓發言人約翰柯比表示，美國認為該機場仍然存在“具體、可信”的威脅。

柯比在華盛頓對記者說：“我們當然做好了準備，並期待未來的嘗試。” “我們正在監控這些威脅，非常非常具體，幾乎實時……”

2021 年 8 月 26 日，阿富汗喀布爾的喀布爾機場發生襲擊事件後，屏幕截圖顯示醫院外的人。（來源：REUTERS TV/via REUTERS）

美國和盟軍正在競相完成其公民和易受傷害的阿富汗人的撤離工作，並在喬·拜登總統設定的 8 月 31 日截止日期前撤出阿富汗。

伊斯蘭國 (ISIS) 是伊斯蘭塔利班和西方的敵人，它表示其中一名自殺式炸彈襲擊者的目標是“美國軍隊的翻譯和合作者”。

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五角大樓週五表示，這次襲擊是由一名自殺式炸彈襲擊者實施的，而不是之前認為的兩人。

一名醫院官員周五告訴路透社，阿富汗人的死亡人數已上升至 79 人，並補充說有 120 多人受傷。一名塔利班官員說，死者包括 28 名塔利班成員，但一名發言人後來否認他們的任何守衛機場周邊的戰士被殺。

包括《紐約時報》在內的一些美國媒體援引當地衛生官員的話稱，包括美軍在內的多達 170 人在襲擊中喪生。

這次襲擊標誌著美軍自 2020 年 2 月以來首次在阿富汗傷亡，也是十年來美軍在阿富汗發生的最致命的事件。

它還強調了西方列強在阿富汗面臨的現實政治：與他們長期以來試圖抵禦的塔利班接觸可能是他們防止該國成為伊斯蘭激進分子滋生地的最佳機會。

聯合國安理會譴責這次襲擊“特別令人憎惡”，因為襲擊目標是試圖逃離該國的平民。

'追捕你'

拜登週四晚間表示，他已命令五角大樓計劃如何打擊聲稱對此負責的伊斯蘭國附屬組織 ISIS-K。在過去的 12 個月裡，該組織在阿富汗的襲擊中造成數十人死亡。

“我們不會原諒。我們不會忘記。我們會追捕你並讓你付出代價，”拜登在白宮的電視評論中說。

拜登已經因撤軍引發的混亂而面臨國內外的強烈批評，導致塔利班閃電般地向喀布爾挺進。他為自己的決定辯護，稱美國早在 2001 年就實現了入侵該國的最初理由。

美國領導的入侵推翻了當時執政的塔利班，懲罰他們窩藏當年策劃了 9 月 11 日襲擊的基地組織武裝分子。

美國中央司令部司令弗蘭克·麥肯齊將軍周四表示，美國將繼續疏散。他說，一些情報正在與塔利班分享，他相信“他們挫敗了一些襲擊”。

參與將阿富汗人和本國公民空運出喀布爾的 20 多個盟國中的大多數表示，他們已在周五之前完成撤離。

目擊者稱，塔利班警衛周五封鎖了進入機場的通道。“我們有一次飛行，但情況非常艱難，道路被封鎖，”一名男子在進場道路上說。

白宮週五表示，週四又有 12,500 人從阿富汗撤離，使自 8 月 14 日以來西方國家軍隊飛往國外的總人數增加到約 105,000 人。

巴基斯坦官員告訴路透社，在托爾卡姆過境點，巴基斯坦安全部隊向一群試圖非法進入巴基斯坦的人開火，並補充說兩名阿富汗人被打死，另外兩人受傷。

塔利班週五表示，持有有效證件的阿富汗人將來可以隨時自由旅行，發表評論旨在平息對該運動計劃對自由進行嚴厲限制的擔憂。

被留下來

英國外交部長多米尼克·拉布週五表示，週四遇難者包括兩名英國國民和第三名英國國民的孩子。該國國防部長本華萊士表示，隨著西方軍隊接近完成大規模空運，襲擊的威脅將會增加。

ISIS-K 最初僅限於與巴基斯坦接壤的地區，但已在該國北部建立了第二條戰線。

俄羅斯週五呼籲努力幫助在阿富汗組建一個包容性的臨時政府，稱伊斯蘭國正試圖利用該國的混亂局面。

聯合國難民署表示，到年底可能有多達 50 萬阿富汗人逃離家園，呼籲所有鄰國保持邊境開放。

隨著冠狀病毒的傳播以及食品和醫療用品的短缺迫在眉睫，人們也越來越擔心阿富汗人將面臨人道主義緊急情況。

一名發言人周五表示，塔利班已要求所有女性醫護人員重返工作崗位，因為受過培訓和受過教育的阿富汗人逃離該國，公共服務面臨越來越大的壓力。

世界衛生組織週五表示，阿富汗的醫療用品將在幾天內耗盡，並補充說它希望在巴基斯坦的幫助下建立通往北部城市馬扎里沙裡夫的空中橋樑。

US on alert for more attacks, White House: next few days most dangerous

The White House said the next few days of the evacuation in Kabul were likely to be the most dangerous.

By REUTERS

AUGUST 27, 2021 21:25

UK coalition forces, Turkish coalition forces, and US Marines assist a child during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul

(photo credit: SGT. VICTOR MANCILLA/US MARINE CORPS/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

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U.S. forces helping to evacuate Afghans desperate to flee Taliban rule were on alert for more attacks on Friday after an Islamic State suicide bombing killed at least 92 people, including 13 U.S. service members, just outside Kabul airport.

The White House said the next few days of an evacuation operation that has taken more than 100,000 people out of the country in the past two weeks were likely to be the most dangerous.

Some U.S. media said the death toll was far higher in Thursday's attack near the airport gates, where thousands of people have gathered to try to get inside the airport and onto evacuation flights since the Taliban took control of the country on Aug. 15.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the United States believed there are still "specific, credible" threats against the airport.

"We certainly are prepared and would expect future attempts," Kirby told reporters in Washington. "We're monitoring these threats, very, very specifically, virtually in real time.."

A screen grab shows people outside a hospital after an attack at Kabul airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 26, 2021. (credit: REUTERS TV/via REUTERS)

U.S. and allied forces are racing to complete evacuations of their citizens and vulnerable Afghans and to withdraw from Afghanistan by an Aug. 31 deadline set by President Joe Biden.

Islamic State (ISIS), an enemy of the Islamist Taliban as well as the West, said one of its suicide bombers had targeted "translators and collaborators with the American army."

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The Pentagon said on Friday that the attack was carried out by one suicide bomber, not two as earlier thought.

The number of Afghans killed has risen to 79, a hospital official told Reuters on Friday, adding that more than 120 were wounded. A Taliban official said the dead included 28 Taliban members, although a spokesman later denied any of their fighters guarding the airport perimeter had been killed.

Some U.S. media including the New York Times cited local health officials as saying as many as 170 people, not including the U.S. troops, had died in the attack.

The attack marked the first U.S. military casualties in Afghanistan since February 2020 - and the deadliest incident for American troops there in a decade.

It also underlined the realpolitik facing Western powers in Afghanistan: Engaging with the Taliban who they have long sought to fend off may be their best chance to prevent the country becoming a breeding ground for Islamist militancy.

The United Nations Security Council condemned the attack as "especially abhorrent" for targeting civilians trying to flee the country.

'HUNT YOU DOWN'

Biden said on Thursday evening he had ordered the Pentagon to plan how to strike ISIS-K, the Islamic State affiliate that claimed responsibility. The group has killed dozens of people in attacks in Afghanistan in the past 12 months.

"We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay," Biden said in televised comments from the White House.

Biden was already facing strong criticism at home and abroad for the chaos surrounding the troop withdrawal, which led to the Taliban's lightning advance to Kabul. He has defended his decisions, saying the United States long ago achieved its original rationale for invading the country in 2001.

The U.S.-led invasion toppled the then-ruling Taliban, punishing them for harboring al Qaeda militants who masterminded the Sept. 11 attacks that year.

General Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said on Thursday that the United States will press on with evacuations. He said some intelligence was being shared with the Taliban and he believed "some attacks have been thwarted by them."

Most of the more than 20 allied countries involved in airlifting Afghans and their own citizens out of Kabul said they had completed evacuations by Friday.

Taliban guards blocked access to the airport on Friday, witnesses said. "We had a flight but the situation is very tough and the roads are blocked," said one man on an approach road.

Another 12,500 people were evacuated from Afghanistan on Thursday, raising the total flown abroad by Western countries' forces since Aug. 14 to about 105,000, the White House said on Friday.

Pakistani officials told Reuters that at the Torkham border crossing, Pakistani security forces had opened fire on a group of people trying to illegally enter Pakistan, adding that two Afghans were killed and two others wounded.

The Taliban said on Friday that Afghans with valid documents would be able to travel freely in future at any time, in comments aimed at calming fears that the movement planned harsh restrictions on freedom.

LEFT BEHIND

Those killed on Thursday included two British nationals and the child of a third British national, British foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Friday. The country's defense minister, Ben Wallace, said the threat of attacks would increase as Western troops got closer to completing the huge airlift.

ISIS-K was initially confined to areas on the border with Pakistan but has established a second front in the north of the country.

Russia called on Friday for efforts to help form an inclusive interim government in Afghanistan, saying ISIS was trying to capitalize on chaos in the country.

Up to half a million Afghans could flee their homeland by year-end, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said, appealing to all neighboring countries to keep their borders open.

There are also growing worries Afghans will face a humanitarian emergency with the coronavirus spreading and shortages of food and medical supplies looming.

The Taliban have asked all women healthcare workers to return to work, a spokesman said on Friday, amid mounting pressure on public services as trained and educated Afghans flee the country.

Medical supplies will run out within days in Afghanistan, the World Health Organization said on Friday, adding that it hopes to establish an air bridge into the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif with the help of Pakistan.

阿富汗：美國和盟友如何處理撤離行動？

白宮週四表示，自 8 月 14 日，即塔利班進入喀布爾的前一天以來，美國和聯盟夥伴已經疏散了約 100,100 人。

通過路透

2021 年 8 月 27 日 12:36

英國聯軍、土耳其聯軍和美國海軍陸戰隊在喀布爾哈米德卡爾扎伊國際機場疏散期間協助一名兒童

（照片來源：SGT. VICTOR MANCILLA/美國海軍陸戰隊/通過路透社提供的資料）

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由於喀布爾機場的安全擔憂日益加劇，美國和盟國正急於在 8 月 31 日的最後期限之前從阿富汗撤離盡可能多的人。

白宮週四表示，自 8 月 14 日，即塔利班進入喀布爾的前一天以來，美國和聯盟夥伴已經疏散了約 100,100 人。

以下是按國家/地區劃分的疏散工作的更多詳細信息：

美國

五角大樓表示，如果需要，美國軍方將繼續從喀布爾機場撤離人員，直到 8 月 31 日，但將優先考慮在過去幾天撤出美軍和軍事裝備。

國務卿安東尼·布林肯週三表示，華盛頓迄今已疏散了 4,500 名美國公民及其家人。

布林肯說，阿富汗仍有大約 1,500 名美國公民，美國政府正在努力與他們聯繫，或者已經就如何前往喀布爾機場向他們發出指示。

英國

英國拒絕透露最後一次撤離航班何時離開，只說英國軍隊必須在美國最後一次撤離航班 8 月 31 日之前離開。國防部表示，已有 13,146 人攜帶武裝離開喀布爾部隊部長 James Heappey 說，大約有 400 人需要撤離，但仍在該國。

德國

德國周四結束了疏散航班。德國軍方已經疏散了 5,347 人，其中包括 4,100 多名阿富汗人。

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德國此前表示，已經確定了 10,000 人需要撤離，其中包括阿富汗當地工作人員、記者和人權活動家。週五尚不清楚有多少德國公民留在阿富汗。週三，外交部將這一數字定為 200 多個。

法國

法國國防部表示，截至週四晚間，已有 100 多名法國國民和 2,500 多名阿富汗人從喀布爾撤離後抵達法國領土。

意大利

意大利表示，到 8 月 26 日，已有 4,832 名阿富汗人被帶出阿富汗。到目前為止，已有大約 4,575 人抵達意大利。

在最近這份未註明日期的講義中，從阿富汗撤離的人員抵達卡塔爾多哈的烏代德空軍基地。（信用：路透社）

卡塔爾

卡塔爾週四表示，迄今為止，它已幫助將 40,000 多人疏散到多哈，“未來幾天將與國際合作夥伴協商，繼續進行疏散工作。”

比利時

在美國消息人士通知政府喀布爾機場附近即將發生自殺式炸彈襲擊後，比利時首相亞歷山大·德克羅周四表示，比利時結束了撤離行動。

他說，比利時從喀布爾撤離了 1,400 多人，最後一班航班於週三晚上抵達伊斯蘭堡。

加拿大

國防參謀長韋恩·艾爾將軍說，在 8 月 31 日的最後期限之前，駐喀布爾的加拿大軍隊於週四結束了對其公民和阿富汗人的疏散工作。

他說，加拿大已疏散或協助疏散約 3,700 名加拿大和阿富汗公民。

火雞

土耳其外長恰武什奧盧本週早些時候表示，土耳其已從阿富汗撤離了至少 1,400 人，其中包括約 1,000 名土耳其公民。土耳其也開始撤離其在阿富汗的部隊，首班航班將於週四抵達安卡拉。

波蘭

波蘭總理馬特烏斯·莫拉維茨基週四表示，波蘭已從阿富汗撤離了約 900 人，其中包括約 300 名婦女和 300 名兒童。他說，最後一班航班原定於週四早上在華沙降落。

印度

一位不願透露姓名的政府官員說，印度已經從阿富汗空運了 565 人，其中大部分是印度大使館人員和居住在那裡的公民，還有數十名阿富汗人，包括阿富汗錫克教徒和印度教徒。他說，目前還沒有決定何時停止航班。

阿拉伯聯合酋長國

阿聯酋週四表示，迄今為止，它已幫助疏散了 36,500 人，其中 8,500 人通過其國家航空公司或機場來到阿聯酋。

匈牙利

匈牙利國防部長蒂博爾·本科週四表示，匈牙利在空運了 540 人後，結束了在阿富汗的撤離行動，其中包括以前為匈牙利軍隊工作的匈牙利公民和阿富汗人及其家人。

丹麥

據丹麥國防部稱，丹麥於週三與剩餘的外交人員和軍事人員一起從喀布爾進行了最後一次撤離飛行。

該部表示，自 8 月 14 日以來，丹麥已從阿富汗空運了約 1,000 人，其中包括外交人員、他們的家人、前翻譯、丹麥公民以及來自盟國的人員。

奧地利

奧地利沒有自己的航班，而是依靠德國和其他國家來幫助疏散。外交部長亞歷山大·沙倫伯格週三對國家廣播公司 ORF 表示，到目前為止，已有 89 名擁有奧地利公民身份或居留權的人被空運出境，另有兩到三打人仍在阿富汗。

Schallenberg 說，隨著新人“幾乎每天”與奧地利當局取得聯繫，這個數字不斷變化。

瑞士

外交部長伊格納齊奧·卡西斯週二表示，依靠德國和美國幫助其通過塔什幹進行疏散工作的瑞士已將 292 人撤離阿富汗。他說，阿富汗仍有 15 名瑞士公民，但沒有更多瑞士撤離航班的計劃。

荷蘭人

荷蘭政府週四表示，自 8 月 15 日以來，已從阿富汗撤離了 2,500 人，其中約 1,600 人被帶到荷蘭。荷蘭大使周四搭乘最後一班航班離開。荷蘭人在該國沒有領事館。

澳大利亞

澳大利亞總理斯科特·莫里森（Scott Morrison）週五表示，澳大利亞已在 9 天內疏散了 4,100 人，其中包括 3,200 多名持有澳大利亞簽證的公民和阿富汗人，最後一次計劃航班在機場爆炸前起飛。其他撤離人員來自聯盟夥伴。

他還表示，澳大利亞在那裡的行動現已完成。莫里森承認一些澳大利亞簽證持有人仍留在阿富汗，但他說堪培拉不知道確切數字。

新西蘭

一份政府聲明說，新西蘭國防軍（NZDF）從喀布爾起飛了三趟航班，最後一次計劃的航班在炸彈爆炸之前離開了。

爆炸發生時，喀布爾沒有新西蘭國防軍人員，喀布爾機場內也沒有新西蘭撤離人員。它說，根據初步數字，至少有 276 名新西蘭國民和永久居民、他們的家人和其他簽證持有者被疏散。

Afghanistan: How are the US, allies handling the evacuation?

The United States and coalition partners have evacuated about 100,100 people since Aug. 14, the day before the Taliban entered Kabul, the White House said on Thursday.

By REUTERS

AUGUST 27, 2021 12:36

UK coalition forces, Turkish coalition forces, and US Marines assist a child during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul

(photo credit: SGT. VICTOR MANCILLA/US MARINE CORPS/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

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The United States and allies are hurrying to evacuate as many people from Afghanistan as possible before an Aug. 31 deadline amid growing security fears at Kabul airport.

The United States and coalition partners have evacuated about 100,100 people since Aug. 14, the day before the Taliban entered Kabul, the White House said on Thursday.

Here are some more details of the evacuation effort by country:

UNITED STATES

The US military will continue evacuating people from Kabul airport until Aug. 31 if needed, but will prioritize the removal of US troops and military equipment on the last couple of days, the Pentagon has said.

Washington has so far evacuated 4,500 US citizens and their families, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.

There are still about 1,500 U.S. citizens in Afghanistan and the US government is working to either contact them or has already given them instructions on how to get to Kabul airport, Blinken said.

BRITAIN

Britain has declined to specify when its last evacuation flight would leave, beyond saying that British troops would have to have left ahead of the last US flights out on Aug. 31. The Ministry of Defence said 13,146 people have been brought out of Kabul while armed forces minister James Heappey said about 400 people who needed to be evacuated were still in the country.

GERMANY

Germany ended evacuation flights on Thursday. The German military has evacuated 5,347 people, including more than 4,100 Afghans.

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Germany previously said it had identified 10,000 people who needed to be evacuated, including Afghan local staff, journalists and human rights activists. It was unclear on Friday how many German citizens remained in Afghanistan. The foreign ministry had put the number at more than 200 on Wednesday.

FRANCE

The French Defense Ministry said that, as of Thursday evening, more than 100 French nationals and more than 2,500 Afghans had reached French soil after being evacuated from Kabul.

ITALY

Italy said that by Aug. 26, 4,832 Afghans had been brought out of Afghanistan. Some 4,575 have arrived so far in Italy.

Evacuees from Afghanistan arrive at Al-Udeid airbase in Doha, Qatar in this recent undated handout. (credit: REUTERS)

QATAR

Qatar said on Thursday it has so far helped evacuate more than 40,000 people to Doha and "evacuation efforts will continue in the coming days in consultation with international partners."

BELGIUM

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Thursday Belgium ended its evacuation operations after U.S. sources informed the government of an imminent suicide bomb attack around Kabul airport.

A little over 1,400 people were evacuated by Belgium from Kabul, with the last flight arriving at Islamabad on Wednesday night, he said.

CANADA

Canadian forces in Kabul ended evacuation efforts for their citizens and Afghans on Thursday, ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline, acting chief of the defense staff General Wayne Eyre said.

He said Canada had evacuated or facilitated the evacuation of around 3,700 Canadian and Afghan citizens.

TURKEY

Turkey has evacuated at least 1,400 people from Afghanistan, including around 1,000 Turkish citizens, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier this week. Turkey also began to evacuate its troops in Afghanistan, with the first flight due to arrive in Ankara on Thursday.

POLAND

Poland has evacuated about 900 people from Afghanistan, including about 300 women and 300 children, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday. He said the final flight had been due to land in Warsaw on Thursday morning.

INDIA

India has airlifted 565 people from Afghanistan, most of them Indian embassy personnel and citizens living there but also dozens of Afghans including Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, a government official said on condition of anonymity. There was no decision yet on when they planned to stop the flights, he said.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The UAE said on Thursday it has helped evacuate 36,500 people to date, including 8,500 coming to the UAE via its national carriers or airports.

HUNGARY

Hungary has ended evacuations in Afghanistan after airlifting 540 people, including Hungarian citizens and Afghans and their families who worked for Hungarian forces previously, the Hungarian Defence Minister Tibor Benko said on Thursday.

DENMARK

Denmark made its last evacuation flight out of Kabul on Wednesday with the remaining diplomatic staff and military personnel, according to its defense ministry.

Denmark has airlifted around 1,000 people from Afghanistan since Aug. 14, including diplomatic staff, their families, former interpreters, Danish citizens as well as people from allied countries, the ministry said.

AUSTRIA

Austria is not operating its own flights and is relying on Germany and other countries to help with its evacuation. So far 89 people with Austrian citizenship or residency have been airlifted out, while another two to three dozen people are still in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told national broadcaster ORF on Wednesday.

The number is changing constantly as new people are getting in touch with the Austrian authorities "almost daily," Schallenberg said.

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland, which is relying on Germany and the United States to help with its evacuation efforts via Tashkent, has got 292 people out of Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on Tuesday. There were still 15 Swiss citizens in Afghanistan, but no more Swiss evacuation flights were planned, he said.

THE NETHERLANDS

The Dutch government said on Thursday it had evacuated 2,500 people from Afghanistan since Aug. 15, with about 1,600 of them brought to the Netherlands. The Dutch ambassador left on the final flight Thursday. The Dutch have no consular presence remaining in the country.

AUSTRALIA

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday that Australia had evacuated 4,100 people, including over 3,200 citizens and Afghans with Australian visas, over nine days, with the last planned flight leaving before the airport blasts. The other evacuees were from coalition partners.

He also said Australia's operations there were now complete. Morrison acknowledged some Australian visa holders remain in Afghanistan, though he said Canberra did not know exact numbers.

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand’s Defence Force (NZDF) ran three flights out of Kabul, and the last planned flight had left before the bomb blasts, a government statement said.

No NZDF personnel were in Kabul at the time of the explosions and no New Zealand evacuees were left within Kabul airport. According to preliminary numbers, at least 276 New Zealand nationals and permanent residents, their families and other visa holders were evacuated, it said.

拜登談喀布爾自殺式爆炸案：“我們會追捕你並讓你付出代價”

恐怖組織 ISIS-K 聲稱對喀布爾機場附近的爆炸事件負責，這起爆炸造成 70 多名平民、28 名塔利班成員和 13 名美軍喪生。

作者：SIMCHA PASKO ,路透社

2021 年 8 月 27 日 12:32

2021 年 8 月 26 日，一群人在阿富汗喀布爾機場外向美軍展示他們的文件

（照片來源：路透社/STRINGER）

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美國官員周四晚證實，伊斯蘭國在喀布爾機場發動的自殺式炸彈襲擊中，至少有 72 名阿富汗人和 13 名美國軍人喪生。

該組織的阿馬克通訊社在其 Telegram 頻道上說，恐怖組織 ISIS-K 已聲稱對致命的雙重襲擊負責。

總統喬拜登週四發誓，美國將追捕對阿富汗喀布爾機場兩起爆炸事件負責的人，並表示他要求五角大樓制定反擊計劃。

拜登在爆炸造成至少十幾名美軍和數十名平民喪生數小時後發表講話，這是十年來美軍傷亡最慘重的一天。

“我們不會原諒，我們不會忘記。我們會追捕你並讓你付出代價，”拜登在白宮發表講話時說。

他承諾美國將繼續撤離。他沒有表示下週二美國撤軍目標會發生變化。

拜登說：“我還命令我的指揮官制定打擊 ISIS-K 資產、領導層和設施的作戰計劃。我們將在我們選擇的時間、地點和時刻以武力和精確的方式做出反應。”

拜登似乎在強忍淚水，在談到死去的美國“英雄”時，他的聲音充滿了情感。“這是艱難的一天，”他說。

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總統說他已經告訴美國軍方，如果他們需要的話，他會授予額外的武力：“無論他們需要什麼，如果他們需要額外的武力，我都會授予。”

拜登為他處理最嚴重的外交政策危機辯護，稱最終是他的責任，同時將特朗普與塔利班談判的 2020 年協議歸咎於他的前任共和黨人唐納德特朗普。“從根本上說，我對最近發生的一切負責，”當被問及他是否應對過去兩週發生的事件負責時，拜登告訴記者。

他說他不相信塔利班，但認為讓撤離繼續進行符合塔利班的利益。

隨著時間的推移，一些工作人員從白宮西翼的電視屏幕上了解到越來越多的美軍死亡人數，隨著人數的增加，他們發出了絕望的呼喊聲。

在喀布爾機場發生爆炸之前，拜登一直警告可能發生襲擊事件。

“我知道沒有衝突，作為一名歷史學生，當戰爭結束時，沒有衝突能夠保證每個想要從那個國家撤離的人都能脫身，”他說。

她的工作人員說，副總統卡瑪拉哈里斯取消了她為加州民主黨州長加文紐瑟姆競選的計劃，紐瑟姆正面臨 9 月 14 日的罷免選舉，她正在從亞洲之行回家的路上，而是返回華盛頓。

一名塔利班官員周五告訴路透社，至少有 28 名塔利班成員在阿富汗喀布爾機場外的一夜爆炸中喪生。

“我們失去的人比美國人多，”這位不願透露姓名的官員說。他說沒有理由延長外國軍隊離開該國的 8 月 31 日最後期限。

一名駐喀布爾的北約國家外交官表示，所有外國軍隊的目標是在 8 月 30 日前撤離其公民和大使館僱員。

塔利班政治辦公室發言人周四告訴半島電視台，塔利班表示，它“警告外國軍隊喀布爾機場大規模集會的影響”。

發言人 Mohammad Naeem 說，大量人員聚集導致無法採取足夠的安全措施。

美國中央司令部司令小肯尼斯·F·麥肯齊說，雖然對死亡人數感到悲痛，但美國將繼續從喀布爾撤離。“伊斯蘭國不會阻止美國執行任務。”

他估計約有 1,000 名美國人仍在阿富汗。

此外，麥肯齊表示，他預計伊斯蘭國的襲擊將繼續。

喀布爾的一個緊急機場證實，大約有 60 人在爆炸中受傷，6 人在送往醫院的途中死亡。

一名英國國防消息人士證實，機場發生了兩起爆炸，一次在 Baron Hotel 旁邊，另一次在 Abbey Gate。根據初步評估，沒有英國軍隊傷亡報告。

五角大樓新聞秘書約翰柯比最初證實了機場外修道院門的爆炸事件，並在一條推文中證實了這兩起爆炸事件。

加拿大和英國軍方將男爵酒店用作批准撤離航班的阿富汗人的集合點。

據報導，有人向機場的一個大門開槍。

一位了解情況的消息人士表示，“附近有數百個 ISIS-K，襲擊可能會繼續。” 美國官員周四表示，他們擔心喀布爾機場可能發生進一步襲擊。

未經證實的周四晚上發生第三次爆炸的報導進一步凸顯了這種擔憂。

受傷人員於 2021 年 8 月 26 日抵達阿富汗喀布爾的一家醫院。（來源：ASVAKA NEWS/via REUTERS）

聯合國秘書長安東尼奧·古特雷斯週四譴責阿富汗喀布爾機場附近發生的恐怖襲擊，並表示支持傷者和遇難者家屬。

據路透社報導，在爆炸發生後，英國國防部表示，他們正在緊急確定發生的事情及其對正在進行的疏散工作的影響。

國防部在推特上說：“我們正在緊急努力確定喀布爾發生的事情及其對正在進行的疏散工作的影響。”

“我們最關心的仍然是我們人員、英國公民和阿富汗公民的安全。我們在行動層面與我們的美國和其他北約盟國保持密切聯繫，以立即回應這一事件。

英國外交部建議不要前往阿富汗。

由於伊斯蘭國恐怖襲擊的威脅，美國及其盟國周四敦促人們離開喀布爾機場。

總理納夫塔利·貝內特 (Naftali Bennett) 在周四晚上與總統喬·拜登 (Joe Biden ) 的會面推遲到週五時，就自殺式爆炸事件發表了評論。

貝內特在推特上寫道：“我代表以色列人民，對在喀布爾失去美國人的生命深表悲痛。在這些困難時期，以色列與美國站在一起，就像美國一直與我們站在一起一樣。”

外交部長亞伊爾·拉皮德也在推特上祈禱，並補充說“我們在打擊恐怖主義的鬥爭中與美國並肩站在一起”。

這是一個發展的故事。請查看更新。

Biden on Kabul suicide bombings: 'We will hunt you down and make you pay'

Terror group ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the bombings near Kabul airport that killed over 70 civilians, 28 Taliban members, 13 US troops.

By SIMCHA PASKO, REUTERS

AUGUST 27, 2021 12:32

Crowds of people show their documents to U.S. troops outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 26, 2021

(photo credit: REUTERS/STRINGER)

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At least 72 Afghans and 13 US servicemen have been killed in a suicide bombing carried out by ISIS at the Kabul airport, US officials confirmed Thursday night.

The terror group ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for the deadly double attack, the group's Amaq News Agency said on its Telegram channel.

President Joe Biden, his voice breaking with emotion, vowed on Thursday the United States would hunt down those responsible for twin explosions at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan and said he asked the Pentagon to develop plans to strike back at them.

Biden spoke hours after the blasts killed at least a dozen American troops and scores of civilians, the worst day of casualties for US forces there in a decade.

"We will not forgive, we will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay," Biden said in remarks at the White House.

He promised US evacuations would continue. He gave no indication of a change in next Tuesday's US pullout target.

"I have also ordered my commanders to develop operational plans to strike ISIS-K assets, leadership and facilities. We will respond with force and precision at our time, at the place we choose and the moment of our choosing," Biden said.

Biden appeared to be fighting back tears and his voice cracked with emotion as he talked about the American "heroes" who died. "It's been a tough day," he said.

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The president said he had told the US military that he would grant additional force if they needed it: "Whatever they need, if they need additional force, I will grant it."

Biden defended his handling of his most serious foreign policy crisis, saying ultimately it is his responsibility, while assigning some blame to his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, for the 2020 agreement Trump negotiated with the Taliban. "I bear responsibility for, fundamentally, all that's happened of late," Biden told reporters when asked if he was responsible for the events of the past two weeks.

He said he did not trust the Taliban but believed it was in the group's interest to let the evacuations continue.

Some staff learned of the growing numbers of US military dead from mounted television screens in the White House West Wing as the day progressed, and let out cries of despair as the numbers multiplied.

Biden had been warning of the possibility of attacks before the blasts erupted at the Kabul airport.

"I know of no conflict, as a student of history, no conflict when a war was ending one side was able to guarantee that everyone who wanted to be extracted from that country was able to get out," he said.

Vice President Kamala Harris canceled her plan to campaign for California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who is facing a recall election on September 14, on her way home from a trip to Asia, and will instead return to Washington, her staff said.

At least 28 members of the Taliban were among the people killed in explosions overnight outside the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, a Taliban official told Reuters on Friday.

"We have lost more people than the Americans," said the official, who declined to be identified. He said there was no reason to extend the Aug. 31 deadline for foreign forces to leave the country.

A NATO country diplomat in Kabul said all foreign forces were aiming to evacuate their citizens and embassy employees by Aug. 30.

The Taliban said it "warned the foreign forces the repercussions of the large gathering at Kabul airport," a spokesman for the Taliban's political office told Al Jazeera TV on Thursday.

The spokesman, Mohammad Naeem, said the gathering of a large number of people prevented adequate security measures from being taken.

CENTCOM Chief Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. said that while saddened by the deaths, the US will continue conducting evacuations from Kabul. "ISIS will not deter the US from carrying out the mission."

He estimated that some 1,000 Americans are still in Afghanistan.

Furthermore, McKenzie expressed that he expects ISIS attacks to continue.

An emergency airport in Kabul has confirmed that approximately 60 people were wounded in the blast, and six died on the way to hospital.

A UK defense source confirmed there were two explosions at the airport, one next to the Baron Hotel, and the second by Abbey Gate. No UK military casualties were reported, according to an initial assessment.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby initially confirmed the blast at Abbey Gate outside the airport, and confirmed both explosions in a tweet.

Baron Hotel was used by Canadian and British military as collection point for Afghans approved for evacuation flights.

According to reports, guns were fired at one of the gates of the airport.

A source briefed on the situation has said that “hundreds of ISIS-K in the vicinity, attacks likely to continue.” US officials said on Thursday they were concerned that further attacks could occur at Kabul airport.

Unconfirmed reports of a third explosion on Thursday night further highlighted this concern.

Injured people arrive at a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan August 26, 2021. (credit: ASVAKA NEWS/via REUTERS)

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned on Thursday the terror attacks around Kabul airport in Afghanistan and expressed his support for both the injured and the families of those who have been killed.

Following reports of the blast, the UK Defense Ministry said they are working urgently on determining what has happened and its impact on the ongoing evacuation effort, according to Reuters.

"We are working urgently to establish what has happened in Kabul and its impact on the ongoing evacuation effort," the Defense Ministry said on Twitter.

"Our primary concern remains the safety of our personnel, British citizens and the citizens of Afghanistan. We are in close contact with our US and other NATO allies at an operational level on the immediate response to this incident.

The UK Foreign Office advised against all travel to Afghanistan.

The United States and allies urged people to move away from Kabul airport on Thursday due to the threat of an Islamic State terror attack.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett commented on the suicide bombing on Thursday night as his meeting with President Joe Biden was delayed to Friday.

"On behalf of the people of Israel, I share our deep sadness over the loss of American lives in Kabul. Israel stands with the United States in these difficult times, just as America has always stood with us," Bennett wrote on Twitter.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has also offered his prayers on Twitter, adding that "we stand shoulder to shoulder with the United States in the fight against terrorism."

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

沒有安全保障，土耳其不會幫助運營喀布爾機場

據兩名官員稱，除非塔利班同意土耳其的安全存在，否則土耳其不會在北約退出後幫助運營喀布爾機場。

通過路透

2021 年 8 月 27 日 15:13

2021 年 8 月 16 日，塔利班叛亂分子控制了喀布爾的總統府後，一群人跑向喀布爾機場航站樓，圖片來自社交媒體上的視頻

（圖片來源：Jawad Sukhanyar）

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除非塔利班同意土耳其的安全存在，否則土耳其不會在北約撤軍後幫助運營喀布爾機場，兩名官員在機場外發生致命襲擊事件後告訴路透社，這突顯了任何此類任務的危險性。

在下週二所有外國軍隊撤出阿富汗的最後期限之後，塔利班已要求土耳其提供技術幫助，以運營機場，他們說最後通牒同樣適用於土耳其軍隊。

土耳其是北約使命的一部分，過去六年來一直負責機場的安全。

“我們並不熱衷於土耳其在塔利班提供安全保障的氛圍中運營機場，昨天的襲擊表明這是正確的。”

高風險

總統塔伊普·埃爾多安週五表示，由於涉及高風險，土耳其尚未做出最終決定。

他告訴記者，土耳其“並不急於啟動（商業）航班或任何此類事情”，安卡拉將決定“那裡（喀布爾）何時最終平靜”。

這位高級官員表示，與塔利班的談判受到機場襲擊的“負面影響”，未來從喀布爾起飛的國際航班有被關閉的風險。他沒有說下一次接觸的時間。

另一位土耳其官員表示，塔利班宣布的安全措施，包括在機場周圍配備瞭望塔，不足以確保潛在的土耳其任務的安全。

“這是一項非常嚴肅的工作，我們需要同時考慮安全和運營，”這位官員說。“我們的做法是，即使土耳其武裝部隊不提供安全保障，也應該由土耳其來完成。”

自塔利班於 8 月 15 日占領喀布爾以來，土耳其已從阿富汗撤離了至少 350 名土耳其士兵和約 1,400 名其他人員。

土耳其稱讚塔利班自接管以來所發表的溫和言論，但表示他們的行動將決定安卡拉的立場。

Turkey won't help run Kabul airport without its own security

Turkey will not help run Kabul airport after NATO's withdrawal unless the Taliban agree to a Turkish security presence, according to two officials.

By REUTERS

AUGUST 27, 2021 15:13

A horde of people run towards the Kabul Airport Terminal, after Taliban insurgents took control of the presidential palace in Kabul, August 16, 2021, in this still image taken from video obtained from social media

(photo credit: Jawad Sukhanyar)

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Turkey will not help run Kabul airport after NATO's withdrawal unless the Taliban agree to a Turkish security presence, two officials told Reuters after deadly attacks outside the airport highlighted the perils of any such mission.

The Taliban have asked Turkey for technical help to run the airport after next Tuesday's deadline for all foreign military forces to pull out of Afghanistan, an ultimatum they say applies equally to Turkish troops.

Turkey, which is part of the NATO mission, has been responsible for security at the airport for the last six years.

Keeping the airport open after foreign forces hand over control is vital not just for Afghanistan to stay connected to the world but also to maintain aid supplies and operations.

On Thursday, just days before the military withdrawal deadline and as countries were still racing to evacuate civilians, at least one Islamic State suicide bomber killed 85 people, including 13 US soldiers, outside the airport gates.

Injured people arrive at a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan August 26, 2021. (credit: ASVAKA NEWS/via REUTERS)

One senior Turkish official said the attack raised doubts about the Taliban's ability to secure the airport or to keep any Turkish operational staff safe.

"The operation can be done by Turkey technically … but our demand is that security should be ensured by Turkey too, through an extensive security team made up of former soldiers, former police, or a fully private firm," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

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"We have not been keen on Turkey operating the airport in an atmosphere where security is provided by the Taliban, and the attacks yesterday showed this was correct."

HIGH RISKS

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey had not made a final decision because of the high risks involved.

He told reporters that Turkey was "not in a rush to start (commercial) flights or any such things" and that Ankara would decide "when there is finally calm there (in Kabul)."

The senior official said talks with the Taliban had been "negatively impacted" by the airport attacks and that future international flights from Kabul were at risk of being closed off. He did not say when the next contacts would take place.

Another Turkish official said security measures announced by the Taliban, including manning watchtowers around the airport, were not enough to ensure the safety of a potential Turkish mission.

"It's a very serious job and we need to think of security and operation together," the official said. "Our approach is that even if security is not provided by the Turkish Armed Forces, it should be done by Turkey."

At least 350 Turkish soldiers and some 1,400 other people have been evacuated by Turkey from Afghanistan since the Taliban captured Kabul on Aug. 15.

Turkey has praised what it described as moderate statements by the Taliban since their takeover, but said their actions will determine Ankara's position.

巴基斯坦對塔利班勝利的看法

伊斯蘭堡對恐怖分子的支持在最近發生的事件中發揮了至關重要的作用，但在很大程度上被忽視了。

作者：喬納森·斯派爾

2021 年 8 月 26 日 21:20

2021 年 4 月 16 日，巴基斯坦拉合爾伊斯蘭政黨（TLP）的支持者高呼口號，抗議其領導人在巴基斯坦拉合爾被捕

（照片來源：路透社/STRINGER）

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幕後 - 喀布爾政府的垮台和塔利班對幾乎整個阿富汗的迅速佔領引起了全世界的關注。它引發了關於美帝國撤退、對美中全球競爭的影響以及全球遜尼派伊斯蘭恐怖主義復興的可能性的廣泛討論。

西方對這些戲劇性事件的分析在很大程度上缺失了一個因素，即巴基斯坦境內的強大分子近年來在促進塔利班活動方面的作用。然而，如果沒有巴基斯坦這種複雜且多方面的角色，就很難看出阿富汗聖戰運動如何在美國占領的歲月里維持下去，並為我們剛剛目睹的迅速奪取權力奠定基礎。

巴基斯坦總理伊姆蘭汗在本週早些時候的一份聲明中稱讚塔利班的勝利“打破了奴隸制的枷鎖”。

美國及其盟友一直選擇對塔利班在巴基斯坦存在的證據以及伊斯蘭堡對該運動的明顯援助視而不見。

這一決定與美國及其盟國依賴巴基斯坦作為其在阿富汗部署的重要後勤樞紐有關。巴基斯坦情報支持對於破譯該地區激進伊斯蘭運動的動態非常重要。

更廣泛地說，不願與巴基斯坦對抗，巴基斯坦這個擁有 2 億人口、傳統上與美國結盟的核大國，可能在這種善意忽視的態度中發揮了作用。矛盾的是，美國不願向巴基斯坦施加壓力，可能是因為巴基斯坦民眾普遍存在反美情緒，而且美國希望不讓這種情緒惡化。

這導致巴基斯坦既成為起訴美國反塔利班行動的重要節點，又成為塔利班對美國戰爭努力的核心要素，華盛頓顯然默許了。

塔利班領導人居住在巴基斯坦俾路支省的奎達市。該運動的戰士與包括基地組織和哈卡尼網絡在內的其他遜尼派聖戰組織的成員一起，在邊境沿線的聯邦直轄部落地區 (FATA) 維持避風港，隨意往返阿富汗，不受巴基斯坦人的干涉武裝部隊。這些地區是最近在喀布爾達到高潮的運動的跳板。根據巴基斯坦內政部長謝赫拉希德艾哈邁德 6 月 27 日在巴基斯坦地理新聞網站上發表的聲明，在最近的戰役中受傷的塔利班戰士在巴基斯坦醫院接受治療。

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2021 年 8 月 16 日，在巴基斯坦-阿富汗邊境城鎮查曼抵達友誼門過境點後，舉著塔利班旗幟的人聚集在一起歡迎一名從阿富汗監獄獲釋的男子（未圖示）。（圖片來源：REUTERS） )

除了後勤作用外，這些佔多數的普什圖邊境地區是數以千計的 madrassas 和伊斯蘭宗教神學院的所在地，在這些學院中，塔利班所支持的對遜尼派伊斯蘭教的強硬派德奧班迪解釋得到了傳播。通過這種方式，阿富汗塔利班的未來戰士儲備在巴基斯坦的土地上得以維持。

距離奎達 25 公里的庫奇拉克 (Kuchlak) 居民本週在接受美國之音採訪時指出，塔利班在該地區的居民中保持著相當大的支持，“所有部落的當地人（住在鎮上）都與他們在一起，說他們正在進行聖戰以建立阿富汗伊斯蘭酋長國。”

阿富汗被罷免的副總統阿姆魯拉·薩利赫以及被罷免的加尼政府的其他成員聲稱，巴基斯坦三軍情報局（ISI）和巴基斯坦特種部隊直接指導阿富汗塔利班。

此類指控經常被巴基斯坦當局否認，而且無法得到確鑿的證明。但是，關於塔利班在邊境地區的存在、進入的便利性、提供可用的醫療保健以及高級官員的支持聲明的證據權重似乎證實了巴基斯坦國家內部人員在最近的塔利班襲擊中的作用勝利。

巴基斯坦角色背後的動機是什麼？

需要注意的是，這兩個州之間的邊界是相對較新的年份，並不代表根據語言或文化遺產的人口劃分。相反，阿富汗在 1919 年的英阿條約中與當時的英屬印度分開，英國在該條約中承認阿富汗的獨立。該條約批准的 1893 年“杜蘭線”（略有修改）是劃定當時英國和阿富汗埃米爾之間勢力範圍的線。

當現代國家巴基斯坦和阿富汗出現時，結果是它們之間的邊界將主要為部落的普什圖人佔多數的地區一分為二。塔利班主要是普什圖族運動。普什圖人約佔阿富汗公民的 42%。然而，大多數普什圖人生活在巴基斯坦，在旁遮普穆斯林人口占主導地位的國家中，他們是從屬的少數民族。

巴基斯坦密切參與阿富汗事務一直是該地區現代史上的一個不變因素。近年來，巴基斯坦對阿富汗“戰略縱深”的渴望反映在支持在聯邦直轄部落地區 (FATA) 和鄰近的開伯爾普赫圖赫瓦省的各種伊斯蘭運動定居或視而不見。巴基斯坦。除了塔利班，這些組織還包括哈卡尼網絡和基地組織成員。

巴基斯坦希望這種戰略縱深是為了在兩國正在進行的競爭中抵消印度在這一具有重要戰略意義的地區的影響力。對喀布爾政府的影響或控制也將使巴基斯坦能夠將影響力進一步投射到中亞。最後，考慮到巴基斯坦境內的人口問題，與支持“伊斯蘭酋長國”的塔利班結盟，使伊斯蘭堡能夠抵消和打擊其普什圖人中的分裂主義或民族主義傾向。自 2014 年以來，一場名為 Tahafuz 的普什圖權利大眾運動一直活躍在這一領域。

2012 年，美國士兵在巴基斯坦邊境附近的阿富汗帕克蒂卡省引爆了塔利班武裝分子設置的路邊炸彈。（圖片來源：GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERS）

這些事態發展對以色列很重要，因為基於共同的保守遜尼派伊斯蘭主義觀點，巴基斯坦與土耳其的戰略關係日益密切。喀布爾與巴基斯坦結盟的塔利班政府的出現將加強這一軸心。鑑於伊斯蘭堡與中國的密切關係，以及土耳其自身與北京的關係不斷發展，這反過來又提高了三邊聯盟未來的可能性。然而，這將取決於巴基斯坦、阿富汗和土耳其的保守派伊斯蘭主義者是否願意對中國自己對待穆斯林少數民族的方式視而不見。

許多分析家在討論巴基斯坦在阿富汗最新事件中的作用時，注意到巴基斯坦三軍情報局前領導人哈米德·古爾 2014 年的聲明：“當歷史被書寫時，會說三軍情報局在阿富汗在美國的幫助下……然後會有另一句話。三軍情報局在美國的幫助下打敗了美國。”

順便說一下，古爾還認為摩薩德發動了 9/11 襲擊，美國積極尋求破壞巴基斯坦的穩定，因為它是一個“穆斯林核國家”，而塔利班代表了“最純粹的伊斯蘭教形式”。

這些觀點反映了巴基斯坦系統內管理與塔利班關係的那些成員的看法。如果沒有這種關係，塔利班最近幾週的勝利幾乎肯定不會發生。這張關於阿富汗的圖景值得西方更多關注。

The Pakistani angle on the Taliban victory

Islamabad’s support for the terrorists played a crucial, largely ignored, role in recent events.

By JONATHAN SPYER

AUGUST 26, 2021 21:20

Supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) Islamist political party chant slogans as they protest against the arrest of their leader in Lahore, Pakistan April 16, 2021

(photo credit: REUTERS/STRINGER)

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BEHIND THE LINES - The collapse of the Kabul government and the Taliban’s rapid takeover of nearly all Afghanistan has captured the attention of the world. It has led to widespread discussion of US imperial retreat, the implications for the global contest between the US and China, and the possibilities of a revival of global Sunni Islamist terror.

An element that has been largely missing in Western analysis of these dramatic events is the role of powerful elements within Pakistan in facilitating the activities of the Taliban in recent years. Yet without this complex and multi-faceted Pakistani role, it is difficult to see how the Afghan jihadi movement could have sustained itself during the years of US occupation, and laid the foundations for the rapid takeover of power that we have just witnessed.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan praised the Taliban victory in a statement earlier this week as “breaking the shackles of slavery.”

The US and its allies have consistently chosen to turn a blind eye to evidence of the Taliban presence in Pakistan, and Islamabad’s apparent assistance to the movement.

This decision relates to the US and its allies’ dependence on Pakistan as a vital logistics hub in its deployment in Afghanistan. Pakistani intelligence support was important in deciphering the dynamics of militant Islamic movements in this area.

More broadly, a reluctance to antagonize Pakistan, a nuclear power with a population of 200 million, traditionally aligned with the US, probably played a role in this attitude of benevolent neglect. US reluctance to place pressure on Pakistan, paradoxically, may have been exacerbated by widespread anti-American sentiment in Pakistan at the popular level, and an American desire not to worsen it.

This resulted in a situation in which Pakistan came to constitute both a vital node in the prosecution of the US campaign against the Taliban, and a central element in the Taliban’s war effort against the US, with the apparent acquiescence of Washington.

The Taliban leadership is domiciled in the city of Quetta, in Pakistani Balochistan. The movement’s fighters, alongside members of other Sunni jihadi groups including al-Qaeda and the Haqqani network, maintain havens in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the border, crossing back and forth to Afghanistan at will, with no interference from the Pakistani armed forces. These areas were the springboard for the recent campaign that culminated in Kabul. Taliban fighters wounded in the recent campaign were treated in Pakistani hospitals, according to a June 27 statement by Sheikh Rashed Ahmed, Pakistan’s interior minister, to the Pakistani Geo news website.

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People with Taliban's flags gather to welcome a man (not pictured) who was released from prison in Afghanistan, upon his arrival at the Friendship Gate crossing point at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Chaman, Pakistan August 16, 2021. (credit: REUTERS)

In addition to the logistical role, these majority Pashtun border areas are home to thousands of madrassas, Islamic religious seminaries, in which the hard-line Deobandi interpretation of Sunni Islam favored by the Taliban is propagated. In this way, the pool of future fighters for the Afghan Taliban is maintained, on Pakistani soil.

A resident of Kuchlak, 25km from Quetta, noted in an interview with Voice of America this week that the Taliban maintains considerable support among the residents of the area, and that “Locals from all the tribes (living in the town) are with them, saying that they are conducting jihad to establish the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan’s deposed vice president Amrullah Saleh, along with other members of the deposed Ghani government, have alleged that the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Pakistani Special Forces were directly guiding the Afghan Taliban.

Such allegations are routinely denied by the Pakistani authorities and are impossible to prove conclusively. But the weight of evidence regarding the presence of the Taliban in the border areas, their ease of access, the provision of available health care, and statements of support by senior officials seem to confirm a role of elements within the Pakistani state in the recent Taliban victory.

WHAT ARE the motivations behind the Pakistani role?

It is important to note that the border between these two states is of relatively recent vintage and does not represent a division of populations according to linguistic or cultural heritage. Rather, Afghanistan was divided off from then British India in the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919, in which Britain recognized the independence of Afghanistan. The 1893 ‘Durand Line’ that this treaty ratified (in a slightly modified form) was a line demarcating areas of influence between the British and the Afghan Amir of that time.

The result when the modern states of Pakistan and Afghanistan emerged was that the border between them bisected the area of the majority population of the largely tribal Pashtun peoples. The Taliban are a mainly Pashtun movement. Pashtuns constitute around 42% of Afghan citizens. The majority of Pashtuns, however, live in Pakistan, where they are a subordinated minority in a state dominated by the Punjabi Muslim population.

Close Pakistani involvement in Afghan affairs has been a constant element in the modern history of this area. The Pakistani desire for ‘strategic depth’ in Afghanistan has in recent years been reflected in support for domiciling of, or turning a blind eye to, a variety of Islamist movements in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. In addition to the Taliban, these have included the Haqqani Network and elements of al-Qaeda.

Pakistan desires this strategic depth in order to counteract Indian influence in this strategically important area in the ongoing contest between the two countries. Influence over or control of the government in Kabul would also enable Pakistan to project influence further into Central Asia. Lastly, given the demographic issues within Pakistan, the alliance with the Taliban, who favor an ‘Islamic Emirate,’ enables Islamabad to offset and combat separatist or nationalist tendencies among its own Pashtun population. Since 2014, a popular movement for Pashtun rights, known as Tahafuz, has been active in this area.

US SOLDIERS explode a roadside bomb set by Taliban fighters in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border, in 2012. (credit: GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERS)

These developments matter to Israel because Pakistan is engaged in a growing strategic relationship with Turkey, based on a shared conservative Sunni Islamist outlook. The emergence of a Pakistan-aligned Taliban government in Kabul will strengthen this axis. Given Islamabad’s close ties with China, and Turkey’s own advancing relations with Beijing, this in turn raises the future possibility on the horizon of a trilateral alignment. However, this would depend on the willingness of conservative Islamists in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey to turn a blind eye to China’s own treatment of its Muslim minorities.

Many analysts, in discussing Pakistan’s role in the latest events in Afghanistan, have noted a 2014 statement by Hamid Gul, a former leader of the ISI in Pakistan: “When history is written, it will be stated that the ISI defeated the Soviet Union in Afghanistan with the help of America…Then there will be another sentence. The ISI, with the help of America, defeated America.”

Gul, incidentally, also believes that the Mossad carried out the 9/11 attacks, that the US actively seeks to destabilize Pakistan because it is a “Muslim nuclear state,” and that the Taliban represent the “purest form of Islam.”

These views are a reflection of the outlook of those elements within the Pakistani system that manage the relationship with the Taliban. Without this relationship, the Taliban victory of recent weeks would almost certainly not have taken place. This piece of the picture regarding Afghanistan is worthy of greater attention in the West.

以色列，巴勒斯坦權力機構在擔心經濟崩潰的情況下討論對拉馬拉的潛在援助

官員們告訴 ToI Israel 可能會提供 2.47 億美元來支持拉馬拉，拉馬拉在過去一年中看到國際援助減少並且經濟狀況不佳

作者：AARON BOXERMAN和JACOB MAGID今天下午 4:56

2011 年 9 月 11 日，從約旦河西岸城市拉馬拉市中心的 Manara 廣場上俯瞰。 (Nati Shohat/FLASH90)

耶路撒冷和拉馬拉的消息人士告訴《以色列時報》，總理納夫塔利·貝內特 (Naftali Bennett) 的政府一直在與巴勒斯坦權力機構進行談判，以在拉馬拉日益嚴重的預算危機中向拉馬拉運送數億謝克爾。

一名以色列官員周五表示，已經擬定了一項以色列向巴勒斯坦權力機構提供價值 8 億新謝克爾（2.47 億美元）的金融計劃的臨時協議，另一名知情官員稱該交易“實際上已經完成”。

曾有計劃在本週貝內特訪問華盛頓之前宣布該一攬子計劃，拜登政府正在那裡尋求以色列採取行動，支持與巴勒斯坦人“緩和衝突”，並推進加強巴勒斯坦權力機構的措施。然而，財政方案並沒有及時敲定。

巴勒斯坦權力機構高級官員艾哈邁德·馬伊達拉尼證實，雙方正在就財政支持進行談判。他說，這筆資金不是貸款，而是以色列代表拉馬拉收取的稅收預付款。

“有關於我們欠什麼的預付款的討論，而不是貸款，”Majdalani 說。

無法立即聯繫到以色列和巴勒斯坦權力機構財政部置評。

近幾個月來，巴勒斯坦權力機構發現自己處於困境。自該恐怖組織 5 月與以色列進行為期 11 天的戰鬥以來，其主要競爭對手哈馬斯就越來越受歡迎。

2021 年 7 月 3 日，巴勒斯坦權力機構評論家尼扎爾·巴納特 (Nizar Banat) 的母親瑪麗亞姆·巴納特 (Maryam Banat) 於 2021 年 7 月 3 日在約旦河西岸城市拉馬拉舉行的抗議他的死亡的集會上舉著一張海報。（美聯社照片/納賽爾·納賽爾）

巴勒斯坦權力機構評論家尼扎爾·巴納特 (Nizar Banat) 於 6 月下旬在巴勒斯坦權力機構安全部隊拘留期間去世，加劇了國內動盪。巴納特死後，罕見的抗議活動爆發，要求巴勒斯坦權力機構主席馬哈茂德·阿巴斯辭職。一些集會被巴勒斯坦權力機構暴力鎮壓，他們毆打示威者並逮捕了數十人，招致國際批評。

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與此同時，西岸經濟受到冠狀病毒的打擊，在 2020 年期間萎縮了 11.5%。

巴勒斯坦權力機構的政府預算也受到了嚴重打擊，一名西方外交官在 7 月底警告以色列時報，巴勒斯坦權力機構“將因缺乏收入而崩潰”。

大部分預算來自以色列代其收取的稅收，稱為清關收入。

根據以色列 2018 年的一項法律，以色列定期沒收收入中的資金，以懲罰拉馬拉的政策，該政策向巴勒斯坦安全囚犯、在與以色列軍隊的暴力對抗中喪生的人及其家人（包括對以色列人實施恐怖襲擊的人）支付津貼。

8 月初，以色列政府簽署了在六個月內沒收 6 億新謝克爾（1.86 億美元）的協議。據說這個數字與拉馬拉在 2020 年支付給恐怖罪犯和所謂烈士家屬的工資大致相同。

巴勒斯坦權力機構總理穆罕默德·施泰耶於 8 月 10 日對內閣說：“這使我們處於困難的財務狀況，削弱了我們履行財務義務和對人民的承諾的能力。”

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巴勒斯坦民族權力機構總理穆罕默德·施泰耶於 2021 年 1 月 25 日向巴勒斯坦權力機構內閣部長發表講話。（WAFA）

與此同時，拉馬拉的阿拉伯和國際援助大幅下降，此前這些援助佔其預算的很大一部分。2019 年，截至 6 月底，巴勒斯坦權力機構獲得了約 3 億美元的預算支持。然而，到 2021 年，他們僅獲得了 3020 萬美元——僅略高於金額的十分之一。

拉馬拉最大的單一捐助者歐盟將延遲歸咎於技術原因。但在持續的抗議和逮捕的背景下，時機是驚人的。

這位西方外交官否認資金的延遲與最近的鎮壓有任何關係。

“由於他們過去六個月的業績記錄，沒有製裁 PA 的因素。這只是一個技術問題，”他們告訴以色列時報。

這位外交官批評以色列沒收稅收收入的決定，稱這與新政府宣布的加強巴勒斯坦權力機構的意圖相矛盾。

“就在拉皮德在布魯塞爾談論加強巴勒斯坦權力機構經濟和巴勒斯坦權力機構的那天……利伯曼沒收了 6 億新謝克爾。它讓人說，你在做什麼？” 西方外交官說。

Israel, PA discuss potential aid to Ramallah amid fears of economic collapse

Officials tell ToI Israel could send $247 million to support Ramallah, which has seen international aid dwindle over past year and is in dire economic state

By AARON BOXERMAN and JACOB MAGIDToday, 4:56 pm

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View from above the Manara Square in the center of the West Bank city of Ramallah, September 11, 2011. (Nati Shohat/FLASH90)

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government has been in talks with the Palestinian Authority to send hundreds of millions of shekels to Ramallah amid the latter’s growing budget crisis, sources in Jerusalem and Ramallah told The Times of Israel.

A tentative agreement for an Israeli financial package worth NIS 800 million ($247 million) to the PA has been formulated, an Israeli official said on Friday, with another official familiar with the matter describing the deal as “practically done.”

There had been plans to announce the package before Bennett’s trip this week to Washington, where the Biden administration is looking for Israel to act on rhetoric in favor of “deescalating the conflict” with the Palestinians and to advance measures that strengthen the PA. However, the financial package was not finalized in time for that.

Senior PA official Ahmad Majdalani confirmed that talks on financial support were ongoing between the two sides. He said the funds would not be a loan, rather an advance on tax revenues Israel collects on Ramallah’s behalf.

“There’s discussion around an advance on what we are owed, not a loan,” Majdalani said.

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Both the Israeli and Palestinian Authority finance ministries could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Palestinian Authority has found itself in a difficult position in recent months. Hamas, its key rival, has been growing in popularity since the terror group’s 11-day battle with Israel in May.

Maryam Banat, 67, mother of Palestinian Authority critic Nizar Banat, holds a poster with his picture at a rally protesting his death, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, July 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

The death of Palestinian Authority critic Nizar Banat in late June while in the custody of PA security forces increased the domestic turmoil. Following Banat’s death, rare protests erupted calling for PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s resignation. Some of the rallies were violently suppressed by PA forces, who beat demonstrators and arrested dozens more, drawing international criticism.

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Meanwhile, the West Bank economy has been battered by the coronavirus, shrinking by 11.5 percent over the course of 2020.

The PA government budget has also taken a serious hit, with a Western diplomat warning The Times of Israel in late July that the PA was “about to collapse due to lack of revenues.”

The majority of the budget is derived from tax revenues Israel collects on its behalf, known as clearance revenues.

Under a 2018 Israeli law, Israel regularly confiscates money from the revenues to penalize Ramallah for its policy of paying stipends to Palestinian security prisoners, those killed during violent confrontations with Israeli forces, and their families — including those who committed terror attacks against Israelis.

Earlier in August, the Israeli government signed off on the confiscation of 600 million NIS ($186 million) over the course of six months. The figure was said to be approximately the same as what Ramallah pays out in salaries to terror convicts and families of so-called martyrs in 2020.

“This places us in a difficult financial position and weakens our ability to fulfill our financial obligations, and our commitments to our people,” PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told this cabinet on August 10.

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Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh addresses PA cabinet ministers on January 25, 2021. (WAFA)

At the same time, Ramallah has seen a major drop in Arab and international aid, which previously accounted for a significant chunk of its budget. In 2019, the PA received around $300 million in budget support by the end of June. In 2021, however, they got just $30.2 million — barely more than one-tenth the amount.

The European Union, Ramallah’s largest single donor, has chalked up the delay on their end to technical reasons. But the timing, against the backdrop of the ongoing protests and arrests, is striking.

The Western diplomat denied that the delay in funding had anything to do with the recent crackdown.

“There is no element of sanctioning the PA because of their track record over the past six months. It’s simply a technical issue,” they told The Times of Israel.

The diplomat criticized the Israeli decision to confiscate money from the tax revenues, saying it contradicted the new government’s stated intention to strengthen the PA.

“The very day Lapid was in Brussels, talking about strengthening the Palestinian Authority economy and the PA… Lieberman confiscated NIS 600 million. It makes one say, what are you doing?” the Western diplomat said.