Naveed Jamali

"If you had a couple of small UAS and you flew into a crowded stadium, that could cause a lot of damage and it's a scenario that could potentially be in play," a U.S. military official told Newsweek.

Australia, India and others are rushing to buy a passenger plane-sized submarine killer called the P-8 Poseidon, which one senior Pentagon official calls "the best answer to countering Chinese submarines."

Unidentified drones struck positions near a U.S. military garrison located in a remote stretch of southeastern Syria close to the borders with Jordan and Iraq, Newsweek has learned.

As the head of the FCC moves to further restrict the use of Chinese drones, an internal DOI memo argues "there are no domestically produced UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] available" to fight fires the same way.

"Effectively, we've had very few folks who are going to be able to maintain employment," Washington State Patrol spokesperson Chris Loftis told Newsweek.

Expert analysis shared with Newsweek shows similarities between the "Waeed" unmanned aerial vehicle displayed earlier this year by Ansar Allah and a "Shahed-136" drone Western officials link to Iran.

Newsweek Editor-at-Large Naveed Jamali observed a U.S. military jet intercept a small plane over New York City.

Seven U.S. nationals were held in Dubai after having "arrived on a private plane carrying firearms," according to a State Department cable seen by Newsweek. They "reportedly planned to assist Afghanistan evacuation efforts."

Six private charter planes seeking to evacuate more than 1,000 people—including more than 100 Americans—out of Afghanistan have been grounded by the Taliban, an NGO official told Newsweek.

Senior Taliban official Anas Haqqani told Newsweek that "there are attempts" between his group's political bureau and the U.S. special envoy to free Mark Frerichs, "which I hope will be successful."

"We are aware there is likely a large amount of equipment provided to Afghan forces now in Taliban hands," Pentagon spokesperson Eric Pahon told Newsweek.

"Final plane is wheels up. War is over," a senior U.S. defense official told Newsweek.

"News of this list being shared shows that once the military-led evacuation effort concludes, America has a responsibility to use all of its available resources to rescue our allies by every other available method," Kristofer Goldsmith told Newsweek.

"Almost anything now can be used by ISIS to try to break up the Taliban's ability to appear or be somewhat moderate, affecting its relations with the US and outside powers," Anthony H. Cordesman of CSIS told Newsweek.

"The U.S. government needs to get over its hang-ups on steps and process and meetings," Mark Frerichs' sister told Newsweek. "The Taliban have been clear about what they wanted since last summer and we need to act on it while the window is open to get Mark home. Why can't we just take 'yes' for an answer?"

"As far as I can tell, this is the only viable option," Charlene Cakora, sister of U.S. hostage Mark Frerichs told Newsweek. "Everything else is just smoke."

"The current posture of the Taliban is for a global audience in an effort to present themselves as a legitimate government who seeks to stabilize Afghanistan and fight terrorism," a Pentagon official told Newsweek.

"As a veteran, the father of a veteran, and father-in-law of a current soldier. I wouldn't want this man anywhere near my family," Fred Wellman, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, told Newsweek.

"When we commit forces, how do we set the conditions to not just win the war, but to win the peace post-war?" former U.S. Army cultural advisor for Iraq Adam L. Silverman told Newsweek. "This has been a major issue in almost every major conflict we've found ourselves in."

Two sources familiar with the process confirmed to Newsweek that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has signed off on Army Sergeant 1st Class Alwyn C. Cashe receiving the Medal of Honor, and a third source aware of the proceedings said the White House was working to set a ceremony date.

"We're glad that they're doing what they're doing," a Defense Department official said of the Taliban fight against ISIS, "because it mirrors and parallels what we're trying to do for our counterterrorism mission."

"This is going to SIV eligible applicants — even if they are not in the pipeline," Naveed Shah told Newsweek. "It is far broader than the original 18K, and will include Afghans in all stages of the application process and even those eligible for an application."

"It used to be that you had to be very technically adept to be a hacker, but the way the cyber market or cyber underground has evolved is a lot of those things have become services now," a U.S. military cyberwarfare officer told Newsweek.

"It's almost like 'Minority Report,'" a U.S.military intelligence official told Newsweek, "where you can find a path of likely outcomes to build a reasonable conclusion, but unless a crime has been committed, it isn't a crime."

"One consideration could be working with our NATO allies who served with us in Afghanistan," Senator Angus King told Newsweek. "It seems to me logical that they would be involved in helping us to solve the problem that they may have."

As cyber criminals linked to Russia increase their attacks on U.S. targets, there's a rising risk the next big strike could trigger a war—and not the virtual kind, but one involving troops, tanks, missiles and, in the worst-case scenario, even nuclear weapons.

"We need to find what the red lines are, this continues to escalate, and we can't allow it to escalate," CrowdStrike President and Chief Security Officer Shawn Henry told Newsweek. "It's the exact reason we had nuclear arms talks, because we realize things couldn't continue to escalate."

"Technically, a lot of these tools that are being leveraged for ransomware are tools that were leaked from our own organization," one cybersecurity official told Newsweek on the condition of anonymity.

"Getting to bottom of the origin of this pandemic is not about assigning blame, it is about understanding how to prepare for the next pandemic, and the next one after that," a State Department spokesperson told Newsweek.

"We oppose politicization of the current situation and presume that the WHO should play a central role in identifying causes of the pandemic," the Russian embassy in Washington told Newsweek.