Afghanistan

If there was ever a time for the U.S. to seriously consider a troop withdrawal from the Middle East, that time is now.

"We're all very aware that Congress needs to reassert our war powers authority and stop ceding this authority to the executive branch," California Representative Ted Lieu told Newsweek.

"We will leave, the question is when we leave," President Joe Biden said of the U.S. effort to withdraw from Afghanistan.

We should have ended the war well over a decade ago, but we can't change the past.

The Taliban warned the Biden administration—the fourth since the start of the war in 2001—it will be in "violation" of the Trump-led withdrawal if U.S. troops don't leave by May 1.

Afghans should support the current U.S. peace plan.

"With all this razor wire around the complex, it reminds me of my last visit to Kabul. This is the Capitol of the United States of America," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said of the building's security walls.

The White House sought no congressional permission for the strike, as the Constitution requires.

Secretary Antony Blinken appears to recognize that Washington can frequently be its own worst enemy.

About $2.4 billion in assets were not in use, not in use as intended or in disrepair, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

"The United States entered this war without a strategy and already left a mess behind," Afghan war refugee and former U.S. official Arash Yaqin told Newsweek. "But staying longer will mean more mess, more American casualties, and more Afghan deaths."

"There is no doubt that adherence to the agreement and its provisions will contribute greatly to ending the war and solving problems, because it was the result of tremendous efforts," Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem told Newsweek.

After the president canceled permits for the Keystone XL pipeline claims swirled alleging his administration's involvement in the central Asian pipeline project.

The proposed memorial would be established on the National Mall near to similar commemorations.

Should he keep U.S. forces in Afghanistan past May, Joe Biden, like the three previous presidents before him, will own America's longest war and find it harder to withdraw in the future.

Although we could hear the attack, all I knew was that Chris was on an aircraft at the airfield ready to take off.

If the president is genuinely committed to closing the book on a two decade-long misadventure in Afghanistan, he needs to resist the temptation of accepting the same, old advice.

For peace to be successful Afghanistan must lead, rather than blame.

The people of Uzbekistan, as do the American people, want to live in a world where our families are safe.

"We want the independence of our country and for the fate of our people to be in their hands, and this is the goal of every human being," Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem told Newsweek.

"We, on our part, are committed to what we pledged, and we want the other side to also abide by what is pledged in the agreement," Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Naeem told Newsweek.

The Russian president was among the last world leaders to congratulate Biden on his victory over Trump.

The Taliban have been on a relentless and sleek campaign to cast themselves as legitimate political players and peace partners in Afghanistan.

President-Elect Joe Biden will inherit a long-awaited drawdown in both countries, with American rivals waiting in the wings to fill the power vacuum.

Whether the ICC decides to investigate Venezuela could determine its future.

Sen. Rand Paul objects to part of the defense bill he says will make it harder for the president to reduce U.S. troops from the Middle East.

Wyoming Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney said Thursday that Kentucky Senator Rand Paul's opposition to the bill was "inexcusable."

The alliance condemned violence "especially driven by Taliban attacks" as risking the talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

The very same members of Congress who aren't comfortable with voting to send Americans in uniform into harm's way seem more than willing to vote to keep them there.

The road to Afghan peace is ensuring that moderate political leaders in Afghanistan, the ones that have social capital with their constituencies in various parts of Afghanistan, are empowered in the peace process.