President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee US forces in the Middle East and Central Asia is floating the possibility of co-operating with the Taliban in certain instances to take out ISIS targets in Afghanistan.
Lt Gen Erik Kurilla — who is the Biden administration's pick to head US Central Command, or Centcom — raised the idea during his nomination hearing before the Senate on Tuesday.
“In my personal opinion, there are pragmatic instances where we could come together going after [ISIS-Khorasan] based on the threat to the homeland,” Lt Gen Kurilla said in response to a question from Angus King, an independent senator who votes with the Democrats.
ISIS-K has stepped up attacks against Taliban targets in the months following the US withdrawal.
Lt Gen Kurilla assessed that “over-the-horizon” counter-terrorism operations — strikes launched from another country or an aircraft carrier — in Afghanistan against ISIS and Al Qaeda targets are “difficult, but not impossible” after the US drawdown.
Mr King noted that the US has not conducted a single strike in Afghanistan since the full US military withdrawal in August.
The Biden administration has repeatedly assured Congress it will retain strike capabilities against ISIS and Al Qaeda targets using US assets based in the Gulf.
But the Centcom nominee laid out some of the limitations hindering the US ability to make such strikes. At least two MQ-9 reaper drones would need to take off every 10 hours to place only one sensor on a target, he said.
This is in contrast to the numerous sensors US forces were able to place over targets before the withdrawal.
“In Afghanistan, when we were doing operations, sometimes they would have up to 12 sensors on a target to be able to follow individuals, develop the target,” Lt Gen Kurilla said.
“And it’s also used in civilian casualty mitigation because you’re watching all the approaches to that target when you’re taking a strike. So, it can be very resource intensive.”
He also said that flying through Pakistani airspace to conduct strikes in Afghanistan presents a “challenge”, but he noted Islamabad has several incentives to co-operate with the US on several issues.
“They are concerned about the regional stability in the area and the violent extremist organisations inside of Afghanistan,” Lt Gen Kurilla said.
“The Tehriki-i-Taliban in Pakistan, the TTP, is a very violent organisation that has killed tens of thousands of Pakistanis. So, they have a vested security interest with us on that as well as the humanitarian crisis inside of Afghanistan.”
No senator expressed any objections to the nomination during Lt Gen Kurilla's hearing, indicating he can likely expect a smooth Senate confirmation process before the current Centcom commander, Gen Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, leaves his post on April 1.
Still, numerous senators — especially Republicans — have continued to lambast Mr Biden’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken briefed senators on the topic behind closed doors last week, prompting Republicans to call for an open hearing.
A 2,000-page US Army investigation found that White House and State Department officials resisted Pentagon efforts to begin evacuation preparations for Americans and Afghan Special Immigration Visa holders in the weeks before Kabul fell, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
James Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted that the report mirrored similar findings in a report his office released last week.
“While this administration continues to try to put its botched withdrawal in the rear-view mirror, it is important to examine the failures of leadership so they will not be repeated,” Mr Risch said in a statement on the investigation.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Kandahar%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ric%20Roman%20Waugh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EGerard%20Butler%2C%20Navid%20Negahban%2C%20Ali%20Fazal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
GROUPS
Group Gustavo Kuerten
Novak Djokovic (x1)
Alexander Zverev (x3)
Marin Cilic (x5)
John Isner (x8)
Group Lleyton Hewitt
Roger Federer (x2)
Kevin Anderson (x4)
Dominic Thiem (x6)
Kei Nishikori (x7)
Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
