Kuwait Urges Restraint on Afghanistan
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Page 9 markets tennis THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT Page 16 Established in 1977 / www.arabtimesonline.com TUESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2021 / MUHARRAM 9, 1443 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17765 16 PAGES 150 FILS Kuwait urges restraint on Afghanistan This satellite photo from Maxar Technologies shows swarms of people on the tarmac at Kabul International Airport, also known as Hamid Karzai International Airport, Aug 16. Inset: A Taliban fighter sits on the back of a vehicle with a machine gun in front of the main gate leading to the Afghan presidential palace, in Kabul, Aug 16. The US military has taken over Afghanistan’s airspace as it struggles Opinion to manage a chaotic evacuation after the Taliban rolled into the capital. (AP) Biden stunned by takeover ... Seven dead in airport chaos O Your Highness, they betrayed Day by Day KUWAIT CITY, Aug 16, (Agencies): National security adviser Jake Sullivan said Mon- Kuwait on Monday said it is “gravely day that Afghanistan fell faster than the administra- Kuwaitis. Hold them accountable OH Prime Minister! Oh Minis- tion expected, and blamed the government’s fall on ter of Commerce, how many concerned” over the developments the Afghans themselves. establishments in Kuwait have in Afghanistan, urging all parties in- “It is certainly the case that the speed with which closed their doors and the cities fell was much greater than anyone anticipated,” owners migrated to the United volved to exercise maximum restraint By Ahmed Al-Jarallah all this torment and not providing any Sullivan said Monday on NBC’s “Today.” Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia in order to save lives and ensure the But he said the US ultimately could not give Af- Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times notable assistance. It seemed as if it and other Gulf states, and even to Europe? smooth exodus of foreign diplomats. ghan security forces the “will” to fight to defend their was enjoying the miseries of the peo- fledgling democracy from the Taliban. THE mistakes committed in recent ple, and was thus reluctant to even ease These people left the coun- Preserving the security and stability of Af- try with their Kuwaiti and non- “At the end of the day, despite the fact that we months in the process of combating the almost impossible procedures in ghanistan, in addition to protecting the rights spent 20 years and tens of billions of dollars to give COVID-19 pandemic necessitate ev- Kuwaiti ‘brains’ and experi- of its people, require a collective effort on the the applications. If the concerned au- ences, and the reason is your the best equipment, the best training and the best ca- eryone to assume their moral and legal thority could not impose its will on the administration and laws which part of all those involved, the foreign ministry pacity to the Afghan security forces, we could not responsibilities, because the situation profiteers, could it perhaps be a partner are annoying. underlined in a statement. give them the will and they ultimately decided that has turned disastrous for Kuwaitis who in one way or another? Your Highness, the head of US President Joe Biden was to return to the White they would not fight for Kabul and they would not are stuck abroad due to the failure of the Government, did you in- House Monday to address the nation on the US evac- fight for the country,” Sullivan said. All of them are entitled to compensa- vestigate the reason that led uation from Afghanistan, a day after the Taliban took The turmoil in Afghanistan resets the focus in an electronic applications imposed by the tion for the losses they incurred. In fact, government on people. to the closure of the sports control of the country. unwelcome way for a president who has largely fo- they should be compensated for the bad club in Jahra, or what hap- The White House says Biden was to travel back cused on a domestic agenda that includes emerging The app “Kuwait Mosafer” has psychological situation they endured, pened to the businessman to Washington from the Camp David presidential from the pandemic, winning congressional approval caused tragedies to hundreds, if not as they found themselves strangers left Issa Behbehani when he was retreat to speak on Monday afternoon from the East for trillions of dollars in infrastructure spending and thousands, of citizens, who have been trying to help return his em- Room. It will be his first public remarks on the Af- protecting voting rights. without a state to look after them and ployees from America? humiliated in every sense of the word. take care of them. All that the govern- ghanistan situation in nearly a week. Biden remained at Camp David on Monday, re- Has the conflict between the ceiving regular briefings on Afghanistan and hold- Indeed, Kuwaitis were humiliated in ment did was issue statements warning Kuwait Municipality, the Pub- Biden and other top US officials have been terms of being prevented from board- lic Authority for Industry, the stunned by the pace of the Taliban’s nearly complete ing secure video conference calls with members of citizens of the consequences of violat- takeover of Afghanistan, as the planned withdrawal his national security team, according to senior White ing any plane heading to their country ing any of the procedures. Environment Public Authority and the Ministry of Commerce of American forces turned deadly at Kabul’s airport House officials. His administration released a single due to their failure in fulfilling difficult It is true that compensation is not photo of the president on Sunday alone in a confer- questions posed by that infamous ap- resolved? Has the overlap be- Monday as thousands tried to flee the country. sufficient, because what Kuwaitis have tween the maazoun (marriage Senior US military officials say the chaos at the ence room meeting virtually with military, diplomatic plication. been subjected to abroad is much uglier officer) and the matchmaker airport left seven people dead, including some who and intelligence experts. They were forced to sleep on the than neglect. It calls for the resignation ended? fell from a departing American military transport jet. Sullivan said Biden would speak about Afghani- floors of airports while waiting for the of the Prime Minister and the ministers … Yet, tomorrow is just an- The officials spoke on condition of anonymity be- stan “soon” but gave no timetable. Biden has been relief that did not come, such that they other day. cause they were not authorized to publicly discuss at the Camp David presidential retreat, and largely concerned with combating the crisis Zahed Matar out of public view, since Friday. He was scheduled to had to return from where they came. due to their failure in their work. ongoing operations. For those who do not have a home in Afghans rushed onto the tarmac of the capital’s air- stay there through Wednesday. This is what happened in Germany, port Monday as thousands tried to flee after the Taliban “At the right point he will absolutely address those countries, they incurred huge Britain, India, New Zealand and Aus- the American people,” Sullivan told ABC’s “Good sums of money for overnight stays in seized power with stunning speed. Some clung to the tria, where the health ministers re- side of a US military plane before takeoff, in a widely Morning America.” hotels, and for conducting PCR tests signed at the beginning of the crisis Newswatch shared video that captured the sense of desperation as Biden is the fourth US president to confront chal- more than once, in addition to the KD because of mishandling the situation. America’s 20-year war comes to a chaotic end. lenges in Afghanistan and has insisted he wouldn’t 60 previously imposed by the govern- However, in Kuwait, confusion pre- Another video showed the Afghans falling as the hand America’s longest war to his successor. But the ment on each returnee to the country, LES CAYES, Haiti: The death plane gained altitude over Kabul. president will likely have to explain how security in vailed in the executive authority, de- toll from a 7.2-magnitude earth- Afghanistan unraveled so quickly, especially since which was later reduced to KD 20. On spite which it seemed as if nothing had The speed of the Afghan government’s collapse quake in Haiti climbed to 1,297 and the ensuing chaos posed the most serious test of he and others in the administration have insisted it the other hand, all that the travelers on Sunday, a day after the pow- happened. Biden as commander in chief, and he was the subject wouldn’t happen. needed in other countries was a PCR In addition to the resignation, it is erful temblor turned thousands “The jury is still out, but the likelihood there’s test in order to exit. of structures into rubble and set of withering criticism from Republicans who said necessary to investigate with great that he had failed. Chaotic scenes unfolded at the Ka- going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and Also, in other countries, such tests off franctic rescue efforts ahead owning the whole country is highly unlikely,” Biden transparency in order to know the truth, of a potential deluge from an ap- bul airport Monday as Afghans tried desperately to are conducted free of charge at air- and expose those who tried to exploit find space on departing military flights, with the US said on July 8. proaching storm. As recently as last week, Biden publicly expressed ports like Dubai and others. Even in the crisis to illegally profit from it.