Monthly Archives: June 2020















Taliban falsely claims al Qaeda doesn’t exist in Afghanistan

During an online conference last week, CENTCOM commander Gen. McKenzie questioned the Taliban’s commitment to its supposed counterterrorism assurances. He pointed to al Qaeda’s presence in eastern Afghanistan and claimed Ayman al Zawahiri is there. In response, the Taliban falsely claimed that al Qaeda hasn’t been present in Afghanistan since the days of the Islamic Emirate.





Taliban denounces ‘deviant beliefs,’ including ‘satanic western and disbelieving ideologies’

the Taliban continues to make it clear that it won’t accept anything less than a return of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. In a recent video, it extols the virtues of jihad while it denounces “deviants … who who are trained in the poisonous deviant beliefs of atheism, communism, secularism, democracy, and other satanic western and disbelieving ideologies.”


Russian air defense systems outmatched by Turkish drones in Syria and Libya

After many years of conflict in Syria and Libya, the involvement of Turkey, Russia and other powers is leading to increasingly sophisticated clashes between the latest UAV and air defense technology. The use of new technology has ramifications for future conflicts in the Middle East and provides an emerging model for how regional powers are fighting proxy wars to redraw the balance of power in the region.







Top Taliban leaders celebrate suicide bombers

The Taliban’s two deputy emirs and the head of its political office lauded suicide bombers and other “martyrdom seekers” who are working to achieve the goal of the restoration of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.