{"id":2168155,"date":"2024-02-05T13:27:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-05T18:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/three-surprising-facts-about-todays-afghanistan\/"},"modified":"2024-03-18T08:32:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T12:32:55","slug":"three-surprising-facts-about-todays-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/three-surprising-facts-about-todays-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"1. Afghanistan&#8217;s cultural heritage spans over 5,000 years, showcasing a rich history that predates many civilizations"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthree-surprising-facts-about-todays-afghanistan%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2168155&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Engaging Text: \u2064The Lingering Threat \u200din Afghanistan<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s been\u200d more than two years \u200dsince the \u200cUnited States \u2063abandoned its allies in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/afghanistan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Afghanistan<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While America seems to have moved on from this dark page of history, \u200cmany of our veterans have not. Veteran \u2063volunteer \u200dgroups like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.moralcompassfederation.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moral Compass \u2062Federation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> continue to sound the alarm, because the\u2062 terror warning dashboard light\u2062 on Afghanistan is now blinking red.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As \u200bwe enter this turbulent election year, a serious <a title=\"Lawmakers Still Seeking Answers About UFO Activity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legislators-continue-demanding-answers-on-ufo-activity\/\">national\u200d security threat<\/a> of\u200c global \u200bterrorism has been eclipsed by sensational\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/judge-delays-verdict-in-trumps-ny-civil-business-fraud-trial\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">civil trials<\/a> \u200dand unprecedented partisan mudslinging. In order \u2062to bring\u200c the\u200c terror\u2062 threat into sharp focus this election year, here are three things that might surprise you about Afghanistan:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>An\u2062 Estimated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/afghanistan-reemerging-as-a-terrorism-incubator-\/7230546.html\"><b>20 Terror \u2063Groups<\/b><\/a> Are Operating In Afghanistan<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The son of Osama bin Laden,\u200c Abdallah bin Laden, has been spotted as recently\u200c as\u2062 2023 in Ghazni\u200d and Kandahar Provinces. Is he enjoying the tourist season in Afghanistan? Doubtful. \u2063A new report from the UN Security \u2063Council paints a\u2062 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/wireStory\/experts-terrorist-threat-high-africa-conflict-zones-afghanistan-106885842\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">grim picture<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national\/2024\/02\/01\/al-qaida-islamic-state-terrorist-threats-africa-afghanistan\/adce324a-c16e-11ee-a4c6-8f5c350e9316_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">terror threats<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Afghanistan. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ctc.westpoint.edu\/the-enduring-duel-islamic-state-khorasans-survival-under-afghanistans-new-rulers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ISIS-K <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">currently presents\u2063 the greatest threat. They are assessed by the UN intelligence community as capable of projecting effective terror threats on a \u2063global \u200blevel. Al-Qaeda is \u200calso re-generating rapidly \u200dfrom\u2062 a\u200d strategic \u200bmessaging entity to an operational force. While they only possess a regional capacity at the \u2064moment, they have aspirations (and the potential) \u2063to strike on a global scale. This \u2063is\u200d evidenced by the fact that Al-Qaeda has reportedly\u200d opened eight new <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/afghanistan-taliban-al-qaeda-growing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">training camps<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Afghanistan.\u200c There are \u200calso five Al-Qaeda sponsored\u200b <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fdd.org\/analysis\/op_eds\/2024\/02\/01\/al-qaeda-opens-8-new-training-camps-5-madrasas-and-a-facilitation-network-to-iran-in-afghanistan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">madrasas<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> inside Afghanistan\u2019s borders\u2064 where\u200b thousands \u200dof future terrorists are radicalized\u2064 for future strikes, regionally and globally.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>The State Department Sends $80 Million To The \u2062Taliban\u2063 Every 10-14 Days<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/taliban-controlled-afghanistan-gets-80-million-cash-infusion-every-two-weeks-watchdog-says\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the UN, there\u2019s been more than \u2064$2 billion\u200d sent to the Taliban since the collapse. While the Biden\u2063 administration contends\u2062 that\u2063 these \u200bfunds\u2062 are \u2062used for\u200d humanitarian \u2063aid, veterans\u2019 groups and\u200d intelligence insiders \u200dassert that much of this\u2062 money gets\u2062 funneled\u200b into \u200dother \u2063nefarious\u2062 uses, \u200bincluding into\u2062 madrassas. More than\u200c two million students have graduated from \u200dthese institutions of radicalization since the \u2062collapse in Afghanistan. There is little to no external oversight\u2064 inside Afghanistan to ensure\u2062 this foreign aid is applied responsibly, and \u2064not for terrorist \u200bactivities. In fact,\u2063 John \u2063Sopkos, Director\u200d of the \u200dSpecial Investigator General for Afghanistan Reconstruction <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/3959603-afghanistan-watchdog-cant-guarantee-us-tax-dollars-not-currently-funding-the-taliban\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">said<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in a\u2063 recent 2023 Congressional Testimony that he \u201ccannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer [that] \u2062 we are \u2062not currently funding the Taliban.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<h3>A\u2062 Small \u2064Group Of Afghans Are Actively Resisting The Taliban<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NRF is led \u200bby <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mccaininstitute.org\/the-sedona-forum\/speaker\/ahmad-massoud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ahmad Massoud<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the son of the\u2064 slain Northern Alliance \u200bLeader, \u2064Ahmad Shah\u200d Massoud, killed by Al-Qaeda\u2064 suicide bombers \u2063just\u2063 before the attacks on September\u2063 11, 2001. As Afghanistan collapsed, resistance \u2062fighters consolidated in the Panjshir Valley \u200cof\u200c Northeast Afghanistan \u200cto \u200bmake their stand\u200d against the oppressive Taliban rule. It hasn\u2019t been easy. The \u2063NRF has almost no external \u200bsupport. The\u2062 State Department refuses to officially engage the political wing of the\u200d NRF, opting instead to push \u200cfor engagement \u2062with the Taliban \u2014\u200d a group \u200dwho practices a neanderthal version of\u200b \u201cgender apartheid\u201d on a grand \u2063scale. Yet the NRF \u2062conducts\u2063 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/no-current-talks-with-taliban-afghanistans-massoud-says-promising-guerrilla-2023-09-29\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">determined \u200cattacks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> against\u2063 the Taliban and their Al-Qaeda Allies. The resistance\u200c is the only force \u2062attempting to disrupt \u200botherwise unfettered terror activity in \u2062this safe\u200d haven we created by \u200bour irresponsible exit.\u2064 Many\u2063 veterans, concerned with \u2064the <a title=\"Pompeo: Afghans need to take up the fight for themselves\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pompeo-afghans-need-to-take-up-the-fight-for-themselves\/\">growing terror threat<\/a> in Afghanistan have voiced their support for the \u2063NRF\u2062 in an organization called <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vets4nrf.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vets4NRF<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The \u200babandonment of our Afghan Allies\u2064 of \u200d20 years heaped a moral injury on an\u2062 entire generation of American Veterans who \u2063voluntarily\u2064 fought the longest war in\u200b American History. This violation \u200bof \u2063a strict veteran code of never \u2063abandoning our allies by\u2062 our political, diplomatic,\u2062 and senior military leaders has resulted in increased\u200d <a title=\"9-Year-Old Girl Pepper Sprayed During Interaction With Rochester Police\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/9-year-old-girl-pepper-sprayed-during-interaction-with-rochester-police\/\">mental health issues<\/a> \u2062across the veteran community. It has also contributed to\u2063 recruiting and\u2063 retention\u200d issues in the military.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We shouldn\u2019t turn the page on \u2063Afghanistan. If we do, our enemies have a vote in the outcome, and they\u2019ll make us pay \u2063for it. \u2062Veterans \u2064serve as our moral\u2063 compass when\u200d institutional leadership fails. They should get loud\u200c this election year. They\u200c should \u2064continue to demand support for our at-risk \u200dand highly vetted allies. Helping our Afghan Allies, helps our\u200c veterans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We also need Americans to \u200dbring the growing threat\u200d in Afghanistan back \u2062onto the main stage\u200d this election year. The NRF isn\u2019t looking for \u2063American boots \u2064on the ground. Perhaps instead of \u2063cutting \u200cthose 40-million-dollar-a-week checks \u2064to the \u2063Taliban, we should send them to the only outfit that\u2019s directly standing up to terrorism, the\u200b NRF.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because if\u2064 we stay on this\u2062 current path of directly financing terror groups and pretending the Taliban will behave in our \u200bbest interest, there \u2062will be American \u200cboots on the ground, only they\u2019ll be worn by\u2062 our children.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>*\u2062 * *<\/p>\n<p><i>Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Scott Mann is a former\u200c U.S. Army Green Beret with tours all over the world including Colombia,\u2064 Iraq, and multiple tours in \u2064Afghanistan. He \u2062is a warrior storyteller\u200d and the founder \u200cof <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/rooftopleadership.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Rooftop Leadership<\/i><\/a><i> and the \u2062author\u200b of the instant New York Times Best-Seller, <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/operationpineappleexpress.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Operation Pineapple\u2063 Express<\/i><\/a><i>. He has since founded <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/operelief.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Operation Pineapple\u2063 Express Relief<\/i><\/a><i>, a 501c3\u200c to help \u2063support the emergency needs of \u2062our Afghan allies \u200bsuch as safe passage out of Afghanistan, \u200dplus unforeseen resettlement needs.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and \u2064do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/i><\/p>\n<h2>How\u200d many terror\u2063 groups are currently operating\u2064 in Afghanistan?<\/h2>\n<p>Compass, reminding us of the lingering threat \u200cthat remains in Afghanistan. While the United States may have shifted its attention \u200celsewhere, the reality on the ground tells a different story.<\/p>\n<p>According\u2063 to volunteer\u2062 veteran groups\u2064 such as\u2062 Moral Compass Federation, the terror warning dashboard light in Afghanistan\u200d is blinking red. As we become engrossed in \u200dcivil \u200dtrials and partisan politics, a \u200bserious\u2062 <a title=\"State Dept Spox: \u2018Largest Threat to U.S. National Security are U.S. Cops\u2019\" href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-dept-spox-largest-threat-to-u-s-national-security-are-u-s-cops\/\">national security threat<\/a> of global terrorism persists. To bring\u2062 this threat into sharp focus, here \u2064are\u200c three surprising facts about Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, there are an estimated 20 terror groups operating in Afghanistan. The presence \u200cof Abdallah \u2064bin Laden,\u200b son of Osama bin Laden, suggests that Afghanistan is not merely\u200c a tourist destination. \u2063The UN Security Council reports\u200b a grim picture\u2062 of terror threats in the country, with ISIS-K presenting the greatest threat. While Al-Qaeda currently possesses\u2063 a regional \u2064capacity, it aspires\u200c to strike on a global scale.\u2062 This\u2062 is exemplified by the opening of new training camps and\u2062 madrasas in Afghanistan, \u2062where thousands\u200b of future terrorists are radicalized.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, the\u2064 State \u200cDepartment sends \u200d$80 million every 10-14 days\u2064 to the Taliban. While \u200dthe Biden administration\u200d claims \u2063that these\u200d funds \u2063are for \u200dhumanitarian aid, there are\u2062 concerns that the money is \u200dbeing funneled into \u2063nefarious uses, including \u2063into madrassas. The lack of external oversight in Afghanistan raises serious\u200b questions about the responsible allocation of foreign aid. As the \u200bSpecial \u2063Investigator General \u200cfor\u2063 Afghanistan \u2062Reconstruction stated,\u200b there is no assurance that US tax dollars are not currently \u2064funding the\u200c Taliban.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, there is\u2063 a small group of Afghans actively \u2064resisting the\u200b Taliban. \u200cLed by\u2064 Ahmad Massoud,\u200b the son \u2062of the slain Northern Alliance Leader, this resistance group\u200b known as the NRF\u2062 has consolidated in the\u200b Panjshir Valley. Despite minimal external support \u200dand the State\u200b Department&#8217;s \u2064refusal to \u2062engage\u200d with them officially, the\u2063 NRF conducts determined attacks against\u200d the Taliban \u200dand their\u200b Al-Qaeda allies.\u200b The NRF serves as the only \u200dforce \u2062attempting to\u200c disrupt terror activity in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>The abandonment of \u200dour Afghan \u200ballies, after 20 years of war, has caused a moral injury to \u200dan entire generation\u2063 of American veterans. It goes\u2063 against\u200b the veteran code of never abandoning our allies and has \u2062resulted in mental health issues\u200c and recruitment and retention problems\u200c in\u2063 the military.<\/p>\n<p>It is imperative \u2063that we do not turn the page on Afghanistan.\u2064 By doing so, we \u200dgive our \u200cenemies a voice in the outcome,\u2062 making us pay for our negligence. Veterans serve \u200cas the moral compass, reminding \u2062us of the lingering threat \u200dand the importance\u200d of standing with\u200c our allies. It is time to listen to their \u200dconcerns and\u2064 take action to address the ongoing issues in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Still flashing red. Despite the nation&#8217;s indifference, dedicated veterans like those in the Moral Compass Federation refuse to forget the abandonment. With the terror warning dashboard still aglow, they persist in raising awareness, reminding us that the dark chapter in Afghanistan remains unresolved for those who served<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1526,"featured_media":2201035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2168155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2168155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1526"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2168155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2168155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2201035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2168155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2168155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2168155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}