拜登在美軍撤離時會見阿富汗領導人，戰鬥激烈

美國總統喬拜登週五會見了阿富汗總統和他的前政治敵人，討論華盛頓對阿富汗的支持，因為最後一批美軍在 20 年後收緊。

通過路透

2021 年 6 月 25 日 18:46

美國總統喬拜登上週二在白宮橢圓形辦公室發表講話。

（照片來源：TOM BRENNER/REUTERS）

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美國總統喬拜登週五會見阿富汗總統阿什拉夫加尼和他的前政治敵人阿卜杜拉阿卜杜拉，討論華盛頓對阿富汗的支持，因為最後一批美軍在經過 20 年的戰爭後收緊，政府軍努力擊退塔利班的進攻。

橢圓形辦公室會議對加尼的象徵意義可能與美國的任何新幫助一樣有價值，因為它將被視為肯定拜登對這位陷入困境的阿富汗領導人的支持，因為他面對塔利班的得益、爆炸和暗殺以及 COVID-19 案件激增以及喀布爾的政治內訌。

前美國駐喀布爾大使羅納德·諾伊曼說：“在士氣非常低迷、事情正在走下坡路的時候，任何能幫助提振士氣和支持政府的事情都是值得的。” “邀請加尼來到這裡是一個非常強烈的跡象，表明我們支持他。”

然而，拜登的擁抱是在美國官員向加尼施壓，要求加尼根據一項政治協議草案讓位過渡政府之後幾個月才接受拜登的，他們為打破和平談判的僵局而採取了失敗的策略。

白宮副新聞秘書卡琳讓-皮埃爾說，拜登作為總統與加尼和民族和解高級委員會主席阿卜杜拉的首次會晤將側重於“我們對阿富汗人民的持續承諾”和安全部隊。

拜登已要求國會明年批准向阿富汗提供 33 億美元的安全援助，並將向那裡發送 300 萬劑疫苗以幫助其對抗COVID-19。

讓-皮埃爾說，拜登將敦促阿富汗上兩次總統選舉中的敵人加尼和阿卜杜拉“團結一致”，他將重申美國支持通過談判達成和平協議。

然而，美國官員已經明確表示，拜登不會阻止美國撤軍——可能在 7 月底或 8 月初完成——而且他不太可能批准美國對喀布爾的任何軍事支持，以阻止塔利班在建議、情報、和飛機維修。

在前往白宮之前，加尼週五在國會山舉行了第二天的會議，拜登的退出決定遭到了雙方許多成員的反對。

美國眾議院議長南希佩洛西歡迎加尼參加兩黨領導人會議，她說她期待聽到關於美國人道主義援助可以做些什麼，特別是對婦女和女孩的援助。許多立法者和專家深表擔憂，塔利班——如果重新掌權——將逆轉在婦女和女孩權利方面取得的進展，她們在 1996-2001 年叛亂分子統治期間受到嚴厲鎮壓並被禁止接受教育和工作。

對基地組織的擔憂

加尼-阿卜杜拉的訪問伴隨著和平進程陷入停滯，暴力活動肆虐，因為阿富汗安全部隊正在努力阻止塔利班春季攻勢，該攻勢威脅到幾個省會城市，並引發了民族民兵的動員，以增援政府軍。

美國國務卿安東尼·布林肯週五訪問巴黎時表示，華盛頓“非常認真地”審視塔利班是否“認真對待和平解決衝突”。

這場危機引發了人們對塔利班可能重新掌權的嚴重擔憂——在美國領導的入侵結束了他們嚴酷的伊斯蘭統治二十年後——讓基地組織重新抬頭。美國和聯合國官員表示，極端分子與塔利班保持密切聯繫。

“五角大樓和情報界表示，基地組織很可能會捲土重來。我們的士兵和軍隊很可能不得不返回阿富汗，”美國前陸軍代表邁克沃爾茲說曾在阿富汗指揮美國特種部隊。

美國官員回應說，美國將能夠發現並挫敗基地組織或其他伊斯蘭主義者的任何新威脅。塔利班堅稱基地組織不再在阿富汗。

熟悉美國情報報告的美國政府消息人士稱，情況十分嚴峻。他們說，加尼已被敦促採取更多措施，在美國領導的聯軍仍然存在的情況下加大對叛亂分子的壓力。

承諾結束美國“永远战爭”的拜登在 4 月宣布，所有美軍將在 2001 年 9 月 11 日基地組織襲擊美國的周年紀念日之前撤出阿富汗。

儘管美國前總統唐納德·特朗普 (Donald Trump) 在 2020 年與塔利班達成的一項協議將 5 月 1 日定為美國撤軍的最後期限，但他還是做出了決定

Biden meets Afghan leaders as US troops leave, fighting rages

US President Joe Biden met with Afghan President and his former political foe on Friday to discuss Washington's support for Afghanistan as the last US troops pack up after 20 years.

By REUTERS

JUNE 25, 2021 18:46

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden speaks inside the Oval Office at the White House, last Tuesday.

(photo credit: TOM BRENNER/REUTERS)

US President Joe Biden meets Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former political foe, Abdullah Abdullah, on Friday to discuss Washington's support for Afghanistan as the last US troops pack up after 20 years of war and government forces struggle to repel Taliban advances.

The Oval Office meeting may be as valuable to Ghani for its symbolism as for any new US help because it will be seen as affirming Biden's support for the beleaguered Afghan leader as he confronts Taliban gains, bombings and assassinations, a surge in COVID-19 cases and political infighting in Kabul.

"At a time when morale is incredibly shaky and things are going downhill, anything one can do to help shore up morale and shore up the government is worth doing," said Ronald Neumann, a former US ambassador to Kabul. "Inviting Ghani here is a pretty strong sign that we’re backing him."

Biden's embrace, however, comes only months after US officials were pressuring Ghani to step aside for a transitional government under a draft political accord that they floated in a failed gambit to break a stalemate in peace talks.

Biden's first meeting as president with Ghani and Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, will focus on "our ongoing commitment to the Afghan people" and security forces, said White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Biden has asked Congress to approve $3.3 billion in security assistance for Afghanistan next year and is sending 3 million doses of vaccines there to help it battle COVID-19.

Biden will urge Ghani and Abdullah, foes in Afghanistan's two last presidential elections, "to be a united front" and he will reaffirm US support for a negotiated peace deal, Jean-Pierre said.

US officials, however, have been clear that Biden will not halt the American pullout – likely to be completed by late July or early August – and he is unlikely to approve any US military support to Kabul to halt the Taliban's advances beyond advice, intelligence, and aircraft maintenance.

Before heading to the White House, Ghani held a second day of meetings on Friday on Capitol Hill, where Biden's withdrawal decision met objections from many members of both parties.

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, welcoming Ghani to a bipartisan leadership meeting, said she looked forward to hearing about what more can be done with US humanitarian aid, especially for women and girls. Many lawmakers and experts have expressed deep concerns that the Taliban - if returned to power - will reverse progress made on the rights of women and girls, who were harshly repressed and barred from education and work during the insurgents' 1996-2001 rule.

WORRIES ABOUT AL QAEDA

The Ghani-Abdullah visit comes with the peace process stalled and violence raging as Afghan security forces fight to stem a Taliban spring offensive that threatens several provincial capitals and has triggered mobilizations of ethnic militias to reinforce government troops.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking during a visit on Friday to Paris, said Washington is "looking very hard" at whether the Taliban are "serious about a peaceful resolution to the conflict."

The crisis has fueled grave concerns that the Taliban could regain power - two decades after the US-led invasion ended their harsh version of Islamist rule – allowing a resurgence of al Qaeda. US and U.N. officials say the extremists maintain close links with the Taliban.

"The Pentagon and the intelligence community are saying it is very likely that al Qaeda will come roaring back. It is very likely that our soldiers and our troops may have to go back into Afghanistan," said US Representative Mike Waltz, a former Army officer who commanded US Special Forces in Afghanistan.

US officials respond that the United States will be able to detect and thwart any new threats by al Qaeda or other Islamists. The Taliban insist al Qaeda is no longer in Afghanistan.

US government sources familiar with US intelligence reporting describe the situation as dire. Ghani, they said, has been urged to do more to step up pressure on the insurgents while US-led coalition forces are still there.

Biden, who pledged to end America's "forever wars," announced in April that all US forces would be out of Afghanistan by the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al Qaeda on the United States.

He made the decision even though a 2020 US-Taliban deal forged under former President Donald Trump set May 1 as the US pullout deadline

除非塔利班退出，否則阿富汗和談應該繼續——阿卜杜拉

阿卜杜拉說，談判開始時，人們對和平協議“可能更加樂觀”，因為“塔利班對不同的對話者說了一些讓他們感到樂觀的事情。”

通過路透

2021 年 6 月 26 日 03:27

美國海軍陸戰隊在阿富汗南部的海軍陸戰隊基地前線填充沙袋。

（照片來源：JIM HOLLANDER/REUTERS）

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頭阿富汗的平和委員會上週五表示，關於政治解決的幾十年鬥爭的長期陷入僵局的會談不應該，儘管塔利班湧動攻擊被拋棄，除非武裝分子自己拉了出來。全國和解高級委員會主席阿卜杜拉·阿卜杜拉（Abdullah Abdullah）在接受路透社採訪時說：“我認為，除非塔利班完全關閉，否則我們不應該關閉大門。” “儘管缺乏進展或儘管實地發生了什麼事，我們也不能拒絕談判。”

阿卜杜拉和阿富汗總統阿什拉夫·加尼在白宮會見了美國總統喬·拜登，就美國軍事和民用援助以及美國領導的入侵近 20 年後最後一批美軍撤離所產生的問題進行了會談。

前政治對手的為期兩天的訪問，包括與來自兩黨和五角大樓領導層的立法者會面，正值阿富汗各地暴力活動激增之際，政府軍正努力擊退塔利班的進攻。

拜登告訴加尼和阿卜杜拉，“阿富汗人將不得不決定他們的未來”，“毫無意義的暴力必須停止”。

然而，這場戰鬥引發了人們對長期陷入僵局的美國支持的叛亂分子與包括政府官員在內的代表團之間的和平談判表示嚴重懷疑，該代表團於 2020 年在特朗普政府的多哈開始。

阿卜杜拉說，談判開始時，人們對和平協議“可能更加樂觀”，因為“塔利班對不同的對話者說了一些讓他們感到樂觀的事情。”

儘管如此，阿卜杜拉說，不應放棄談判。

“最終，最後一個被殺的人將無法解決問題，”他說。“必須和平解決。”

Afghan peace talks should continue unless Taliban pull out - Abdullah

Abdullah said there was “perhaps more optimism” about a peace deal when the negotiations began because “the Taliban said things to different interlocutors that created optimism.”

By REUTERS

JUNE 26, 2021 03:27

US MARINES fill sandbags on the frontlines of a Marine Corps base in southern Afghanistan.

(photo credit: JIM HOLLANDER/REUTERS)

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The head of Afghanistan’s peace council said on Friday that long-stalled talks on a political settlement to decades of strife should not be abandoned despite surging Taliban attacks, unless the insurgents themselves pull out. “I think we shouldn’t shut the door unless it’s completely shut by the Taliban,” Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, told Reuters in an interview. “We can’t say no to talks despite a lack of progress or in spite of what’s happening on the ground.”

Abdullah spoke after he and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani met US President Joe Biden at the White House for talks on US military and civilian aid, and issues stemming from the departure of the last US troops nearly 20 years after the US-led invasion.

The former political rivals’ two-day visit, which included meetings with lawmakers from both parties and the Pentagon leadership, came at a time of surging violence across Afghanistan as government forces struggle to beat back Taliban advances.

Biden told Ghani and Abdullah that “Afghans are going to have to decide their future” and the “senseless violence has to stop.”

The fighting, however, has raised grave doubts about long-stalled US-backed peace negotiations between the insurgents and a delegation that includes government officials that began in Doha under the Trump administration in 2020.

Abdullah said there was “perhaps more optimism” about a peace deal when the negotiations began because “the Taliban said things to different interlocutors that created optimism.”

Still, Abdullah said, the talks should not be abandoned.

“Eventually, the last man killed will not be a solution,” he said. “There has to be a peaceful settlement.”

美國阿富汗撤軍後，巴基斯坦、伊朗和土耳其會接管嗎？

三人都在為美國離開後的第二天做準備。

作者：SETH J. FRANZMAN

2021 年 6 月 26 日 13:18

2017 年 10 月 17 日，阿富汗國民軍 (ANA) 軍官在阿富汗喀布爾的喀布爾軍事訓練中心 (KMTC) 參加訓練演習

（圖片來源：REUTERS/OMAR SOBHANI）

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土耳其、巴基斯坦和伊朗正在採取行動，以填補美國在經歷了 20 年戰爭後從阿富汗撤出最後一批軍隊時美國留下的空白。在塔利班正在推進在各方面有人擔心，當美國和其他國家在北約休假，不穩定和恐怖的力量的合作夥伴可能會蔓延。

土耳其媒體吹噓說，安卡拉可能會通過接管喀布爾國際機場來填補美國撤軍的空缺。但據安卡拉媒體報導，土耳其不會派遣更多軍隊來保護機場。它可能了解控制機場的重要性。

例如，安卡拉最近有向利比亞和敘利亞派遣僱傭軍的經驗，並且還涉足阿塞拜疆和伊拉克北部。土耳其在機場方面也有經驗。在 2000 年代，一家土耳其建築集團幫助實現了埃爾比勒國際機場的現代化。

土耳其機場控制和影響的模式可能是通過觀察伊朗如何利用其在巴格達、大馬士革和貝魯特機場的作用來加強對武器販運和其他活動的控制。伊朗及其民兵和代理人網絡在該地區的這些機場發揮著關鍵作用。

土耳其可能出於自己的願望而希望介入喀布爾。它與巴基斯坦有著密切的關係，兩國都有尋求維護其權力的宗教極右翼領導人。長期以來，巴基斯坦一直被指控通過其情報部門支持塔利班，而土耳其與巴基斯坦的關係可能​​導致他們分裂阿富汗或促進塔利班接管該國的一部分。

與此同時，伊朗在阿富汗也有自己的利益。它長期以來一直試圖以那裡的美軍為目標並驅逐美國。它還計劃在中亞擴大業務。這可能與巴基斯坦-土耳其計劃相吻合，但也可能導致一些競爭或爆發點。

伊朗表面上希望保護阿富汗的什葉派哈扎拉少數民族。與巴基斯坦和伊斯蘭國以及塔利班有聯繫的伊斯蘭極端分子在種族滅絕性爆炸襲擊中針對什葉派。這些襲擊無一倖免，包括襲擊女童學校和兒童。伊朗不會歡迎更多此類襲擊。但德黑蘭過去曾與基地組織調情，接待其成員和其他極端主義團體。這如何符合土耳其的目標和巴基斯坦的目標尚不完全清楚。

閱讀新聞報導可以清楚地看到，每個國家都有自己的政策，並正在為美​​國離開後的第二天做準備。即使它真的離開了，阿富汗仍然會有數百名美國人員。據報導，大約650名士兵將留下。塔利班表示，如果部隊留在那裡，它有“權利”做出反應。基本上，塔利班現在似乎在向美國發號施令，這是 2002 年美國幫助鎮壓伊斯蘭運動的重大逆轉。

可以在新聞電視文章中找到伊朗和巴基斯坦可能合作的證據，該文章強調伊斯蘭堡將如何不再允許美國在該國設立基地。在最近的採訪中，巴基斯坦的主要官員表示他們與中國的關係越來越近，並表達了反猶太主義的主張。

伊朗還與中國簽訂了一份為期 25 年的新協議。不過，伊朗的目標是增加與巴基斯坦和中國的貿易，而阿富汗的不穩定無助於實現這一目標。這意味著只要巴基斯坦支持塔利班，目標將是緩解他們對該國的征服。進入機場的土耳其也適合這種設計。

阿富汗領導人阿什拉夫·加尼上週晚些時候在華盛頓會見了美國總統喬·拜登。他將阿富汗目前的困境與 1861 年的美國內戰進行了比較。“毫無意義的暴力必須停止，但這將非常困難，”總統說。“但我們會堅持下去，我們將盡最大努力確保您擁有所需的工具。”

與 1861 年的比較表明，阿富汗領導人希望動員該國阻止塔利班的進攻。然而他們可能會發現伊朗、巴基斯坦、土耳其等國另有打算。

這些國家將把自己定位在何處，阿富汗是否淪為極端分子並成為恐怖基地，或者是否能夠維持穩定並遏制塔利班的進攻，還有待觀察。考慮到安卡拉、德黑蘭和伊斯蘭堡政府的宗教極端主義性質，事情不是好兆頭。

伊朗的哈梅內伊接受當地製造的冠狀病毒疫苗注射

電視顯示，82 歲的哈梅內伊收到了據稱是由一家國有企業集團開發的 COVIran Barakat 疫苗，並於本月早些時候獲准供公眾使用。

通過路透

2021 年 6 月 26 日 12:56

伊朗最高領袖阿亞圖拉阿里哈梅內伊於 2021 年 5 月 27 日在伊朗德黑蘭舉行的虛擬會議上發表講話。

（圖片來源：哈梅內伊官方網站/通過路透社的講義）

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據國家電視台報導， 伊朗最高領袖阿亞圖拉·阿里·哈梅內伊 （Ayatollah Ali Khamenei）週五接種了他的第一劑本土 COVID-19 疫苗，該國正在努力加快疫苗接種的步伐。

電視節目顯示，現年 82 歲的哈梅內伊收到了它所說的 COVIran Barakat 疫苗，該疫苗由一家國有企業集團開發，並於本月早些時候批准供公眾使用。

擁有 8300 萬人口的伊朗有 83588 人死于冠狀病毒，是中東地區死亡人數最多的國家。即將卸任的總統哈桑·魯哈尼 (Hassan Rouhani) 的政府將迄今為止疫苗接種行動緩慢歸咎於美國製裁阻礙了購買外國疫苗的努力以及交付延遲。

該國於 12 月啟動了 COVIran 的人體試驗，此後至少開始了其他三種疫苗的臨床試驗。

今年 1 月，哈梅內伊禁止衛生官員進口美國和英國製造的疫苗，他說這些疫苗不可靠，可能被用來將感染傳播到其他國家。

官員們說，伊朗正在加快使用進口疫苗以及 COVIran Barakat、俄羅斯在當地生產的人造衛星 V 和與古巴聯合生產的疫苗的疫苗接種工作。

伊朗還參與了由 GAVI 疫苗聯盟和世界衛生組織運營的 COVAX 計劃，該計劃旨在確保較貧窮國家公平獲得疫苗。

在唐納德特朗普總統退出 2015 年關於伊朗核計劃的國際協議後，食品、藥品和其他人道主義供應品不受華盛頓於 2018 年重新對德黑蘭實施的製裁。

但美國針對石油和金融活動等行業的措施阻止了一些外國銀行處理與伊朗的金融交易。德黑蘭說，這經常擾亂進口基本藥物和其他人道主義物品的努力。

Iran's Khamenei gets locally made coronavirus vaccine shot

TV showed Khamenei, 82, receiving what it said was the COVIran Barakat vaccine, developed by a state-affiliated conglomerate and approved for public use earlier this month.

By REUTERS

JUNE 26, 2021 12:56

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivers a speech during a virtual meeting in Tehran, Iran May 27, 2021.

(photo credit: OFFICIAL KHAMENEI WEBSITE/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei received his first dose of a homegrown COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, state television reported, amid an effort by the country to speed up its vaccination rollout.

TV showed Khamenei, 82, receiving what it said was the COVIran Barakat vaccine, developed by a state-affiliated conglomerate and approved for public use earlier this month.

Iran, with a population of 83 million, has recorded 83,588 deaths from coronavirus, the highest toll in the Middle East. The government of outgoing President Hassan Rouhani has blamed a so-far slow vaccination drive on U.S. sanctions hampering efforts to buy foreign vaccines and on delays in deliveries.

The country launched human trials of COVIran in December and has since started clinical trials of at least three other vaccines.

In January, Khamenei banned health officials from importing US- and British-made vaccines, which he said were unreliable and might be used to spread the infection to other nations.

Officials say Iran is speeding up its vaccination drive using imported vaccines as well as COVIran Barakat, Russia's Sputnik V which is being made locally and a vaccine jointly produced with Cuba.

Iran is also participating in the COVAX scheme, run by the GAVI vaccine alliance and the World Health Organization, that aims to secure fair access to vaccines for poorer countries.

Food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies are exempt from sanctions that Washington reimposed on Tehran in 2018 after President Donald Trump walked away from a 2015 international deal over Iran’s nuclear program.

But the U.S. measures, which target sectors including oil and financial activities, have deterred some foreign banks from processing financial transactions with Iran. Tehran says this has frequently disrupted efforts to import essential medicines and other humanitarian items.

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