Today's D Brief: Kabul departures to begin, Qatar says; SASC oversight coming soon; Chinese influence ops growing; And a bit more.
By Ben Watson
September 9, 2021 11:10 AM ET
The D Brief
A flight of at least 100 Westerners will soon depart Kabul, Qatari officials said Thursday—two days after State Secretary Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin dropped by Doha for talks with Qatari intermediaries. The Wall Street Journal reports the departing group includes a total of “some 200 Americans, U.S. permanent residents, and holders of other Western passports.” The folks trying to fly out of Mazar-e-Sharif will still have to wait, or find a way to travel to Kabul, according to the Journal.
After the apparent breakthrough for Kabul departures, the Taliban want the U.S. to remove their leaders from the FBI’s most wanted list, accusing the Biden administration of violating the deal struck in Qatar during the Trump administration. Al-Jazeera has more here.
The Taliban now insist all protests must be pre-approved, according to a statement from its interim interior ministry, the Associated Press reports after several journalists were photographed after being allegedly beaten by the Taliban for reporting on a recent women’s rally in Kabul.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/09/the-d-brief-september-09-2021/185228/
