US exit from Afghanistan is 90pc complete: Pentagon
The Pentagon announced that the US military has completed 90 percent of its withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the remaining 10 percent will be completed by the end of August, soon before President Biden's Sept. 11 deadline. The U.S. departure after nearly 20 years in Afghanistan has been swift and quiet, as epitomized by the unheralded handover of Bagram Air Base to Afghan forces last week.
So "why is the last 10 percent going to take until the end of August?" Politico's Lara Seligman asked on Twitter. By Tuesday evening, she had some answers for Politico's Nightly newsletter. First, Seligman reports, U.S. military leaders "don't want to announce that the withdrawal has already effectively been completed for fear that the Taliban
will use that news as an excuse to launch an even stronger offensive," and "they want to keep some contractors around as long as possible to help out the Afghans" protecting Kabul, its airport, and the crew maintaining the country's air force. Having the U.S. commander in country gives "at least the illusion of a U.S. military presence," and might help keep up the morale of the Afghan National Security Forces, the only thing that will prevent Kabul falling to the Taliban, Seligman adds.
And finally, keeping a US military presence in Afghanistan over the summer "gives the administration more time to finalize plans to relocate thousands of Afghans who helped the U.S. military as interpreters" and in other supporting roles and "are in danger of being killed by the Taliban after the U.S. officially leaves," Seligman reports. These Afghans are currently awaiting special immigration visas.
As U.S. forces withdraw, the Taliban is grabbing up territory and imposing its strict version of Islam, which forbids music, women working in public-facing jobs, and girls in school,
The New York Times reports. It will be "terrible" to watch the Taliban gobble up Afghanistan again, The Week's Joel Mathis writes, though "it is time to leave."
Biden's decision to exit Afghanistan is broadly popular, even among Republican voters - former President Donald Trump set the stage for withdrawal, after all - and a diverse group of war veterans, "many of whom had clashed bitter with one another over the years," has pledged to continue providing Biden political cover if the Taliban prevails, the Times reports.
Meanwhile New York can try to sue gun manufacturers over harm caused by their products under legislation that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed Tuesday.
The new law comes at a time when New York City in particular is facing a rise in shootings. Overall, violence is well short of the historic highs of the 1990s, or even in the New York of the early 2000s. But the Democratic-led Legislature has pushed to pass several gun control measures this year, including legislation that would prohibit the sale, purchase or transfer of firearms to anyone with an outstanding warrant for a felony or serious offense.
The federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005 gave gun manufacturers immunity from lawsuits related to the criminal misuse of their products. Supporters of New York's bill argue that gun manufacturers can still be held liable if they violate other laws concerning the sale or marketing of firearms. "Plain and simple, this was federal overreach to protect the gun industry in every way possible," Attorney General Letitia James said.
"But, today, New York state took an important step to right that wrong and protect its citizens from gun violence."
It's unclear, however, whether that argument will survive being challenged in court. James said she is "ready to defend" the law, which, for example, would allow her or a locality to sue gun manufacturers for harming the public by neglecting to take steps to prevent firearms from being sold unlawfully in New York.
Cuomo also said Tuesday he would declare that gun violence in his state is a "disaster emergency" and start tracking hotspots of shootings. Cuomo said declaring the emergency will make it easier to spend money on efforts to address and reduce gun violence.