by tyler | Oct 12, 2023 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7, 1998, which killed 224 people. Terrorist group al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the bombings.
The bombings took place eight years to the day after US troops were ordered to Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden considered the presence of US troops in Saudi Arabia, home to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, a grave offense.
More than 20 people have been indicted in the United States for the bombings.
August 7, 1998 – Almost simultaneously, bombs explode at US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people and injuring about 5,000. Twelve of those killed are US citizens.
August 20, 1998 – The United States launches cruise missiles at suspected terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan, in retaliation for the embassy bombings.
August 27, 1998 – US officials charge Yemeni citizen Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-‘Owhali with 12 counts of murder, one count of conspiracy to commit murder, and one count of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in connection with the embassy bombing in Kenya.
August 28, 1998 – US officials charge Mohammed Saddiq Odeh with 12 counts of murder one count of conspiracy to commit murder, and one count of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. Odeh claims that the bombings were orchestrated by al Qaeda, led by bin Laden.
September 1998 – Suspect Wadih el Hage is arrested in Arlington, Texas. El Hage has previously worked for bin Laden in Sudan as a personal secretary. El Hage is initially charged with perjury and later with conspiracy to kill US citizens.
September 16, 1998 – Mamdouh Mahmud Salim, reportedly a founding member of al Qaeda, is arrested in Munich, Germany. He is later extradited to the United States and charged in the embassy bombings.
November 4, 1998 – US officials indict bin Laden and al Qaeda military chief Muhammad Atef on 224 counts of murder for the embassy bombings. The State Department offers a $5 million reward for information leading to bin Laden’s arrest or conviction.
July 11, 1999 – Suspects Ibrahim Hussein Abdel Hadi Eidarous and Adel Abdul Bary are arrested in London.
October 1999 – Suspect Khalfan Khamis Mohamed is arrested in South Africa and extradited to the United States.
October 20, 2000 – Former US Army Sergeant Ali Mohamed pleads guilty to terrorism conspiracy charges in connection to the embassy bombings. He had admitted in court to visiting the Nairobi embassy in the 1990s to assess its potential as a target for a terrorist attack.
November 1, 2000 – Salim stabs a prison guard in the eye with a sharpened comb, causing serious brain damage.
May 29, 2001 – A jury in New York finds Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-‘Owhali and Khalfan Khamis Mohamed guilty of murder in the embassy bombings. Two other defendants, Mohamed Saddiq Odeh and Wadih el Hage are convicted of conspiracy.
September 11, 2001 – The deadliest terrorist attack in US history takes place when 19 men hijack four US commercial airliners. The plot is orchestrated by al Qaeda leader bin Laden. A total of 2,977 people are killed at the World Trade Center in New York; at the Pentagon in Washington, DC; and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
October 18, 2001 – US District Judge Leonard Sand formally sentences al-‘Owhali, Mohamed, Odeh and el Hage to life in prison without parole.
March 3, 2003 – The United States opens a new, fortified embassy on the outskirts of Nairobi.
May 3, 2004 – Salim is sentenced to 32 years in prison for the 2000 attack on prison guard Louis Pepe.
July 2008 – Suspect Eidarous dies under house arrest in Great Britain, while fighting extradition to the United States.
November 24, 2008 – The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the convictions of al-‘Owhali, el Hage and Odeh. The court also rules that el Hage is eligible for resentencing.
August 31, 2010 – Salim is resentenced to life in prison.
January 25, 2011 – Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the first Guantánamo Bay detainee to be tried in US civilian court, is sentenced to life in prison without parole for his role in the embassy bombings.
May 2, 2011 – Al Qaeda leader bin Laden is killed by US Special Forces in a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
October 5, 2012 – Suspects Khaled al-Fawwaz and Adel Abdul Bary are extradited to the United States from Great Britain.
April 23, 2013 – El Hage is resentenced to life in prison.
October 5, 2013 – Suspect Abu Anas al Libi, also known as Nazih al-Ruqaii, is captured in Tripoli, Libya.
September 19, 2014 – Bary pleads guilty to conspiracy to kill US citizens and charges relating to making threats.
January 2, 2015 – Al Libi dies in custody, before his trial begins.
January 22, 2015 – The trial of al-Fawwaz begins in New York. He is accused of setting up an al Qaeda media office in London in the 1990s and facilitating conversations among members which led to the 1998 bombings.
February 6, 2015 – Bary is sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts, including conspiracy to murder US citizens abroad.
May 15, 2015 – Al-Fawwaz is sentenced to life in prison, after being convicted on conspiracy charges in February.
May 18, 2020 – The US Supreme Court rules that victims of the bombings and their family members are entitled to the $4.3 billion in punitive damages, of a total $10.2 billion in damages, previously awarded against Sudan, which was found to have assisted the al Qaeda operatives.
March 31, 2021 – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says in a statement that the United States has received the $335 million settlement from Sudan that will be paid out to victims and families of individuals impacted by the 1998 bombings at the US Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, the 2000 attack on the USS Cole and the murder of a USAID employee in Khartoum. The Sudan Claims Resolution Act, among the provisions of the omnibus bill signed by former US President Donald Trump in late December, resolved a major point of contention over an earlier settlement – unequal compensation for the victims. Under the $335M settlement, those who were US citizens at the time of the bombings would receive more than those who became citizens after the fact and foreign national embassy employees. The legislation signed into law as part of the omnibus includes $150M in additional funds to allow for equitable compensation between birthright and naturalized citizens.
by tyler | Oct 11, 2023 | CNN, world
Demonstrations, rallies and vigils have been staged around the world after Hamas militants launched a series of brutal attacks on Israel over the weekend, moving the long-running conflict into uncharted and dangerous new territory.
The death toll has climbed in the days since, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) saying at least 1,200 have died in the country, while Israeli authorities believe up to 150 civilians have been seized and taken over the border to Gaza. Israel’s subsequent retaliation on the Palestinian militant movement that controls the Gaza Strip has been ferocious.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has vowed that the Israeli military would attack Hamas with a force “like never before,” while Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” of the densely populated territory that is home to 2 million Palestinians.
Israel has pummeled what it says are “strategic” Hamas locations in Gaza with near-constant airstrikes despite threats from the militant group to execute hostages. At least 1,055 people have died in Gaza, with some 5,184 injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The unprecedented scale and scope of the Hamas attacks has brought many around the world onto the streets. Supporters of both the pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian movements have gathered outside embassies and government buildings, further focusing the world’s attention on the tensions between Israelis and Palestinians that have existed since before Israel’s founding in 1948.
Many of the world’s most recognizable landmarks have in recent days been illuminated in the blue and white colors of Israel’s flag as a show of solidarity.
From locations such as Paris’ Eiffel Tower and Sydney’s Opera House to the White House in Washington DC and New York’s Empire State Building, there has been an extraordinary display of global support, the likes of which many in the Jewish community have never seen.
Many have also been heartened by the outpouring of condolences and shock from world leaders, officials and well-known figures.
But while the expressions of solidarity have been welcomed by pro-Israeli supporters, cities have also had to reinforce security around houses of worship and other Jewish institutions.
In the United States, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued “public safety concern” bulletins over the weekend to state and local law enforcement agencies although there was no “current specific intelligence indicating a threat to the United States,” according to a law enforcement official.
Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said Tuesday that she was briefed by state police, which she said are monitoring potential targets and vulnerable locations around the state, including synagogues, yeshivas and Jewish museums and cultural centers.
“While there are no credible threats at this time, online monitoring has shown increased chatter from Neo-Nazis, white supremacists and pro-Hamas extremists,” a release from the governor said.
In France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish population, the official response to the attacks has been uncompromising, with President Emmanuel Macron swiftly condemning Hamas and offering renewed solidarity with Israel.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced Wednesday that 10,000 police officers had been deployed to protect some 500 Jewish sites, including schools and synagogues, across the country.
Darmanin added that “more than 20” people have been detained in connection with antisemitic threats and acts since Saturday.
On Tuesday, the Paris police chief, Laurent Nuñez, banned two pro-Palestinian gatherings set to take place Thursday over concern that “such gatherings… will be the scene of behaviors, slogans and acts of a principally anti-Jewish nature, inciting racial hate and making excuses for the (Hamas) terrorist attacks.”
The decision followed similar bans on pro-Palestinian protests by police in Lyon and Marseille this week for “reasons of public order.” A march in solidarity with Israel was permitted to proceed in Paris Monday.
France has long had its own issues with antisemitism. According to the European Parliament, official data revealed a 70% increase in antisemitic incidents in France between 2020 and 2022. Over the past decade or so large numbers of French Jews have emigrated to Israel due to the hostilities they have felt at home.
Marie-Sarah Seeberger, head of international affairs at France’s main Jewish organization, the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), told CNN that her group had “faith in the French government, French police and their ability to protect Jewish communities.”
She said the CRIF had organized marches in solidarity with Israel, with 35,000 people joining the main demonstration in Paris.
“We would have liked to never organize marches like this. Obviously, the situation was terrible. But this number shows a real solidarity of the French people against terrorism,” she said, adding that the French are “very well aware of what damage terrorism can do to civilians,” referring to the 2015 Islamic State attacks in Paris.
France is one of a number of European nations, including the United Kingdom and Germany, where security measures have been stepped up amid fears of reprisals against members of the Jewish communities.
Authorities acted swiftly after social media videos showed people carrying Palestinian flags apparently celebrating in the streets of Berlin and London following Hamas’ weekend assault.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized Sunday that the German government would “not accept it when the heinous attacks against Israel are celebrated here on our streets.” Berlin police also stepped up the protection of Jewish institutions.
Similarly, London’s Metropolitan Police increased patrols across the British capital “in order to provide a visible presence and reassurance to our communities.”
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she spoke with the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity aimed at protecting Jews in Britain, to ensure that the “the government is doing everything necessary for the protection of our Jewish communities.”
“There must be zero tolerance for antisemitism or glorification of terrorism on the streets of Britain,” Braverman stressed.
Security has also been ramped up at Jewish schools across Britain. Children as young as 4 and 5 have been affected by the heightened measures, which included some schools canceling outings and sports fixtures due to safety concerns.
Meanwhile, parents at some Jewish faith schools have been advised that their children should remove obvious religious symbols while out in public. It has also been suggested to parents that they remove social platforms from their children’s phones to help shield them from any explicit videos that may be shared in the coming days.
Despite protective moves from officials, many in the Jewish community remain fearful about the reality of what is likely to follow.
“There’s a striking mood of upset within the Jewish community at what has happened in Israel and what is yet to happen there. All that feeds into deeply held anxiety about antisemitism here in Britain and the knowledge that it will impact on British Jews,” Mark Gardner, CST’s chief executive, told CNN.
“As always we have seen an immediate rise in antisemitic incidents – hate crimes – against British Jews,” he said in a telephone interview, adding that such cases had already jumped by between two- and five-fold.
Gardner described the sheer volume of antisemitic social media posts, including the glorification of murder by Hamas, as “off the scale.”
“This isn’t just people being a little bit nasty about Jews or Israel. This is people spreading the most horrific footage filmed by Hamas, proudly, of people being murdered, of people being kidnapped, of people’s bodies… in exactly the same way that ISIS put out for propaganda purposes pictures of beheadings.”
Thousands attended a vigil to pay tribute to the victims of the terror attacks opposite London’s 10 Downing Street, the home of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, on Monday evening.
The event was organized by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council and attended by government and opposition lawmakers, as well as religious and communal leaders.
UK Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said at the event: “Valorizing the terrorism of Hamas is a serious criminal offense. Those who engage in it, or indeed any other form of antisemitic attack, must be hunted down, arrested and prosecuted.”
Meanwhile, Palestinian groups explained why they felt the need to gather, making sure to be clear that they did not condone violence, such as the atrocities that unfolded in Israel on Saturday.
“The immediate context of the attack from Gaza is the intensification of violence by Israel since the election of the most far-right extremist government in its history, elected on a platform of proceeding with the effective annexation of the West Bank,” the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, one of the groups behind a demonstration in London on Monday, said in a statement.
The group added it was acting from a desire to “see an end to all violence, especially violence against civilians, but we recognise that this will never be achieved unless the root causes of that violence are addressed.”
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt is the president of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER), an alliance of more than 700 Orthodox rabbis from across the continent.
Goldschmidt, who was chief rabbi of Moscow until he resigned his position last year over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has been in Israel for the Jewish holidays.
“The mood is very dark,” he said in a telephone interview from Jerusalem, where his organization is helping to direct aid and volunteers to the affected areas.
“This was the largest number of Jewish victims in an attack in one day since the Holocaust,” he said. “Not during the Yom Kippur War, not in the war of independence did we see civilians killed like this. This is Israel’s 9/11.”
Goldschmidt told CNN that the community had been “encouraged” by support from Israel’s European allies and appreciated the “symbolic support of lighting up government buildings.” But he is wary of the days and weeks ahead.
“We think that this war is not going to end tomorrow and as the Israeli forces will enter Gaza we expect a possible backlash in Europe.”
Pro-Palestinian voices feel abandoned
The surge in support for Israel has not been lost on those who support the Palestinian cause. Many have expressed frustration on social media over what they see as global hypocrisy after a years-long blockade of the Gaza Strip created a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished enclave.
Israel and Egypt have for years imposed a strict siege on the territory, which has restricted food, water, electricity, and other basic goods. Israel has also maintained an air and naval blockade on Gaza. More than half of Gaza’s population lives in poverty and is food insecure, and nearly 80% of its population relies on humanitarian assistance.
Gazans have seen Israeli strikes ravage the strip on several occasions since Israeli forces withdrew from the territory in 2005. Fighting regularly takes place between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
“The situation inside Gaza is dire as homes and civilians remain the indiscriminate targets of continuous bombing,” Nadim Zaghloul, Country Director for the NGO ActionAid Palestine, said Tuesday.
“We’re only a few days into the crisis, but the unprecedented scale of hostilities threatens a humanitarian emergency on an unimaginable scale, even for a region all too familiar with disaster. With a ‘total blockade’ announced in Gaza, over two million people will be plunged even further into crisis and completely cut off from food, electricity, and fuel,” Zaghloul added before calling for an end to the violence and “the safe passage of humanitarian aid to those that need it the most.”
More than 263,000 people have been displaced within Gaza since Israel began retaliatory airstrikes, with the number “expected to rise further,” the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said early Wednesday.
Of this number, more than 175,486 people are seeking shelter in UN schools, while about 3,000 Palestinians in Gaza remain displaced due to previous escalations, OCHA said.
This marks the highest number of internally displaced Palestinians since the 50-day escalation of hostilities in 2014, OCHA said.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, warned Wednesday that hospitals in Gaza are overwhelmed and experiencing shortages of drugs, medical supplies and fuel for generators.
Executive Director of MSF-USA Avril Benoît said in a statement: “We are seeing shortages of water, electricity, and fuel, which hospitals rely on for their generators. Some hospitals only have enough fuel for four days.”
by tyler | Oct 11, 2023 | CNN, world
The Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that have followed Hamas’ deadly Saturday terror attack have caused widespread devastation throughout the enclave.
Satellite and aerial imagery both before and after the strikes on the Shati refugee camp in Gaza on Monday show just how powerful these bombardments can be.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said a “large number” of people were killed. Palestinian authorities accused Israel of targeting the “entire neighborhood” near the camp.
Photographs above Gaza City’s Yassin Mosque, which was destroyed in an airstrike as well, show the structure’s dome obliterated.
Israel says its attacks are targeting Hamas, but Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on the planet. Civilians, including children, are often killed in the bombardments.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the Al Gharbi Mosque.
by tyler | Oct 4, 2023 | CNN, world
As the world rapidly urbanizes, the amount of building in flood-prone areas is soaring, according to new research, sparking concerns about people’s vulnerability to disasters as the climate crisis escalates.
Between 1985 and 2015, the number of settlements – from small villages to mega-cities – with the highest flood hazard exposure increased by 122%, according to the study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
“In a time when human settlements should be adapting to climate change, many countries are actually rapidly increasing their exposure to floods,” said Paolo Avner, senior economist at the World Bank and a lead author on the study. “This is a concerning trend, especially as climate change is intensifying flood disasters worldwide,” he told CNN.
Researchers analyzed global flood hazard datasets and annual settlement footprint data covering the three decades between 1985 and 2015 to understand the populations most affected by flood risk.
They found over this period, as the world’s settlements grew by 85%, urbanization happened much more rapidly in high-hazard flood zones than in areas with low flood risk.
In 2015, more than 11% of built-up areas globally faced high or very high flood risk, meaning areas at risk of flooding depths of at least 50 cm (17 inches) during 1-in-100-year flooding events, according to the report.
Exposure to all types of flooding is increasing, but vulnerability to coastal flooding is increasing at the fastest pace, the report found.
The researchers concluded that flood risks are substantial across all regions of the world and all income groups, but some face higher risks than others. Exposure is highest in East Asia and the Pacific region, and lowest in North America and sub-Saharan Africa, according to the report.
Upper-middle income countries had the largest proportion of new human settlements in the highest flood risk zones, the report found. These results were driven by China, which has experienced very swift urbanization, and is home to nearly half of all new settlements built in high flood hazard areas between 1985 and 2015.
While higher income countries mostly saw relatively slow growth in flood-prone zones over the 30 year period, many – including the US, Japan and the Netherlands – already had many settlements in areas at high risk of flooding before 1985 and have had to spend large amounts to protect them, according to the report.
There are many reasons why the amount of building on land vulnerable to flooding is shooting up, but scarcity is a major driver.
Land that is safer from floods has largely been built on already, meaning new development is disproportionately happening in floodplains and other areas that would have previously been avoided.
In Vietnam, for example, where around one-third of coastal land is built on, new developments are being forced into hazardous land, the report found.
Sometimes the economic opportunities are assumed to outweigh the risk of disaster, such as for major port cities, beachfront communities or tourist areas. Other reasons include a lack of flood data, poor urban planning or weak regulation.
Southwest Florida, at risk from increasingly severe hurricanes, has seen populations explode due to its sunny weather and relative cheapness. That growth came as the state loosened regulations around building in high-risk and low-lying areas.
The report recommended a number of actions for policymakers and planners, including investment in disaster preparedness, early warning systems and evacuation plans in areas where flood risk is already high, as well as revising land use plans and building codes in areas where the risk is growing.
Robert Nicholls, professor of climate adaptation at the University of East Anglia who was not involved in the study, said the report’s methodology was robust and its findings were “new but not surprising.”
While there is often a strong emphasis on “deeper or more frequent floods,” he told CNN, “flood risk is also affected by changes in exposure and vulnerability – if these increase so does risk.” The study shows exposure is increasing significantly, he added.
“This is concerning as development patterns are enhancing risk without climate change – climate change will further exacerbate these risks in the future.”
by tyler | Oct 2, 2023 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the US War in Afghanistan, which began on October 7, 2001 with allied air strikes on Taliban and al Qaeda targets. The United States linked the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to al Qaeda, a group that operated under the Taliban regime’s protection in Afghanistan.
October 7, 2001 – Operation Enduring Freedom begins. US President George W. Bush announces that US and British forces have begun airstrikes on Taliban and al Qaeda targets in Afghanistan. Airstrikes continue for five days.
October 14, 2001 – The Taliban offers to discuss giving Osama bin Laden to a third country for trial if the United States provides evidence of bin Laden’s involvement in the September 11 attacks. The White House rejects the offer.
October 19, 2001 – The Pentagon reports that US forces have searched a compound used by Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. This is the first acknowledged ground action of OEF.
October 26, 2001 – British Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram tells the House of Commons that Britain is deploying a force of 4,200 military personnel to Afghanistan.
November 1, 2001 – Turkey announces it will deploy troops to Afghanistan. Australia and Canada also agree to send forces.
November 5, 2001 – US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announces that the United States has more than doubled the number of its troops based in Afghanistan.
November 6, 2001 – German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder offers up to 3,900 troops for the effort.
November 7, 2001 – Italy says it will provide 2,700 troops.
November 9, 2001 – The Netherlands announces that they are prepared to send up to 1,400 troops to Afghanistan.
November 13, 2001 – US airstrikes and ground attacks by the anti-Taliban Afghan Northern Alliance lead to the fall of Kabul.
November 16, 2001 – French troops deploy for Afghanistan.
November 20, 2001 – The bodies of four journalists missing in Afghanistan are recovered. The journalists were on the road between Jalalabad and Kabul when their convoy was attacked.
November 22, 2001 – Poland agrees to contribute up to 300 soldiers to OEF.
December 2-5, 2001 – The United Nations hosts the Bonn Conference in Germany. The resulting Bonn Agreement creates an Afghan Interim Authority and outlines a process for creating a new constitution and choosing a new government.
December 7, 2001 – The Taliban loses its last major stronghold as the city of Kandahar falls and opposition forces enter.
December 20, 2001 – The United Nations authorizes the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to provide security support to the Afghans. The United Kingdom agrees to lead the force initially.
December 22, 2001 – Hamid Karzai is sworn in as head of an interim power-sharing government.
January 23, 2002 – Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is abducted in Karachi, Pakistan, by the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty, which claims the kidnapping is in retaliation for the detention of Pakistanis at Guantánamo Bay.
January 27, 2002 – Media organizations receive the first email from Pearl’s captors, which includes photos of the reporter handcuffed with a gun to his head.
February 21, 2002 – FBI and Pakistani officials announce they have received a videotape that confirms Pearl has been killed.
March 25, 2002 – Rumsfeld announces that there are plans under way for US and coalition forces to help train and create an Afghan national army.
June 13, 2002 – Karzai is elected to a two-year presidential term by the grand council, a gathering of Afghanistan’s tribal leaders.
August 9, 2003 – NATO assumes responsibility for the ISAF mission.
January 2004 – Afghanistan passes a new constitution by consensus.
October 9, 2004 – Afghanistan’s first direct democratic election is held.
December 7, 2004 – Karzai is sworn in as the first democratically elected president of Afghanistan.
September 18, 2005 – The first parliamentary and provincial elections are held in more than three decades.
March 1, 2006 – Bush makes his first visit to Afghanistan and meets with Karzai.
February 27, 2007 – A suicide bomber blows up a checkpoint at Bagram Air Base, killing more than 20. Taliban insurgents claim US Vice President Dick Cheney was the target of the attack.
February 15, 2007 – Bush calls on NATO to increase troops in Afghanistan. There are already about 50,000 US and NATO troops there.
May 11, 2007 – The Taliban’s top military commander, Mullah Dadullah, is killed in a US-led coalition operation.
July 19, 2008 – Democratic US presidential nominee Barack Obama makes his first visit to Afghanistan.
December 15, 2008 – Bush makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan. It is his second and last visit as president.
February 17, 2009 – Obama approves a troop increase of 17,000 for Afghanistan. There are currently about 38,000 US troops serving in Afghanistan.
June 30, 2009 – US soldier Sgt. Bowe R. Bergdahl is taken hostage by the Taliban. He is released five years later in 2014.
August 20, 2009 – Afghanistan holds its second election. Voting fraud allegations lead to the scheduling of a presidential runoff vote on November 7.
October 31, 2009 – A runoff election is canceled when Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah drops out, leaving Karzai as the only candidate and winner by default.
November 19, 2009 – Karzai is sworn in for a second term as president.
December 1, 2009 – Obama announces the deployment in 2010 of 30,000 additional US troops. This new deployment will bring the US total to almost 100,000 troops, in addition to 40,000 NATO troops.
January 2010 – Representatives from over 60 nations meet in London for the International Conference on Afghanistan, pledging to support the development of the Afghan National Security Forces.
March 28, 2010 – US President Obama makes his first visit to Afghanistan as president.
August 1, 2010 – The Netherlands becomes the first NATO member to pull combat troops out of Afghanistan.
August 5, 2010 – Ten aid workers are killed by gunmen in Badakhshan, Afghanistan. Among the dead are six Americans, two Afghans, a Briton and a German.
September 18, 2010 – Parliamentary elections are held. Results are delayed following allegations of fraud.
December 3, 2010 – Obama visits for the third time, the second as president.
May 2, 2011 – In the early morning hours, a small group of US Forces, including Navy Seals, raid a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In the ensuing firefight, bin Laden is killed. DNA samples are taken to confirm his identity, then his body is buried at sea.
June 22, 2011 – Obama announces that all 33,000 additional US forces deployed to Afghanistan in December 2009 will return home within the next 15 months. He also announces that US combat operations in Afghanistan will end by 2014.
July 13, 2011 – The first batch of departing US soldiers leaves Afghanistan. About 650 US soldiers leave the northeastern province of Parwan.
August 6, 2011 – Insurgents shoot down a helicopter in central Afghanistan, killing 30 US coalition members, seven Afghan troops and a civilian interpreter.
August 10, 2011 – NATO announces that Coalition forces in Afghanistan have killed Mullah Mohibullah, the Taliban leader and insurgent responsible for the downing of the helicopter that left 38 US and Afghan personnel dead.
August 2011 – August becomes the deadliest month for US forces in Afghanistan since the conflict began, with 71 US casualties.
September 10, 2011 – Two Afghan civilians are killed, and 77 US troops and 25 Afghan workers are wounded when a Taliban suicide bomber detonates a large vehicle-borne improvised explosive device at the entrance of Combat Outpost Sayed Abad, an ISAF base in Afghanistan’s Wardak province.
September 13, 2011 – Taliban militants open fire near the US Embassy and NATO’s ISAF headquarters after they storm into a nearby abandoned building. Three police officers and one civilian are killed, and security forces kill six militants. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid tells CNN their target is the US Embassy, governmental organizations and other foreign organizations.
February 1, 2012 – Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announces that the US hopes to end its combat mission in Afghanistan in 2013, transitioning primarily to a training role.
February 21, 2012 – Violent protests break out in Afghanistan over reports that Qurans were burned at a US military base. A military official says the Qurans were removed from a detainee center library at Bagram Airfield because they had “extremist inscriptions” on them. As of March 2, the unrest has left at least 41 people dead, including six US soldiers, and hundreds wounded.
March 11, 2012 – Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, an American soldier based at Camp Belambay, Afghanistan, goes on a house-to-house shooting spree in two villages in Kandahar province, killing 16 Afghan civilians. In 2013, he is sentenced to life in prison.
April 8, 2012 – The US and Afghanistan sign a landmark deal that gives Afghan authorities an effective veto over special operations night raids. The deal prevents NATO’s ISAF from conducting raids without the permission of Afghan officials.
April 18, 2012 – The Los Angeles Times releases pictures believed to have been taken in 2010 of US 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers posing with the body parts of dead insurgents in Afghanistan.
May 2, 2012 – Obama marks the first anniversary of the death of bin Laden with an unannounced trip to Afghanistan. According to the White House, his speech is the first TV address to the nation from a war zone on foreign soil. Obama and Karzai also sign a strategic partnership agreement for 10 years of US support of Afghanistan after the 2014 troop withdrawal.
June 9, 2012 – French President Francois Hollande announces his plan to withdraw combat forces by year’s end will start next month.
September 1, 2012 – Two suicide bombers strike a joint US-Afghan military base, killing 13 people and injuring 78 others. One bomber attacks the base on foot and another one detonates a truck. No international coalition service members are killed in the attack, but two are wounded. The Taliban claims responsibility for the attack.
September 2, 2012 – US Special Operations Forces temporarily suspend training of some 1,000 Afghan local police recruits while they double-check the background of the current police force, following a rise in insider attacks against NATO troops by Afghan forces.
September 14, 2012 – Fifteen insurgents wearing US Army uniforms attack Camp Bastion, a US and British military complex. Fourteen insurgents and two US Marines are killed, nine others are wounded.
September 20, 2012 – US military officials report that the surge of US forces in Afghanistan has ended and the last several hundred surge troops have left the country.
December 2012 – France pulls its last troops engaged directly in combat out of Afghanistan. The remaining French troops, about 1,500, will remain in Afghanistan for approximately six months to remove equipment and to help train Afghan forces.
June 18, 2013 – Afghan National Security Forces formally take over combat operations.
March 12, 2014 – A flag-lowering ceremony is held in Kabul to mark the end of Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan.
May 27, 2014 – President Obama announces that the United States combat mission in Afghanistan will end in December 2014.
September 30, 2014 – The United States and Afghanistan sign a joint security agreement that will allow US troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond the previous December deadline to withdraw.
October 26, 2014 – The United Kingdom formally ends its combat mission in Afghanistan with a flag-lowering ceremony in Helmand province.
December 28, 2014 – The United States and NATO end their combat mission with Afghanistan. In an official ceremony, the commander of the ISAF officially marks the end of coalition combat in Afghanistan by rolling up the ISAF flag.
January 1, 2015 – After more than 13 years of combat operations in Afghanistan, the US begins Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS). The new mission conducts counterterrorism operations targeting terrorist groups like al Qaeda and the local ISIS affiliate and also focuses on building up local Afghan security forces to help fight the Taliban. The new US mission will also assist and coordinate with the new NATO-led mission, Resolute Support.
April 13, 2017 – The US military drops America’s most powerful non-nuclear bomb on ISIS targets in Afghanistan, the first time this type of weapon has been used in battle, according to US officials. Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States, said that the bomb was dropped after fighting had intensified over the last week between US Special Forces and Afghan troops against ISIS.
January 27, 2018 – An ambulance packed with explosives blows up on a crowded street in Kabul, killing at least 103 people. The Taliban claim responsibility.
February 28, 2018 – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says the government is willing to recognize the Taliban as a legitimate political party as part of a potential ceasefire agreement.
November 9, 2018 – In Moscow, Taliban representatives participate in talks with diplomats from Russia, Pakistan, India and other countries, as well as officials from the Afghan government. The United States sends a diplomat from its embassy in Moscow as an observer.
January 28, 2019 – Officials from the United States and the Taliban announce they have agreed to a framework that could end the war in Afghanistan. The framework for peace would see the Taliban vow to prevent the country from being used as a hub for terrorism in return for a US military withdrawal. An Afghan source close to the negotiations tells CNN that while a ceasefire and US withdrawal were both discussed, neither side came to final conclusions.
February 5-6, 2019 – Talks are held in Moscow between Taliban leaders and politicians from the government of Afghanistan.
March 12, 2019 – Peace talks between representatives from the United States and the Taliban end without a finalized agreement. Zalmay Khalilzad, the main American negotiator, says that progress has been made and the talks yielded two draft proposals.
December 7, 2019 – The United States and the Taliban resume peace talks in the Qatari capital of Doha. “On Saturday talks between the Taliban and US started from where they stopped,” Taliban spokesman, Suhail Shaheen says in a tweet.
December 9, 2019 – Confidential documents obtained by The Washington Post reveal that top US officials misled the American public about the war in Afghanistan in order to conceal doubts about the likelihood that the United States could be successful in the nearly 20-year effort since its earliest days, the paper reports. The paper states the interviews “bring into sharp relief the core failings of the war that persist to this day” as “US officials acknowledged that their warfighting strategies were fatally flawed, and that Washington wasted enormous sums of money trying to remake Afghanistan into a modern nation.”
February 29, 2020 – The United States and the Taliban sign a historic agreement which sets into motion the potential of a full withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. The “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan” outlines a series of commitments from the US and the Taliban related to troop levels, counterterrorism, and the intra-Afghan dialogue aimed at bringing about “a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.”
April 30, 2020 – In the month following the signing of the Donald Trump administration’s peace deal with the Taliban, the insurgent group increased its attacks on America’s Afghan allies to higher than usual levels, according to data provided to the Pentagon’s Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
November 17, 2020 – Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller announces that the US will withdraw thousands more US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq by
March 8, 2021 – In a letter from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to President Ghani, the Biden administration proposes to the Afghan government that they enter an interim power-sharing agreement with the Taliban. Blinken also proposed that Afghanistan’s neighbors, including Iran, take on a greater role and warned that the Biden administration continues to review whether to withdraw US troops by a May 1 deadline set under the Trump administration.
April 14, 2021 – US President Joe Biden formally announces his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan before September 11, 2021, deeming the prolonged and intractable conflict in Afghanistan no longer aligns with American priorities.
August 15, 2021 – After the Taliban seizes control of every major city across Afghanistan, in just two weeks, the Taliban takes control of the presidential palace in Kabul. A senior Afghan official and a senior diplomatic source tell CNN that President Ghani has left the country.
August 16, 2021 – Biden defends his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan.
August 26, 2021 – Thirteen US service members and at least 60 Afghans are been killed in two bombing attacks outside Kabul’s airport. ISIS in Khorasan, known as ISIS-K, claims responsibility.
August 30, 2021 – The last US military planes leave Afghanistan. The US departure marks the end of the United States’ longest war.
March 2022 – A congressionally mandated report from the US Department of Defense shows that approximately $7 billion of military equipment the US transferred to the Afghan government over the course of 16 years was left behind in Afghanistan after the US completed its withdrawal from the country in August.
February 27, 2023 – A published Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction report outlines why Afghan security forces collapsed as the Taliban swept through the country in 2021, after years of the US focusing on equipping and training them.
April 6, 2023 – President Biden’s administration blames conditions created by President Trump for the chaotic withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, according to a summary of findings from an administration-wide after-action review.
June 30, 2023 – The US State Department releases its long-awaited Afghanistan After Action Review report, which finds that both the Trump and Biden administrations’ decisions to pull all US troops from Afghanistan had detrimental consequences, and details damning shortcomings by the current administration that led to the deadly and chaotic US withdrawal from that country after nearly two decades on the ground.
by tyler | Oct 2, 2023 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the life of David Cameron, former prime minister of the United Kingdom.
Birth date: October 9, 1966
Birth place: London, England
Birth name: David William Donald Cameron
Father: Ian Cameron, a stockbroker
Mother: Mary (Mount) Cameron
Marriage: Samantha (Sheffield) Cameron (June 1, 1996-present)
Children: Florence Rose Endellion, 2010; Arthur Elwen, 2006; Nancy Gwen, 2004; Ivan Reginald, 2002-2009
Education: Eton College; Brasenose College, Oxford, 1988 – First Class honors degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics
Religion: Anglican
Is a descendant of King William IV.
Was the 12th prime minister to take office during Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.
The first Conservative (Tory) prime minister since John Major in 1997.
Serves on the board of the ONE campaign, an organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty and preventable disease.
Chairman of Patrons at National Citizen Service (NCS), a youth development program launched when Cameron was prime minister.
1988-1992 – Works at the Conservative Party Research Department.
1992 – Becomes special adviser to Norman Lamont, the chancellor of the exchequer.
1993 – Is special adviser to Home Secretary Michael Howard.
1994-2001 – Head of corporate affairs for media company Carlton Communications.
1997 – Runs unsuccessfully for a parliamentary seat from Stafford.
2001 – Becomes a member of Parliament (MP) representing the town of Witney, in Oxfordshire, and serves as a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee.
2003 – Is appointed shadow deputy leader in the House of Commons.
May 2005 – Is appointed shadow education secretary.
December 6, 2005 – Is elected leader of the Conservative Party.
February 25, 2009 – His son Ivan, who suffered from cerebral palsy, dies at the age of 6.
May 6, 2010 – No one party receives a majority in parliamentary elections. The Conservatives win 306 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons, 20 seats shy of a majority.
May 11, 2010 – Queen Elizabeth II invites Cameron to be the new prime minister after Gordon Brown’s resignation. Cameron announces his intent to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrat party.
July 20, 2010 – Makes a trip to the United States, meeting with President Barack Obama.
July 20, 2011 – Cameron addresses an emergency session of the House of Commons about the phone hacking scandal at News Corp. Cameron defends his ties to Rupert Murdoch and former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, who previously worked as Cameron’s communications director.
June 14, 2012 – Cameron testifies before the Leveson Inquiry regarding the News Corp. phone hacking scandal.
September 26, 2012 – Appears on the “Late Show with David Letterman.”
May 7, 2015 – With all the results in, Cameron and his Conservative Party claim an outright majority in Parliament, with 331 seats out of 650, and can form a new government.
June 24, 2016 – Following the UK vote to leave the European Union, Cameron announces his resignation saying he will leave when a new leader is appointed.
July 13, 2016 – Cameron resigns. Home Secretary Theresa May replaces him.
September 12, 2016 – Cameron announces he will stand down immediately as a member of parliament, saying he doesn’t want to be a “diversion to the important decisions that lie ahead for my successor in Downing Street and the Government.”
January 2017 – Becomes president of Alzheimer’s Research UK.
March 6, 2018 – The BBC and other British media report that Cameron has become a paid consultant to Illumina, a US-based genomics company, and is serving as vice chairman of an investment fund called the UK-China fund. He is banned from lobbying until July 2018, according to the UK’s Advisory Committee of Business Appointments, which approved his new positions.
September 2019 – Cameron’s memoir “For the Record” is published.
January 16, 2023 – New York University Abu Dhabi announces that Cameron will teach a three-week January Term course titled “Practising Politics and Government in the Age of Disruption.”
