• Starts with Koran recitation congratulating the victorious and another one on unity.
• We had legitimate right to liberate the country.
• Pardoning all who have fought against us.
• We want no external or internal enemies.
• Strong Islamic and inclusive government.
• No Taliban casualties in Kabul.
• Assures security in Kabul.
• Assures embassies of security.
• We want no chaos or inconvenience in Kabul.
• Confirms Taliban only went into Kabul for security on streets. Rioters, thieves wanted to abuse Taliban name to search houses etc.
• Assures security for all neighboring countries.
• Assures international community that no country will be harmed from Afghan soil.
• Rights for women within framework of Sharia. Education, working etc allowed.
• Will build infrastructure for Afghan economy.
• Asks international community to contribute.
• Assures media activity. Can continue to report. But nothing against Islamic values. Should be impartial. Shall critique Talib work so Talib can improve.
• Media shall not work against national values or unity of the nation.

Any cooperation by Brussels with the new government of Afghanistan "will be conditioned on a peaceful and inclusive settlement and respect for the fundamental rights of all Afghans, including women, youth and persons belonging to minorities," as well as respect for other commitments such as fighting against corruption and preventing the use of Afghan territory by terrorists, Borrell said on Monday.

The EU will continue to provide aid to the Afghan people, he added, calling on the Taliban to respect international humanitarian law.

The group now has full control of Afghanistan, following the complete collapse of the US-backed Afghan government installed in 2001. "The Taliban have won the war so we will have to talk to them," Borrell added, acknowledging the political reality on the ground.

"This new reality comes 20 years after the beginning of the military operation launched by the US with the support of NATO in October 2001," Borrel told reporters in an online press conference.

He noted that the original military and political commitment - to destroy the Al-Qaeda terrorist group - "shifted to nation building" of a modern state in Afghanistan. "The first part of the mission succeeded, and the second did not," he said.

Critics quickly lambasted Sullivan for suggesting the collapse wasn't predictable and dumping the blame on Afghan troops. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) called the statement "a bunch of crap." "This administration was specifically told Afghan forces would surrender faster than our ability to exit," he added. "They decided to ignore these warnings and smugly tell everyone how smart and brilliant they are."

...

Sullivan's comments mark the latest finger-pointing as the Afghanistan crisis becomes a political train wreck for the president. On Saturday, Biden essentially blamed his predecessor, Donald Trump, saying the deal negotiated with the Taliban by the previous administration had strengthened the Islamist group and left him no choice but to withdraw or ramp up US forces in the country.

Former secretary of state Mike Pompeo excoriated Biden on Sunday, accusing him of "pathetic blame-shifting." He said Trump had established a strong deterrent to ensure the Taliban would fear threatening US interests, but Biden's weakness had emboldened the militant group.

The commanding general of the Afghan army, Sami Sadat, said in July that his forces felt abandoned by the US. American troops left the Bagram Airfield, formerly the largest base for the Western war effort, without even notifying the installation's new Afghan commander.

Three Luftwaffe Airbus A440M transport planes took off from Wunstorf, in Germany, on Monday, bound for Kabul. Carrying paratroopers for security, the aircraft were set to evacuate German diplomats and citizens stranded in Afghanistan following the Taliban's swift takeover of the country.

However, Kabul airport was overrun with crowds of Afghans desperately attempting to hitch a ride out of the country on American military aircraft, or one of the few grounded commercial planes remaining on the tarmac. As a result, the first of the German planes was unable to land, Lieutenant General Markus Laubenthal told broadcaster ZDF.
...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is a rare Western leader in that she has been in power for nearly the entire duration of the war in Afghanistan, having taken office in 2005. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Merkel celebrated the fact that her country's military intervened to stop Al-Qaeda from repeating its September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, but remarked that "everything else that has followed has not been as successful and has not been achieved in the way that we had planned."

The Pentagon on Monday can't say if it has plans to keep US weapons and munitions out of the Taliban's hands.

A reporter asked US Army Major General Hank Taylor, a logistics specialist on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, if the US is taking action to destroy weapons, vehicles and munitions left behind so the Taliban doesn't use or sell the war material.

"So there's no US actions being taken to prevent equipment from falling into the hands of the Taliban by destroying it or anything else?" a reporter asked.

"I don't have the answer to that question." General Hank Taylor said.

Meanwhile the Taliban is amassing a huge cache of weapons and taking helicopter rides over Afghanistan.

Joe Biden said the Taliban had no air force.

Now they do.

• A new Great Game is afoot in Afghanistan as China hosts the Taliban and eyes a key role in the country's future
• Pepe Escobar: Say hello to the diplo-Taliban