Puppet Masters
Taliban reportedly launches offensive in Panjshir Province after negotiations with resistance failed
The Taliban has launched a military operation in the Afghan province of Panjshir after negotiations with resistance forces, headed by Ahmad Massoud, allegedly failed, Al Jazeera reported on 2 September, citing a Taliban source.
The resistance forces earlier said that they would continue fighting the Taliban as their negotiations did not bear fruit.
The Taliban reportedly offered the resistance forces one or two seats in the government they were trying to form, but the resistance turned the offer down.
Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem told Sputnik that the movement was not going to take Panjshir by force, dismissing media reports that the leaders of the resistance had declared the negotiations failed and the Taliban were planning to force their way into the province.
The House Armed Services Committee held a marathon session on Wednesday to markup the spending under the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Lawmakers from both parties joined forces to defy President Joe Biden's intention to keep the Pentagon budget at $715 billion for next year, essentially keeping it at the same level as last year. Instead, an extra $23.9 billion was set to be poured into weapons procurement, research and other areas.
The financial boost was proposed by Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the ranking Republican member on the committee, who welcomed the passage of his proposal as a snub to Biden from his own party.
Comment: In ponerized US institutions, incompetence surely has reached critical levels, but it's also clear that corruption is diverting those funds for more nefarious purposes; the question is: what are these unfathomable sums of taxpayers money being spent on?
- The black budget: What does it mean to US Federal budget, the economy and you?
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- Ethnic-Specific Weapons: Leaked Documents Reveal US Diplomats in Georgia Trafficking Human Blood And Pathogens For Pentagon Biowarfare Laboratory
- US military uses IMF and World Bank to launder 85% its black budget money

Out-of-work ex-ambassador Michael McFaul grasps for relevance in WaPo op-ed
In a new op-ed in the Washington Post, McFaul makes it clear he sees Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with President Joe Biden as in need of a loud battle cry, appealing to the American government and the public to rally behind Ukraine's calls for support. But, as is customary in the Stanford professor's output, Kiev is really just an excuse, almost reduced to a mere pretext.
"The United States remains firm that any coastal state law or regulation must not infringe upon navigation and overflight rights enjoyed by all nations under international law," John Supple, a Pentagon spokesperson, said, as quoted by the South China Morning Post.
Comment: China has been tolerant in the face of Western provocations in its territorial waters. The have apparently reached the limit of their patience.
- 'Freedom of navigation isn't a freedom to invade and infringe upon sovereignty' says China's UK envoy
- China accuses US warship of entering territorial waters without permission, violating its sovereignty
- China dispatches military vessels and fighter jets to warn off US warship sailing near disputed island
- China deploys navy ships to warn France vessel that illegally entered Taiwan Strait
- Beijing may respond to U.S. provocations by declaring South China Sea security zone
- On South China Sea standoff, China is no longer a western colony and won't be bullied
Speaking to TV channel Russia 24, Vladimir Chizhov explained that the EU is trying to shield its territory from a wave of migrants.
"Today, we see an attempt by the European Union ... to solve two problems," he said, according to news agency TASS. "On the one hand, to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan ... and, on the other hand, to protect its own territory from a massive influx of refugees."
"Here, as you understand, there is a problem, including for us, because the countries neighboring Afghanistan are, among others, Central Asian countries, our allies and partners," Chizhov added.
Speaking remotely to Forum guests, Lee In-young called for improvement in transport connections between the two Koreas, expressing hope that a train from the South Korean port city of Busan could "pass through North Korean territory, get to Vladivostok and move on to various routes that may have tourist value."
If this comes to pass, the Trans-Siberian Railway will turn into an "artery of friendship" to enable the development of "peace and cooperation on the Korean Peninsula," he said.
The New York Times first reported Wednesday that the CIA base was used in the U.S. military's ongoing evacuations last month, and Politico reported that based on documents and conversations with a senior administration official, a defense official and a congressional official, the mission included U.S. citizens and at-risk Afghans, including Afghan commandos.
Comment: What about the Americans left outside the Kabul airport? What about the military dogs that were being held at the Kabul small animal rescue and were left behind?
A U.S. official, who like the others spoke to Politico on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, confirmed that the CIA was involved and "worked closely with other agencies to facilitate in various ways access to the airport for American citizens and Afghans at risk."

Golden Bridge over the Golden Horn Bay in Vladivostok, Russia, August 30, 2021
"I offer a number of steps that will allow concluding an agreement on free trade between ASEAN and the EAEU. This may serve as a basis for mustering efforts of all countries to intensify regional cooperation," Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien stated on the sidelines of the forum in Russia's Vladivostok.
"Vietnam has good prospects of cooperation with the Russian Federation. Russia is our key partner, we have all possibilities to expand cooperation with the EAEU, while Russia can also gain access to a huge market," he stressed.
Comment: Clearly the West's demonization campaign is not working, because Eurasian integration continues apace:
- As America's attempt to Westernise Afghanistan by force fails, Kabul may now find its place in Russian & Chinese-dominated Eurasia
- Pepe Escobar: How Russia-China are stage-managing the Taliban
From "Russiagate" to charges that anti-globalists are shilling for Putin, the shrill accusations of Russia being behind every nefarious activity the global managers can imagine, to the comparisons of Putin to Hitler...On and on the trail of hatred goes, for fear is behind it.
Understanding the obsessive fear and loathing of Putin's Russia requires historical memory, something our society is woefully short on, but it's necessary for anyone seeking such understanding to back up to the end of the Cold War and recall the circumstances that gave rise to globalism.
The Fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War
The Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The Soviet Union remained standing, but was fragile, reeling from Gorbachev's policies of glasnost ("openness") and perestroika ("restructuring"), which had unleashed a firestorm of previously pent-up popular frustrations. The Soviet economy was in shambles. The Soviets were losing their Eastern European satellites and nationalism was pulling the USSR apart at the seams.
The DHS insider sat down with Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe and explained how the current immigration system is broken.
Comment: Notably, the whistleblower also said:
"This is not a DHS, or a Justice Department program, this is the whole Government. [...] So DHS, Justice Department, State Department, a lot of entities are involved in this".See also:
- An unflinching guide to Biden's immigration fiasco
- Biden orders immigration judges to stop speaking the truth - a brazen attempt to normalize illegal immigration
- Contraland: New documentary exposes enormous scale of child sex-trafficking in the USA












Comment: Taliban says 'thanks, but no thanks' to the resistance deal: See also: