In the spotlight: the American dilemma in Afghanistan
Audio 05:02
The presence of American forces in Afghanistan is currently being questioned by the new President of the United States, Joe Biden.
© David Goldman / AP
By: Sébastien Duhamel
11 min
Publicity
As a cold snap grips the United States right now and is making headlines across the Atlantic, in the White House there is something else that is gripping Joe Biden as well.
It's a dilemma posted simply by the
New York Times
: “
Stay or go?
»To leave or to stay?
"
Long critical
" of the American presence in Afghanistan, the president is indeed "
faced with the same problem
" as his two predecessors, the daily tells us.
And he is now facing a "
deadline
", a deadline.
It is May 1, the date for the withdrawal of foreign troops set by the Doha agreement, concluded last year between the Trump administration and the Taliban.
All the more so, continues the
New York Times
in its international edition, that "
the Taliban have encroached on key cities in recent months, threatening to lead their country to its breaking point
".
Call of the Taliban in Washington
These same Taliban who intend to enforce the Doha agreement, specifies
L'Orient-Le Jour
.
From Lebanon, the newspaper relays the content of an open letter addressed to the American public, written by the co-founder and chief negotiator of the Taliban group, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
He "
urges
" the Americans to keep their commitment.
And this, underlines
L'Orient-Le-Jour
, "
on the eve of a NATO meeting, which will discuss Thursday whether or not to maintain the
9,600 troops engaged by the Alliance in Afghanistan
".
The Americans alone still have 2,500 men there.
And in the United States too, we are pushing to bring them back home.
To fuel his reflection, perhaps Joe Biden will read the
Washington Post
.
There he will find the opinion of Daniel L. Davis.
A retired lieutenant colonel who has just been deployed twice to Afghanistan.
Clearly, he knows the terrain and he is adamant: “
The best choice for Afghanistan is for the Americans to leave.
"We must end the war on schedule," he explains, "
by placing the burden of negotiating an end to the war on those who have to live with the result: the government, the Afghan people. and the Taliban
”.
This retired soldier explains: "
We have proved that 20 years of military operations cannot resolve political problems or force the parties to make the necessary concessions
," he analyzes.
And he's not soft on the congressionally mandated Afghanistan Study Group, which he sees as largely responsible for "
shaping the bad policies that have resulted in two decades of failed war
."
We must stop listening to this study group, pleads Daniel L. Davis.
"
Taking navigation lessons with the architects of the Titanic might not be wise
", he concludes
Another fight on the front page of the British press
Another fight, far from military grounds ... The United Kingdom is still facing the Covid.
"
The state of emergency will continue until the bar drops below
1,000 cases per day,"
warns
The Daily Telegraph
, relaying the words of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
But the Kingdom is moved.
Moved by the fight of Joe Whiley, DJ and famous host who officiates on the BBC.
Her photo is featured on the front pages of many newspapers, next to her sister Frances.
A sister with Down's syndrome who has not been vaccinated and who contracted the Covid in the health establishment where she is followed.
This shows flaws in the vaccination campaign: "
Why was I vaccinated before my vulnerable sister
", asks Joe Whiley in
The Independent
.
"
I would have liked to be able to give him my vaccine,
" she explains again in
The Daily Telegraph
.
However, it is impossible in the English system, she tried but her fight was a "
nightmare
", according to
The Guardian.
British press moved by fate of princess
Another story, that of a princess, who also turns into a nightmare.
It is not the photo of Joe Whiley and his sister that the
Times
chose to display in the front page, but that of Latifa al-Maktoum, the daughter of Mohammed ben Rachid al-Maktoum, Emir of Dubai.
The British daily returns to videos revealed by the BBC.
"
I just want to be free,
" proclaims the princess in these videos that she herself recorded, hidden in the bathroom of a villa.
A villa in which she accuses the emir, her father, of sequestering her for nearly three years.
The young woman claims "to
have been kidnapped
" while trying to escape on board a yacht.
Problem: the emir, "
passionate about horse riding
" was "
close to the queen
" Elizabeth, underlines the
Times
... But we can be reassured, last year already, after a British court recognized the abduction of Latifa al-Maktoum and her sister too, the queen assured that she would distance herself and no longer be photographed next to the emir.
A fight won and a lot of luck in New Zealand
He won his fight in New Zealand, a lucky surfer to say the least ... He also had an ordeal but he is doing well.
It is the
New Zealand Herald
that tells us this story.
This young man surfed alone on a remote and difficult to access beach on the east coast of Auckland.
He was seriously injured against the rocks.
For two hours, it was impossible for him to go up the cliff and leave the beach.
His forces abandon him, last resort: write "
HELP
", "AIDE", in capital letters on the sand of the beach.
Fortunately, a woman spotted him when he was finishing writing his message, just before he collapsed at the end of his rope.
Thanks to this lady, the surfer was able to be taken care of and saved by the emergency services.
She took a photo of the word "
HELP
" written in giant letters on a beach in New Zealand.
Photo to see in
The New-Zealand Herald
and which goes around social networks.
Four letters that saved a man's life.
Yes, as long as there is life, there is hope ...
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