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The U.S. has pulled its last troops out of Afghanistan, ending a two-decade war and sealing victory by the Taliban’s theocratic terrorists over a coalition of armed forces of the world’s wealthiest countries and their Afghan allies.
The Pentagon announced Monday that the final U.S. military transport plane had departed Kabul’s airport at 11:59 p.m. local time, meeting President Joe Biden’s deadline to withdraw by Aug. 31.
The retreat leaves behind thousands of Afghans – including citizens of the U.S. and Canada – who helped coalition armies, embassies and media, only to find Western governments unable or unwilling to get them to safety amid a chaotic airlift over the last two weeks.
The U.S.-led invasion initially began as an effort to hunt down Afghanistan-based al-Qaeda perpetrators of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. In the end, it left 70,000 troops killed among the coalition’s Afghan allies, along with 3,576 dead from the countries that supported the mission. Canada saw 158 soldiers killed in its deadliest conflict since the Korean War.
More on Afghanistan
- Canada to resettle 5,000 Afghan refugees housed at U.S. bases
- Ukrainian troops rescue Canada-bound Afghans in daring operation
- U.S., Germany rally to help Afghan evacuees as they seek refuge in temporary airbase shelter
The Decibel: Guest host Adrian Lee interviews Ottawa bureau chief Robert Fife about the last days of the government’s effort to evacuate Afghan-Canadians and Afghans who worked for Canada.
A CH-47 Chinook is loaded onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 28, 2021.US CENTRAL COMMAND/Reuters
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Conservative Party drops Nova Scotia candidate after allegations of sexual misconduct
The Conservative Party has removed a federal candidate from the ballot in Nova Scotia after allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies.
Troy Myers, who was running for the Conservatives in the riding of Dartmouth-Cole Harbour, agreed to step down after the allegations were made public, the party said in a statement on Monday. That leaves the Conservatives without a candidate in the Halifax-area riding, with three weeks until the Sept. 20 vote.
“As we treat allegations of sexual misconduct with the seriousness they deserve, the Conservative Party instructed Mr. Myers to withdraw his candidacy, and he agreed,” the party said in a statement.
Read More: O’Toole and Singh denounce aggressive protesters dogging Trudeau campaign
Opinion: Erin O’Toole makes subtle gains in Quebec as anybody-but-Conservative sentiment fades
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Mothers face lifelong earnings gap after COVID-19 lockdown: With in-person school on the near horizon, many women whose careers were sidelined by child-care duties during the pandemic are eyeing a return to work. But even those whose re-entry is smooth will pay for their time away from the workplace in the form of lower lifetime earnings, missed advancement opportunities and lower pensions, researchers say.
Toronto Police officer charged with breach of trust: A Toronto Police officer has been criminally charged over allegations he used police databases to gather information for a known criminal over the course of several months last year.
Wyloo hikes bid for Ring of Fire explorer Noront Resources: Wyloo Metals Pty Ltd. has bumped up its offer for Noront Resources Ltd., trumping BHP Group Ltd.’s bid, and in a highly unusual move is proposing to keep the struggling Ring of Fire exploration company as a publicly traded entity.
RCMP union warns of COVID-19 vaccine enforcement impact: The union representing RCMP officers in British Columbia says its members risk being overwhelmed by calls to enforce new provincial orders requiring business owners to see proof of vaccination before serving customers who want to visit restaurants, bars, gyms and other establishments. The new rules, announced last week, will take effect Sept. 13. A Facebook page has been created with the names of 1,800 businesses that the page’s creator says are willing to defy the provincial order.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control urges Americans to ‘reconsider’ travel to Canada: The U.S. State Department is now urging Americans to “reconsider travel” to Canada due to what the Centers for Disease Control call “high” levels of COVID-19 infection. The new Level 3 travel advisory, issued today, marks a quick end to a three-week period when the warning to would-be travellers to Canada had been eased to “exercise increased caution.”
MORNING MARKETS
World stocks strike positive note: Global stock markets set record highs on Tuesday as investors ended August in a buoyant mood, confident of an ongoing economic recovery and that the Federal Reserve’s eventual paring back of its stimulus would not knock asset prices anytime soon. Just after 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 0.05 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.71 per cent and 0.28 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei added 1.08 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.33 per cent. New York futures were higher. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.48 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
“Canadian health care leaders, however, continue to deny additional doses to the immunocompromised. This is putting our most vulnerable citizens in danger.” - Kristen Hopewell, Canada research chair in global policy at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia
“It is a ritual as old as the country. Canadians puff our chests and hold our hands over our hearts as we proclaim our eternal love for medicare. Vague promises are then made – with politicians avoiding specifics because they see health care as a vote loser, never a vote winner. And then voters move on.” - André Picard
“The federal government should recognize the Taliban as the new government in Afghanistan while making safe passage out for those we left behind a part of the deal.” - Colin Robertson, former Canadian diplomat and current vice-president at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
Brian GableBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
What are healthy sources of protein for back-to-school lunches?
As kids prepare to head back to the classroom, parents are once again tasked with figuring out nutritious school lunches that their kids will eat.
While sandwiches are a convenient vehicle for protein-packed turkey, roast beef and tuna salad, a daily fare of them can become dull. The good news: There are plenty of ways to add a hit of protein – along with plenty of other essential nutrients – to school lunches.
MOMENT IN TIME: Aug. 31, 1932
Filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin born
Alanis Obomsawin, Indigenous filmmaker working on her new film in Montreal, June 8, 2000.Andre Pichette/The Globe and Mail
Alanis Obomsawin, a member of Abenaki Nation, has made more than 50 films that have helped to transform public discourse. One of her most known is the 1993 documentary Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, which focused on what really happened during the 1990 Oka Crisis. To make that film, Obomsawin spent 78 days behind Kanienkehaka lines in Quebec recording the standoff between Mohawk citizens, non-Indigenous residents, military officials and police. Obomsawin has worked with the National Film Board of Canada since 1967, and is also a visual artist, musician and writer. She has been recognized broadly for her large body of work, with honours including the Order of Canada and a showing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In September, the Toronto International Film Festival will feature a retrospective of her work – “Celebrating Alanis” – including the world premiere of her latest short film, Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair. “Her works are imbued with tenacity, dignity and love in equal measures and they have been transformational across nations,” TIFF series curator Jason Ryle says. Next year, another retrospective of her work opens in Berlin at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt. Cara McKenna
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