Back Story Newsletter
Good morning,
Afghanistan
I have written often in the past here about Afghanistan and how if only former U.S. President Trump had not threatened to pull the last remaining U.S. troops from the country, or if current President Biden had not also decided to cut and run after 20 years of International efforts.
If only…Because Afghanistan is already becoming more radical and there are many stories of a rise of Al Qaeda and tales of ISIS thriving in different parts of the country while women’s rights have been dashed including young girls dream of education and attending school.
This week Afghanistan, reeling from the return of the Taliban which has brought about economic collapse and brought about political isolation, was hit with another tragedy.
An earthquake in a remote area has killed over 1000 people, and wounded many more in one of the worst natural disasters in decades.
When I crossed into Afghanistan after 9/11 I was struck by the awesome rugged landscape of the country, and how people lived in such deep poverty I had rarely seen in our world.
Farmers crushed corn pouring kernels onto the parched earth, and then by walking oxen with wooden hand fashioned harnesses over and over again across their precious harvest.
And they returned to homes constructed of mud, walled in by dried mud compounds. The fact they stood up at all was always a wonder, and the idea they would crack and collapse in an earth quake all too tragically obvious.
Poor Afghanistan, the United Nations says 15 years of economic growth have been shaved off in 10 months, with the country’s economy contracting some 30 to 40 percent. The banking system has collapsed as unemployment could hit 40 percent this year. Almost half the country’s population faces acute hunger, while close to 6 in 10 Afghans are in need of humanitarian assistance.
U.S. Gun laws
Finally some small steps have been taken in the U.S. to block the buying of guns in an attempt to thwart a tidal wave of mass shootings, including last month at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and a primary school in Uvalde, Texas, that left a combined 31 people dead.
The new laws are not enough, but something in the wake of all that senseless and so tragic loss of life. Something had to be done.
The reforms include tougher background checks for buyers younger than 21 and $15bn in federal funding for mental health programs and school security upgrades.
It also calls for funding to encourage states to implement "red flag" laws to remove firearms from people considered a threat.
And it closes the so-called "boyfriend loophole" by blocking gun sales to those convicted of abusing unmarried intimate partners.
2 steps forward - one back.
Thursday's vote happened hours after the Supreme Court struck down a New York law restricting gun carry laws effectively expanding gun rights there. The court found that New York's requirement for residents to prove "proper cause" - or a good reason - to carry concealed firearms in public violates the Constitution.
Ukraine
Russia has taken control of the village of Mykolaivka located near a key highway to Lysychansk, which has been the focus of heavy fighting. Lysychansk is the last remaining city in the Luhansk region still under Ukrainian control as Putin’s war engulfs the east of the country.
Russia claims to have now cutoff Ukrainian troops in Lysychansk which means resupply of those forces will be difficult.
The destruction wrought by heavy artillery bombardments is nearly total, and civilians are caught in the cross fire of a war that is now 4 months old. We keep hearing Russia’s war machine is tired and barely able to advance, but advance it has by destroying everything in its path.
One ray of hope for Ukraine, as it fights for its survival as a free country in Europe, was the recognition by the European Union of its candidacy to join the 27 member trading block.
“It’s a victory,” said President Zelenskiy on Instagram. “We have been waiting for 120 days and 30 years,” he said, referring to the duration of the war and the decades since Ukraine became independent on the breakup of the Soviet Union. “And now we will defeat the enemy.”
Other News…
Trump’s demand to acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen on December 27, 2020 was simple: “Just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen.” But the election wasn’t corrupt, and Rosen wouldn’t do as Trump asked
British P.M. Boris Johnson must see the writing is on the wall and his leadership which includes the Covid drinking scandal in Number 10 Downing st. is nearing a bitter end. Last night his Conservative party lost 2 by-elections and calls for Johnson to resign continue
As inflation in the UK soars to 11 per cent, first it was the rail unions that started strikes this week shutting down the underground in London, and rail connections across the country. Now British Airways workers say they will go on strike next month. Workers are demanding wage hikes to pay for sky rocketing gas and food prices. In fact British Airways forced some workers to take 10% pay cuts during Covid, and now BA won’t restore salaries
Thanks for reading and have a good weekend!
Dana Lewis