National Security

Pompeo says if Milley talked to China, it was an ‘usurpation of authority’

Published

2 years ago

September 16, 2021

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley over reports that he kept then President Trump from nuclear weapons. In addition, Milley reportedly had several secret phone calls with Chinese officials to undermine Trump. Pompeo appeared on Hannity Wednesday to share his thoughts. According to Pompeo, Milley’s alleged behavior was “unconstitutional, incomprehensible, and completely out of line for any military leader.”

“He is not in the chain of command for operational activity,” Pompeo told host Sean Hannity. “So, this would be dangerous and a usurpation of authority that is historically anomalous.”

As a result, Pompeo is calling for further investigation. “We should make sure that we, as quickly as we can, figure out if General Milley spoke to Woodward himself,” he said. Bob Woodward is one of two authors behind the book that makes the allegations against Milley. “We should find out if Milley is prepared to testify. We could do it tomorrow or the next day to get clarity about what General Milley said.”

After the news about Milley broke, the Department of Defensed claimed there was no transcript of a reported call between Milley and senior Chinese officials regarding nuclear weapons. However, Pompeo believes there is still a way to verify whether or not a conversation happened. “I don’t know the DOD’s policy, Sean, exactly of whether there would be a transcript of this phone call, but I promise you there were note takers in the room,” Pompeo said.

“I’m very confident that conversation could be reconstructed.” Pompeo went on. “If you had a senior military leader, who was simply an advisor, tell the Chinese Communist Party that they would get notice of an attack, this rivals anything we have seen in our nation’s history. Only the president of the United States has the capacity to make those decisions. I would be shocked if then-acting secretary of defense gave him any authority to even contemplate that very conversation.”

The report comes out of Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s book “Peril.” It will be released September 21st.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.

International

Mental health crisis spikes among Afghan women after Taliban regained control two years ago

Published

3 days ago

September 21, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

The women of Afghanistan are suffering a mental health crisis since the Taliban regained power two years ago. According to a joint report from three U.N. agencies released Tuesday, approximately 70% of women experience feelings of anxiety, isolation and depression.

The numbers continue to rise, as there has already been a significant jump between April and June of this year alone, with an increase from 57% the preceding quarter.

The report, conducted by U.N. Women, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, interviewed women online, in-person and in group consultations as well as individual telesurveys.

592 Afghan women in 22 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces took part in the study. The Associated Press reports:

They have barred women from most areas of public life and work and banned girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade. They have prohibited Afghan women from working at local and non-governmental organizations. The ban was extended to employees of the United Nations in April.

Opportunities to study continued to shrink as community-based education by international organizations was banned and home-based schooling initiatives were regularly shut down by the de facto authorities — a term use by the U.N. for the Taliban government.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world with restrictions on female education and the rights of Afghan women and children are on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The report also served as a vessel for Afghan women to send a message to the rest of the world: do not validate the Taliban government. Forty-six percent of women said international recognition of the Taliban government should not happen under any circumstances, while 50% warned that recognition should only occur under specific conditions contingent on improving women’s rights.

The report notes that the women expressed concern that recognition would only encourage the Taliban government to continue becoming stricter in their policies and practices against women and girls.

Afghan women had specific ideas and suggestions: they “urged the international community to continue political and economic sanctions against the Taliban, including by not granting exemptions to a travel ban. They urged an increase in engagement with the Taliban on gender equality and women’s rights, including by engaging community and religious leaders in awareness and advocacy efforts” writes the Associated Press.