U.S. Lawmakers to Review Unredacted Jeffrey Epstein DOJ Files Starting Monday 
Trump’s Inflation Claims Clash With Voters’ Cost-of-Living Reality 
Trump Signs Executive Order Threatening 25% Tariffs on Countries Trading With Iran 
Netanyahu to Meet Trump in Washington as Iran Nuclear Talks Intensify 
Nicaragua Ends Visa-Free Entry for Cubans, Disrupting Key Migration Route to the U.S. 
Trump Slams Super Bowl Halftime Show Featuring Bad Bunny 
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi Secures Historic Election Win, Shaking Markets and Regional Politics 
US Pushes Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks Before Summer Amid Escalating Attacks 
Trump Lifts 25% Tariff on Indian Goods in Strategic U.S.–India Trade and Energy Deal 
Trump Congratulates Japan’s First Female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi After Historic Election Victory 
Ghislaine Maxwell to Invoke Fifth Amendment at House Oversight Committee Deposition 
Israel Approves West Bank Measures Expanding Settler Land Access 
Trump Backs Nexstar–Tegna Merger Amid Shifting U.S. Media Landscape 
Bosnian Serb Presidential Rerun Confirms Victory for Dodik Ally Amid Allegations of Irregularities 
Bangladesh Election 2026: A Turning Point After Years of Political Suppression 
India–U.S. Interim Trade Pact Cuts Auto Tariffs but Leaves Tesla Out 
Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party Wins Thai Election, Signals Shift Toward Political Stability 
The US and President Joe Biden have been taking criticism from many regarding the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan and the rapid takeover of the Taliban. The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair added on to the criticism, calling the withdrawal “imbecilic.”
Blair wrote a piece that was published on his website, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, criticizing Biden’s decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan. The decision was met with very mixed reactions, mostly from lawmakers and commentators, as many veterans in the US have voiced their support for the withdrawal. Despite the criticism, Biden has defended his stance on the US exit from the war-torn country even as the Taliban took over Afghanistan.
To note, Blair was the prime minister when the UK and the USA started the war in the country and ordered the UK’s invasion of Afghanistan. Biden kept the agreement former President Donald Trump, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made with the insurgent group back in 2020.
“We didn’t need to. We chose to do it. We did it in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending the ‘forever wars.’ We did it with every jihadist group around the world cheering,” wrote Blair.
Blair also criticized the so-called “abandonment” of Afghans as acting opposite from the interests of both the US and the UK. The former prime minister’s comments follow reports of violence that occurred in Kabul, with seven people getting killed at Kabul airport at the hands of the insurgent group.
Meanwhile, a poll by NBC released Sunday showed that Biden’s job approval ratings have taken a dip in the midst of the criticism over the Afghanistan withdrawal and the rising COVID-19 cases in the country. The poll showed that 49 percent of all adults that took part in the survey approved of Biden’s performance while 48 percent disapprove, a rise in nine percentage points in the latter.
From all the survey participants who are registered voters, 50% have said they approve of Biden’s performance as president, while 48% disapproved. 1000 adults were interviewed by the network, and the survey has a margin of error of either plus or minus 3.10 percent. The survey also took place between August 14 and August 17.
