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Barack Obama points assertion on Kabul assault: ‘Heartbroken’

Barack Obama issues statement on Kabul attack: 'Heartbroken'

Former United States President Barack Obama is hosting a drive-in rally for Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden on October 27, 2020 in Orlando, Florida.

Eva Edelheit | Reuters

WASHINGTON – Former President Barack Obama made a formal statement on Afghanistan on Friday, his first since the U.S. military entered the final stages of its withdrawal from the country two weeks ago.

Obama said he and former first lady Michelle Obama were “heartbroken when they heard of the terrorist attack outside Kabul airport that killed and wounded so many US soldiers and Afghan men, women and children.”

“As president, nothing was more painful than mourning with the families of the Americans who gave their lives for our country,” he said.

Obama continued, “As President Biden said, these soldiers are heroes who have dangerous, selfless missions to save the lives of others.”

That line served as a rhetorical nod to Obama’s former vice president and essentially confirmed that Biden is now in charge.

Obama’s testimony came the same day that Navy Corpsman Maxton Soviak’s family confirmed he was one of the dead.

“We also think of the families of the deceased Afghans, many of whom stood by America and were ready to risk anything for a chance for a better life,” said Obama.

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Obama is the last of the four US presidents who led the US 20-year war in Afghanistan to comment on the situation.

He is also the president who ordered an additional 30,000 US soldiers into the country in late 2009, a decision that his then Vice President Biden firmly opposed.

At the time, Obama believed that US firepower could sustain Afghanistan’s fragile, corrupt post-Taliban government.

Eleven years later, that government collapsed within hours when the Taliban retook Kabul on August 15 without firing a single shot.

Obama did not mention the entire evacuation effort in his statement on Friday. But earlier this year he said he strongly supported Biden’s decision to end America’s longest war.

“After nearly two decades of putting our troops in danger, it is time to recognize that we have accomplished all we can militarily and that it is time to bring our remaining troops home” Obama said on April 14th.

The two Republicans who led the war, George W. Bush and Donald Trump, have both openly opposed Biden’s decision to withdraw American troops – albeit in different ways.

Bush, who started the war shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, said he feared for the country’s women and girls who are facing almost certain repression due to the Taliban’s fundamentalist interpretation of Islamic law.

Bush in July also painted a bleak picture of what awaited Afghans who had worked for the US-led coalition over the past two decades.

“I think of all the interpreters and people who have helped not only the US forces but also the NATO forces, and they are simple, it seems like they are just being left behind to be butchered by these very brutal people and it breaks my “heart”, Bush told Deutsche Welle.

Trump has taken a different path, making a number of statements over the past few weeks that skew his own record and falsely accuse Biden of withdrawing American troops in front of US civilians. Trump has also tried to label refugees evacuated from Afghanistan as “terrorists”.

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Business

Deepak Chopra left ‘heartbroken’ by India’s devastating Covid disaster

Deepak Chopra left 'heartbroken' by India's devastating Covid crisis

Global wellness expert Deepak Chopra told CNBC that he was “devastated” and “broken” over the Covid-19 crisis that is currently gripping India and said the country could have dealt with the situation much better.

Chopra, who was born and raised in New Delhi before continuing his medical education in the United States, hopes lessons will be learned from this.

“I think India could have done better. I think, as usual, political ideologies and conflicts, as well as interest groups, have exacerbated the crisis,” he said.

“India could have done this much better and I hope you learned, we all learned a lesson from it because you know there is no way to stop Indians from going into the world and what is going on in India That’s going to happen elsewhere if you’re not careful, ”he added.

“A very big mistake”

Chopra told CNBC that he feels responsible “ultimately falling to influencers and politicians and leaders for making the rules. And it was a very big mistake, in my opinion, to keep the Kumbh Mela and all these religious gatherings for political ones only.” Purposes. “

India has seen a deadly second wave of the Covid-19 virus in the past few weeks. According to the Johns Hopkins University, the country has reported over 27.5 million Covid cases and nearly 326,000 deaths.

Deepak Chopra, co-founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing and founder of the Chopra Foundation.

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Chopra is not alone and many have criticized lawmakers and vaccine suppliers in the country. Prime Minister Modi defended the government’s vaccination strategy, telling ministers in April that “those who are in the habit of politics (playing) allow it … I have received various allegations. We cannot stop those who do this to do.” We really want to serve humanity, which we will continue to do, “he said, the Times of India reported.

He also noted that an earlier peak of infections had been controlled this past September at a time when vaccines were not available and cases and mass tests were being tracked and followed.

Pandemic “worsened our mental well-being”

Chopra, a global leader in integrative medicine and meditation, spoke about the release of a new free 21-day meditation experience with multi-award-winning singer-songwriter, activist, and entrepreneur Alicia Keys.

The meditation “Activation of the Divine Feminine: The Path to Wholeness” published on ChopraMeditation.com during Mental Health Awareness Month aims to “restore wholeness and bring peace and healing”.

Chopra and Keys believe that in today’s world of male and female energy there is an imbalance, regardless of gender, that needs to be addressed.

“Healing is ultimately the return of the memory of wholeness, and when we are not balanced with both masculine and feminine energies within ourselves, that imbalance is reflected in what we see in the world,” said Chopra.

The wellness icon, who is also the founder of the Chopra Foundation, a nonprofit focused on the study of wellbeing and humanity, told CNBC that he believes mental stress is “the number one pandemic in the world” stay.

“There is something wrong with our humanity right now as we are not concerned with mental well-being and sanity,” he said.

“Everything from climate change to pandemics, mass migrations, environmental destruction, weapons kills to wars and terrorism is a result of psychological distress, stress, anger, hostility and fear. So we have to deal with it. This is an emergency.” he went on.

He said the global pandemic only “worsened” the situation.

“The global pandemic has worsened our spiritual well-being, deteriorated our economic well-being, and spawned some ugliness such as racism and bigotry and hatred and prejudice and conflict,” he said.

“All over the world it’s not just Republicans and Democrats, but Protestants and Catholics, Muslims and Jews and Arabs, and Israelis and Indians and Pakistanis. I mean, if you don’t believe this crazy, you are explaining your own madness,” he added added.

When asked what individuals can do to make a difference and what he thinks is the solution to all these global problems, Chopra said, “If you want to change the world, start with yourself.”

“”Perform an act of kindness today … When we perform all acts of love in action and reach critical mass, the world will be a different place, “he told CNBC.

– CNBC’s Holly Ellyatt contributed to this article.