Taliban to boycott peace talks until U.S. leaves Afghanistan: spokesman
13 April 2021
The Taliban will not attend "any conference that shall make decisions about Afghanistan" until "all foreign forces completely withdraw," a spokesman for the group tweeted on Tuesday.
Why it matters: That's an explicit rejection of an upcoming peace conference in Istanbul. It also follows President Biden's announcement that the U.S. will withdraw its troops by Sept. 11, but miss a deadline to do so by May 1.
- The UN said Tuesday that the Istanbul conference would take place from April 24 through May 4 and aim to help the Taliban and Afghan government move toward a "just and durable political settlement."
- The Taliban, closer than ever to its goal of outlasting the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan, seems to be suggesting that any such efforts will be on hold until after Biden withdraws.
- Flashback: The Trump administration reached a deal with the Taliban last year that called for a full U.S. withdrawal by May 1. As of now, there are around 10,000 NATO troops in the country, of which roughly 3,500 are American.
What they're saying: A senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday that the Sept. 11 deadline was "not conditions-based," meaning the U.S. would exit regardless of the military and political circumstances.
- In the meantime, the official said, the U.S. would put "the full weight of our government behind diplomatic efforts to reach a peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government."
- "But what we will not do is use our troops as bargaining chips in that process," the official added.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.