Two years after Kabul’s fall

by Ariana Figueroa, Kansas Reflector, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Photo (ticker) Getty Images (used under Creative Commons, courtesy Kansas Reflector)

Photo (story) Air Force One (used under model release)

By Henri Migala, East County Eater

October 26, 2021 (El Cajon) -- East County is quickly becoming the new mecca in San Diego for sumptuous culinary adventures with an array of international cuisine, thanks to our region’s many immigrants and refugees. Adding to East County’s already rich diversity of restaurants is Kabul Kabob House in El Cajon, specializing in delicious and authentic food from Afghanistan.

Owned and operated by Ajrudin Nabizada, an Afghan immigrant, Kabul Kabob House offers probably the tastiest and most genuine Afghan food in San Diego County. The portions are generous and the prices affordable.

Nabizada came to the U.S. with his wife and two children in December 2014 on a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) after serving as a translator for US Special Forces in Afghanistan. He came to San Diego because his wife’s cousin was living here. Since arriving, his family has enjoyed the birth of their third child.

San Diego couple, both in their 80s, repeatedly blocked by the Taliban

East County News Service

September 15, 2021 (San Diego) - Congressman Darrell Issa (R-San Diego) announced today that his office has facilitated the release of two more American citizens from Afghanistan. The Congressman’s constituents, a couple in their 80s, are on their way home and have officially left Kabul.

Update August 31, 2021:  One local family with three Children in the Cajon Valley district has been left behind after the U.S. troop withdrawal,  10 News supports. A district spokesperson said they are exploring ways to bring them home.  The other Cajon Valley familes have been safely evacuated and some students are now back in school. 

Over 104,000 civilians have been evacuated by U.S. in past 10 days; airlifts continue despite bombings as Biden vows retaliations against ISIS

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy of the Pentagon: U.s. Air Force personnel help evacuate Afghan civilians at the Kabul airport on Aug. 24

August 26, 2021 (San Diego’s East County) – After today’s deadly terrorist attacks near the Kabul airport, concerns are heightened over the fate of some Cajon Valley Union School District students and their families. Around two dozen students and their families who traveled to visit relatives became trapped in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, the district announced earlier this week.

Today, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that four of the local families have escaped and two have arrived safely in Southern California. But the whereabouts of five other local families, including 14 children, remains unknown.

Story and photo via International Rescue Committee, San Diego

August 25, 2021 (San Diego) -- The United States has begun a humanitarian evacuation and is relocating a group of Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants to San Diego. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in San Diego is working alongside communities and partners to support Afghans living in San Diego. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Boeing C-17 carrying 640 passengers out of Afghanistan, via Air Mobility Command 

August 20, 2021 (San Diego) – San Diego Congressional members and residents with ties to Afghanistan are voicing concerns over the Biden administration’s actions in the wake of a rapid Taliban takeover in Afghanistan following pullout of most U.S. troops.  Chief among the concerns is how to provide safe evacuation of thousands of Afghans who aided American troops, as well as their families, in addition to U.S. citizens, nonprofit workers, journalists and others still in Afghanistan and at risk of losing their lives to vengeful Taliban forces.

East County News Service

Photo: Congresswoman Davis at U.S. Institute for Peace forum on democracy and women's rights in Afghanistan

October 23, 2019 (San Diego’s East County) -- Congresswoman Susan Davis (CA-53), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan and Jordan with a high-level bipartisan Congressional delegation led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The delegation met with top diplomats, military leaders and troops, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

“I was pleased to be a part of this delegation trip designed to strengthen relationships with our allies and discuss national security issues, especially in light of the deepening crisis in Syria after Turkey’s military incursion and increased violence by the Taliban,” said Rep. Davis, a  San Diego Democrat whose district includes portions of East County. “This delegation trip provided members with the latest information on the ground and will inform us as we continue to create U.S. policy toward the region.”

East County News Service

April 15, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – The U.S. on Thursday dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb ever deployed to destroy caves used by ISIS fighters in the Achin area of Afghanistan, the Pentagon confirms.  Some Afghan officials estimate that as many as 94 ISIS fighters and four commanders may have been killed, with no civilian deaths reported, according to NBC news.

May 25, 2014 (San Diego)--While many legislators spent time with family on Mother’s Day, Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San  Diego) went to Afghanistan. Davis, whose district includes much of East County, led a bipartisan group of women Congressional members to visit with U.S. service members and with groups of Afghan women—as she has done each Mother’s Day since 2009.

By Miriam Raftery

November 27, 2012 (La Mesa)—ECM writer Kristin Kjaero has asked us to post a request from a friend stationed in Afghanistan with the Army Corps of Engineers.  He seeks donations of twin-sized blankets for 300 female students.  Below is his letter, which tells their remarkable story.

Please read it, and consider donating new or second-hand blankets to bring some much-needed comforts to these courageous and determined young women.

• Senate Dems  plan tax offensive (The Hill)
• U.S. beefs up Gulf naval force amid tensions with Iran (Reuters)
• NOAA: Last 12 months hottest ever (The Hill)
• U.S. delivers ‘powerful commitment’ to Afghanistan (UT San Diego)
• Has ‘organics’ been oversized? (New York Times)
• The tax man cometh to police you on healthcare (UT San Diego)

• Iran says it has plan to close Strait of Hormuz (UT San Diego)
• What does London’s LIBOR mean to the US? (NPR)
• Polonium found on Arafat’s clothes was planted (Jerusalem Post)
• New projects help 3D printing materialize (NPR)

• State joblessness rate dips to lowest level since ’09 (SF Chronicle)
• U.S. extends its run of strong job growth another month (NY Times)
• Drones over America: What can they see?  (NPR)
• Voters blame Obama for gas prices, but experts say not so fast (Washington Post) 

• Rampage in Afghanistan puts long-term US Presence in peril (Christian Science Monitor)
• Afghans urge US exit after killings; US says timetable unchanged (Reuters)
• Syrian opposition calls for international intervention (CNN)
•  ‘Arab revolts led to Islamization, instability’ (Jerusalem Post)
• Israel and Gaza factions ‘agree on truce’(Al Jazeera)

• Loss of Greenland ice could become irreversible,  scientists say (Los Angeles Times)
• Study: Red meat raises risk of dying; risk higher with processed meats (CBS) 

February 9, 2012 --  (San Diego’s East County) – ECM World Watch helps you be an informed citizen about important issues globally and nationally. As part of our commitment to reflecting all voices and views, we include links to a wide variety of news sources representing a broad spectrum of political, religious, and social views. Top world and U.S. headlines include:  

General news  

• Group urges FTC action on Google privacy (USA Today)
• Dems fight back against GOP in contraception battle (CBS)
• Forgetting a key lesson of Watergate? (CNN)
• Child labor for Victoria’s Secret cotton examined by U.S. (Bloomberg Business)
• U.S. Brigadier General dies in Afghanistan (CNN) 

• Santorum sweeps Minnesota, Missouri, Colorado (CNN)
• Mitt Romney wins overwhelming victory in Nevada caucuses (Washington Post) 

• NATO vs. Syria (American Conservative)
• Syrians storm embassies after uprising's worst violence (Reuters)
• Activists: Syrian assault leaves 250 dead (NPR)
• U.N. vote on Syria fails (NPR)
•  ‘Hezbollah will hit Israel if Syria attacked’ (Jerusaleum Post)
• Iran vows to hit any country that stages attack (San Diego UT)
• Thousands stranded by rising floodwaters in Australia (CNN) 

• Blind doctor can see again (Jerusalem Post)

December 11, 2011 (Washington, DC) --U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter (CA-52), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has been named to the congressional conference committee that will negotiate differences between the House and Senate versions of the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. 

By Miriam Raftery

August 6, 2011 (San Diego)—A NATO helicopter was shot down today during a conflict with the Taliban in Afghanistan, killing 31 U.S. soldiers and seven Afghans in the deadliest single incident in the 10-year war, Reuters reports. ABC News reports that 25 Navy Seals were on board, plus seven Afghan Special forces soldiers, five crew members and an interpreter.