Thursday morning news - September 30, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

Gen. McKenzie: Deal with Taliban and eventual pullout doomed Afghan army » Top Pentagon officials testified for a second day on Wednesday about the calamitous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan this time before the House Armed Services Committee.

Centcom commander Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie said the collapse of the Afghan army really began in 2020 when the Trump administration struck a deal with the Taliban promising a complete U.S. pullout.

MCKENZIE: Signing the Doha agreement had a really pernicious effect on the government of Afghanistan and on its military, psychological more than anything else, but we set a date certain for when we were going to leave and for when they could expect assistance to end.

That, he said, dealt a huge blow to the morale of Afghan troops. And he added that President Biden’s decision to move forward with the complete withdrawal was a 'nail in the coffin' for the Afghan army. He said he has long held that once the number of U.S. troops in the country dropped below 2,500…

MCKENZIE: I believed that the government of Afghanistan would likely collapse and that the military would follow, and one might go before the other, but I believed that was going to be the inevitable result of drawing down to zero, and I’ve expressed that opinion in writing for quite a while.

This week's hearings marked the start of what is likely to be an extended congressional review of U.S. failures in Afghanistan.

YouTube censors anti vaccine videos » YouTube has announced that it plans to block anti-vaccine content. WORLD’s Leigh Jones has more.

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: The new rules are not confined to videos critical of COVID-19 vaccines but content claiming any current vaccine approved by the World Health Organization is dangerous. The platform will flag assertions that vaccines cause cancer, autism, or infertility.

And channels that post vaccine-related content in violation of the new policy will be subject to suspension if three violations are reported in a 90-day period.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, has already removed several accounts connected to prominent COVID-19 critics.

The new policy does allow critical content about vaccines still being tested. And personal stories about reactions to any vaccine do not violate the rule unless they come from an account already flagged for misinformation.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leigh Jones.

North Korea test fires hypersonic missile » North Korean state media reported Wednesday that the country successfully tested a new hypersonic missile this week. The report called the missile a significant addition to North Korea's “strategic” weaponry as the country strives to increase its defense capacity by a—quote—“thousand-fold.”

Military officials in South Korea said the missile fired from the northern province of Jagang on Tuesday morning.

The U.S. military in a statement said the launch posed no immediate threat to U.S. personnel, territory, or allies. The test marks North Korea’s third round of launches this month as it opposes U.S. sanctions and joint U.S.-South Korea military drills.

China cracks down on ‘Hong Kong’s BBC’ » China is taking more steps to erase press freedoms in Hong Kong. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: RTHK, short for Radio Television Hong Kong, is the only publicly funded media group on Chinese soil. Founded in 1928, it has often been referred to as the BBC of Hong Kong.

But RTHK angered the Chinese government with its coverage of pro-democracy demonstrations protesting its sweeping new so-called national security law. That law has erased many liberties in what used to be a semi-independent territory.

And the Chinese government has now reportedly issued a detailed document to RTHK staff. It spells out new policies and editorial responsibilities. And it stresses that “under no circumstances” should its reporting—quoting here— “provide a platform to encourage, incite, promote, glorify, endorse or sympathise with any act or activity endangering national security or otherwise contain any contents which are contrary to the interests of national security”.

China has used its new national security law to jail protesters and seize the assets of pro-democracy activists.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin

I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org. 

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