Axios

The Taliban just gained a massive new war chest, complete with U.S.-made Humvees, planes, helicopters, night-vision goggles and drones, Reuters reports.

State of play: Video shows militants inspecting lines of vehicles and opening crates of new firearms, communications gear and even military drones. Some of the equipment was given by the U.S.

Twenty-three AAPI civil rights groups led by the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans are calling on the administration to take extra caution as it prepares results from its investigation into the origins of COVID.

Why it matters: In late May, the Biden administration launched a 90-day probe into COVID's origins amid controversy over the lab leak theory. In a letter delivered to President Biden on Thursday, advocates warn the "simple existence of that report will put our communities at risk."

About 6,000 people have arrived and been processed at the Kabul airport and will soon be evacuated by the U.S., State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday.

Driving the news: The U.S.' efforts to get people out of the country are ramping up, but remain behind the goal of 5,000–9,000 evacuations daily. Earlier Thursday, Pentagon officials announced that 7,000 people have been evacuated since Saturday — 2,000 of them in the past 24 hours.

When President Biden inherited the war in Afghanistan, he faced three broad policy options.

1. Comply with Donald Trump’s deal and withdraw all U.S. troops by May 1.
2. Modify Trump’s deal by maintaining the commitment to withdraw but extending the timeline and, potentially, making it conditional on some sort of political agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
3. Reject Trump’s deal and keep U.S. troops in the country indefinitely.

Biden's first interview:

• Biden denies Afghanistan will look the same 20 years after 9/11
• Biden: Taliban haven't changed since their ruling days
• Biden says he would've withdrawn even without Trump's Taliban deal
• U.S. troops will stay in Afghanistan until every American is out, Biden says

The latest in Afghanistan:

• Taliban celebrates Afghan Independence Day by declaring victory over U.S.
• Taliban responds to protesters' resistance with deadly violence
• Leaders in Taliban holdout look to revive alliance that helped U.S. in 2001

The U.S. has evacuated approximately 7,000 people from Afghanistan since Saturday, including more than 2,000 over the last 24 hours, Pentagon officials said during a news briefing Thursday.

Why it matters: The U.S. is still well short of its goal of evacuating 5,000–9,000 Americans and eligible Afghans per day, but capacity is ramping up and the operation has stabilized since the scenes of chaos earlier this week.

62% of Americans do not believe the war in Afghanistan was worth fighting, according to an AP-NORC poll conducted Aug. 12–16, as the Afghan government verged on collapse following the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

Why it matters: Biden has faced intense criticism over the scenes of chaos in Kabul, where a Taliban takeover has prompted a mass evacuation of Americans and Afghans who assisted the U.S. war effort.

Saturday's earthquake in Haiti left the country "on its knees," Prime Minister Ariel Henry said Wednesday as the Civil Protection Agency raised the death toll to nearly 2,200.

Driving the news: Frustration and anger continue to grow across Haiti over the slow pace of aid reaching affected areas, AP reported. Tens of thousands were left homeless, 12,268 people were injured and over 300 are still missing, officials said.

President Biden on Thursday rejected the notion that Afghanistan will look the same on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 as it did when the Taliban first ruled, telling ABC's George Stephanopoulos: "There was a guy named Osama bin Laden still alive and well."

Why it matters: In defending his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, Biden has repeatedly stressed that the original purpose of the 2001 invasion was to dismantle al-Qaeda and deny the terrorists a safe haven to launch another attack against the U.S.

President Biden told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that he doesn't believe the Taliban have changed substantially since they were last in power, but that they are facing an "existential crisis" about whether they want to be recognized on the international stage.

Driving the news: The Taliban have pledged to be more inclusive since their days of totalitarian rule in the 1990s, vowing to not retaliate against opponents and honor women's rights within the "frameworks" of Islamic law. But scenes from Kabul and areas they previously controlled suggest the militants will continue to govern with a heavy hand.

President Biden told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that he would have tried to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan even if former President Trump had not struck a deal with the Taliban to get out of the country by May 1.

Why it matters: Biden has sought to deflect blame on to the former president for the swift Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, saying that the peace deal Trump signed with the Taliban in 2020 set the stage for the subsequent withdrawal.

Iron ore prices have taken a dive over the last month as the largest buyer of the commodity, China, pulls back.

The big picture: Iron ore is a key input in crude steel production. A Beijing directive earlier this year called for lower production in order to curb carbon emissions. The Chinese government also raised export taxes to make it less attractive for steel mills to sell abroad.

Opposition leaders who've fled to Afghanistan's last holdout against the Taliban are looking to launch an "armed resistance under the banner of the Northern Alliance," which helped the U.S. oust the Taliban in 2001, per AP.

Why it matters: The Taliban has a strong grip on the country, shooting at protesters in three cities this week who tried to raise the Afghan national flag. It confirmed on Thursday that it would not govern as a democracy.

The Taliban marked Afghanistan's Independence Day on Thursday by declaring it forced the U.S. out of the country and calling on crowds of Afghans waiting for flights at Kabul's airport to go home, per multiple reports.

What they're saying: The Taliban noted that on Afghan Independence Day, the country celebrates the anniversary of the 1919 treaty that ended British rule, per AP. "We at the same time as a result of our jihadi resistance forced another arrogant power of the world, the United States, to fail and retreat from our holy territory of Afghanistan."

New Zealand scientists linked the country's growing COVID-19 cluster to the Delta outbreak that began in Sydney, Australia — and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday they're "fairly certain" they've found the source.

Why it matters: Since the country entered its highest pandemic restrictions just before midnight Tuesday over one positive local test result, scientists have uncovered links to a traveler who arrived in NZ from Sydney on Aug. 7.

Several more Afghans have died during a rally due to the Taliban firing on them — this time in the city of Asadabad on Thursday, per Reuters.

Why it matters: Witnesses said the Taliban shot at the group as they waved the national flag while celebrating Afghan Independence Day, when the country celebrates the anniversary of the 1919 treaty that ended British rule.