By Aly Kamadia, Editor-In-Chief, iDose
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Dear Readers,
Fate seems to have unfolded faster than usual since last month’s iDose issue.
Only a few weeks ago, American intelligence agencies were warning that the Taliban might take over Afghanistan within 6 months. Kabul ended up falling within a few weeks.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a historic and scary report that no enlightened world leader can ignore.
Meanwhile, in my home country of Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has decided to call an election in the midst of a global pandemic in which Canada is entering a delta-defined wave.
Concerning the question of Afghanistan, President Biden’s speech on Monday (August 16th) was remarkable. Having heard and/or read literally thousands of political speeches in my life, I found Biden’s remarks to be a rare treat by virtue of his honesty. While admitting that recent events had taken his administration by surprise (Biden was well aware that Kabul could fall, but not so fast), Biden reaffirmed an obvious truth that American mainstream media outlets, politicians, and far too many ‘leaders’ haven’t bothered to mention for roughly twenty years: The US has no direct strategic interests in Afghanistan that merit a war.
Our main article on Afghanistan this week comments on why Biden’s decision to end US military engagement was completely correct. In addition, iDose features two excellent pieces on Afghanistan and American foreign policy that are must-reads.
On the matter of climate change, this month we offer readers a small dose of solutions that would nevertheless have a meaningful impact. The relevant piece is less than a two-minute read, though well worth your time.
Of course, the pandemic is still alive and thriving, and this month’s article on Covid-19 addresses the tricky ethical question of whether vaccines should be mandatory. While yours truly is of the view that everyone should be vaccinated, one is nevertheless justified in asking whether Big Government should be given the powers to make vaccinations compulsory.
Finally, Trudeau has decided that even though Canada is entering a fierce phase of the pandemic, his personal political ambitions should be Canada’s main focus, thus the announcement of a federal election.
While we feature one article on Canada’s upcoming election, our readers should note that iDose may very well release bonus articles between now and election day.
In other words, make sure you sign up for our (free) premium newsletter if you haven’t already, as you will be alerted anytime we release anything!
Stay safe,
