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Recently, President Joe Biden ordered the Pentagon to conduct a review of the U.S. military footprint around the world, and a May 1st deadline for complete withdrawal from Afghanistan is less than certain.

It is urgent and important for President Biden to fulfill his pledge to end the forever wars and despite the recommendation of theAfghanistan Study Groupto extend the May 1st deadline bring troops home from Afghanistan as scheduled. This would make for a major milestone for the new presidents first 100 days.

To begin, the Authorization for the Use of Military Forceapproved by Congresson September 14, 2001, was to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons. In other words, Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and the then-Taliban-led government in Afghanistan because it gave safe haven to bin Laden and Al Qaeda.

That mission has long since been completed. The Taliban was driven from power in a matter of weeks. Al Qaedas senior leadership was decimated and scattered over the next several months. And if there was any doubt about achieving closure for 9/11, Osama bin Laden was eventually found and killed by U.S. Special Operations Forces in May 2011.

Instead, what was originally a counter-terrorism operation in response to the September 11 attacks quickly morphed into nation-building and a counterinsurgency war to protect a US-installed Afghan government. But such a war was not then and is not now a war of national survival. The Taliban and other militants in Afghanistan are internal threats to the Afghan government and part of a power struggle over who controls the country, but are not direct (let alone existential) threats to the United States. And however desirable a representative, multiethnic, democratic government in Afghanistan would be, it is not an absolute necessity for U.S. national security. All we need is for whatever government controls Afghanistan to understand that the United States will not tolerate support for or the harboring of any terrorist group with global reach that directly threatens the United States which is the essence of the terms of the path to apeace agreementbrokered in February 2020.

Yet the Afghanistan Study Group clings to the belief that an ongoing U.S. military presence is necessary to create conditions for an acceptable peace agreement. This despite

acknowledging the fact that the Taliban have signaled publicly that if all international forces are not withdrawn by May 2021, as envisioned in the Doha agreement, they will resume their jihad against the foreign presence and will withdraw from the peace process. More pointedly, the harsh reality is that nearly 20 years in the U.S. military presence has not been able to ensure peace in Afghanistan. So why would keeping them there longer result in something different?

To be sure, withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan will not magically result in peace breaking out. But neither will keeping them there because the U.S. military presence is part of what fuels Afghanistans violence. The reality is that U.S. troops are a foreign occupation force that breeds resentment with the population (not just with the Afghans but also the larger Muslim world) regardless of our intentions, just as would happen if a foreign military was ensconced in America.

Furthermore, the violence in Afghanistan represents a long-standing civil war within the Muslim world. It is not Americas war to fight or win. Only Afghans can determine the outcome.

The appropriate analogy is Americas experience in Vietnam another insurgent war unnecessary to U.S. national security. Peace only came after the U.S. military withdrawal. And over the ensuing decades, the result has been a socialist country pursuing increasingly capitalist economic policies and normalized relations with the U.S. and other Western countries. Not necessarily the outcome the U.S. would have envisioned if it was up to us to engineer but it wasnt and we couldnt; it was up to the Vietnamese people. And even if it isnt perfect in the eyes of the U.S., it is good enough for U.S. national security which is the paramount concern. The lesson is that we shouldnt let a quixotic quest for perfect be the enemy of good enough in Afghanistan.

Charles V.Peais a senior fellow with Defense Priorities. He has more than thirty years of experience as a policy and program analyst and senior manager, supporting both the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security.Peais the former Director of Defense Policy Studies at the Cato Institute and author ofWinning the UnWar: A New Strategy for the War on Terrorism.

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Why the Biden administration should keep to the Afghanistan withdrawal timetable - LA Daily News

Zimbabwe cricket team is set to lock horns with Afghanistan in an upcoming Test and T20I Series. Zimbabwe will be touring UAE- Afghanistans home ground- in March 2021. In the absence of few senior players, Zimbabwe has announced the 15-man squad for the upcoming Test tour against the Asian side. Batting all-rounder Sean Williams has been selected to lead the Test team.

Many Zimbabwe cricketers are out of the tour due to various health concerns. Senior batsman Brendan Taylor and Craig Ervine are not part of the squad due to which selectors have opted for Sean Williams to lead the team in the red-ball matches.

Chamu Chibhabha has been ruled out as he suffers from a thigh injury. Similarly, Tendai Chatara is going through right-upper-arm injury due to which he has not been able to make up for the series. Wicketkeeper-batsman PJ Moor will also be out of action due to hamstring injury.

Due to absence of above-mentioned senior players, selectors have rolled in few other players to the squad for the Afghanistan tour. Tarisai Musakanda, a top-order batsman, who last played a Test match against Sri Lanka in 2017, has been recalled.

Likewise, middle-order batsman and part-time spinner Ryan Burl has been recalled into the squad. Nurl has played just one Test against South Africa in December 2017.

For the T20I games, Zimbabwe cricket team will feature Milton Shumba, Faraz Akram and Tinashe Kamunhukamwe in the squad. Zimbabwe tour of Afghanistan consists of two Test matches and three T20Is. The first Test match will commence at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on March 2, followed by 2nd and3rd Test on the same venue on March 10 and March 17 respectively.

The three T20I games are scheduled to be played on March 17, 19 and 20. All the three matches will be played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Here is the full Zimbabwe squad for the Test series.

Zimbabwe last toured Pakistan in October-November 2020. Zimbabwe lost the three-match ODI series 2-1. In T20Is, Pakistan whitewashed Zimbabwe in all the three T20Is. On the other hand, Afghanistan hosted Ireland in a three-match ODI series. Afghanistan won all the three matches, which were held at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi (UAE) in January 2021.

Sean Williams (captain), Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza Butt, Prince Masvaure, Brandon Mavuta, Tarisai Musakanda, Richmond Mutumbami, Blessing Muzarabani, Kevin Kasuza, Wesley Madhevere, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Donald Tiripano, Regis Chakabva.

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Zimbabwe vs Afghanistan 2021: Zimbabwe Names Sean Williams To Lead His Team In The Test Series Against Afghanistan In The Absence Of Seniors - Cricket...

This year, TikTok has quickly started to move out of the experimental bucket and is now becoming a staple of the social spending pie, according to media buyers, who say that they expect more ad dollars to flow to the app this year.

With the future of the app in the United States no longer a question and the sale to Oracle shelved, that stability has marketers more comfortable committing additional ad dollars to the short-form video app. Buyers said improvements to its e-commerce capabilities like its partnership with Shopify as well as new e-commerce-focused ad units like a dynamic catalog ad unit thats currently in beta are swaying marketers to spend more on the app.

In 2020, marketers were wary of the stability of TikTok, said Madelyn Lydon, associate director, public relations and social media at OH Partners. It seemed like a big risk to invest dollars without knowing the future of the app. However, weve seen users are spending more time on TikTok than Facebook, and it is crucial for marketers to provide those users with content. Otherwise, they risk getting left behind.

Without the perceived risk, the overall perception of TikTok has shifted dramatically over the last 12 months, and in doing so shaped marketers sentiments, according to marketers and media buyers. This year, TikTok seems to be a social partner that clients ask for, versus us having to push to get test budgets in 2019 and 2020, explained Carrie Dino, head of media for Mekanism.

Brands have shifted from viewing them as that fun/experimental platform to one of the big players, said Brendan Gahan, partner and chief social officer at Mekanism. As a result, weve been doing a lot of planning around ongoing content strategies. Clients are investing (or considering investing) in creating a community versus just doing one off activations like branded hashtag challenges or influencer partnerships.

However, TikTok has yet to become a staple like Instagram and Facebook, but the momentum is there, added Gahan. You can see how it could happen soon.

While media spend on TikTok varies by brands, buyers say its still a minimal portion of the budget allocated to social platforms. Katya Constantine, CEO of performance marketing agency Digishop Girl, said that direct-to-consumer brands she works with now allocate roughly 5% of the social budget toward the app versus roughly 75% toward Facebook and Instagram.

TikToks investment to make ads more shoppable and push further into e-commerce has the potential to help the app become more of a priority in ad budgets, according to buyers. Constantine said that new e-commerce-focus ad units have clients eyeing the platform more and more.

If they continue enhancing advertising platform at the same rate as last 12 months then TikTok has a strong place at the table to be 20% of the mix, said Constantine, adding that currently it represents roughly 5% of the media mix. Thats especially true for brands that are going after younger consumers.

Buyers expect marketers to continue to spend more on the platform this year, particularly as advertisers look to diversify their media mix due to an overreliance on Facebook and Instagram when it comes to social channels.

That said, as the platform continues to gain ground, buyers say advertisers will have to invest in creating content specific for TikToks highly engaged audience, who is not as apt to interact with material thats not native to the app experience. Even so, buyers expect brands to continue to lean into TikTok as the burgeoning app, which AppAnnie expects to hit 1.2 billion monthly active users this year, is where consumers are spending more time.

TikTok is the new beauty haul, a more dynamic unboxing opportunity, the virtual makeup counter or live runway, and it puts the tools in the hands of its users, said Jess Richards, evp managing director, commerce at Havas Media. Brands can gain a lot by finding ways to enable this experience in a meaningful, authentic way.

https://digiday.com/?p=396421

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The momentum is there: In 2021, marketers are starting to see TikTok as a staple of the social budget - Digiday

Movie production houses are expected to tap social media and digital influencers ahead of film releases this year, reducing dependence on billboards, celebrities and television advertising.

Digital spends would be 50-100% higher than pre-covid levels, with social media engagement, contests and influencer marketing taking the lead, as per the studio executives currently preparing their slate of films for release.

Some impact of covid has been positive in the sense that consumption patterns of audiences have changed and they are more device-friendly now. That fact should lead marketing campaigns," said Gaurav Verma, chief operating officer of Red Chillies Entertainment, which releases Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Bob Biswas later this year.

People are reacting more to social media, and even news breaks on digital platforms nowadays, Verma said, adding it only makes sense that the media mix will change to afford greater spends on digital.

Siddharth Anand Kumar, vice-president of films and television at Saregama India that owns a boutique studio Yoodlee Films, said digital promotion will be in favour not just because most audiences are still at home, but because segments are easier to target this way.

Film trailers were already releasing on YouTube, but now theres greater focus on new-age influencers across Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and short video apps. Meanwhile, television with the exception of some reality shows and sports programming, should see 15% lower spends, according to Kumar, while news channels are losing because of the recent controversy over viewership ratings. Out-of-home avenues such as billboards are on the backburner, too.

The cost of influencer marketing alone may have gone up by 100%, which is far more effective in spreading word-of-mouth in a controllable way," Kumar said. Digital could make up nearly 60-70% of movie marketing budgets now, he added.

Mint had earlier reported that many social media influencers have tripled their pay rates over 2020, commanding anything between 3 lakh and 5 lakh per Instagram post. A typical Instagram user who was spending an hour on the app per day now uses it for three to four hours, prompting them to follow more people, and boost opportunities for brands to monetize. With traditional advertising options like billboards making no sense in the protracted lockdown and no buzz around bigger celebrities, companies have tapped into the influencer base.

Marketing has gone fully digital during the covid-19 pandemic, Harikrishnan Pillai, CEO and co-founder of digital agency TheSmallBigIdea said.

From zoom press conferences to fan-meets, the entire marketing narrative pivots on the actor and the production houses social and digital strength.

Production houses upping their digital game. Gone are the days when firms appeared on the marketing landscape only during film releases and went back into hiding after that. Production houses are strengthening their digital presence and trying to build influencing narratives for a loyal audience set," Pillai added.

Studios, however, are staying cautious while not cutting corners.

We have to balance our spends right now between possible profits and the need to get the message out," said Pradeep Dwivedi, CEO, India Eros STX Global Corporation that has films like Haathi Mere Saathi (Hindi), Kaadan (Tamil) and Aranya (Telugu) slated for release. Dwivedi was referring to the possibly slow return of people to cinemas in the first few weeks. While companies may deploy only 80-90% of their marketing budgets to start with right now, they will get into full gear by August going full throttle into the festive season which will be big for the movies this year," he said.

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Bollywood production houses to tap social media, influencer marketing to boost films - Mint

The Center for Excellence in Public Health (CEPH) had a strong presence at the annual meeting of SNAP-Ed implementing agents. The Association of SNAP Nutrition Education Administrators (ASNNA) hosts this event each year to position agents from across the US to discuss emerging policy issues and share best practices. The event was held virtually from February 1-3.

Not surprisingly, this years conference offered a significant focus on public health approaches to alleviating hunger during the pandemic. Another recurring theme was equity in programming and planning.

CEPH Senior Research Associates Pamela Bruno, MPH, and Kira Rodriguez, MHS, presented on their work, as did Obesity Prevention Coordinator Hannah Ruhl, MPH, and Emily Estell, RDN, MPH, a nutrition educator from UNEs Coastal Healthy Communities Coalition at the College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Collectively, these UNE professionals highlighted their work in social marketing and media, program evaluation, COVID-19s impact on program delivery, and virtual training strategies. They also participated in panel presentations highlighting their recent research and practice collaborations with academic peers from partner universities, sharing lessons learned and emerging evidence.

UNE implements Maine SNAP-Ed through a contract with Maines Office for Family Independence with funding from the US Department of Agriculture. The program addresses food insecurity and obesity prevention in low-resource communities across the state.

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UNE attendees contribute to national SNAP-Ed conference - University of New England