The Taliban refuses to return $7bn of US arms and Doge takes on USAID

A gang of young officials from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency targeted the US Agency for International Development. What does that tell us about his loyalty to Trump?

Despite overseeing the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Trump now demands the Taliban return 78 aircraft, 40,000 vehicles and 300,000 weapons left behind.

As the US steps back from a key NATO committee, is this the UK’s chance to get closer with Europe again?

Basia Cummings is joined by Moby Media Groups’s Saad Mohseni, plus Tortoise’s Stephen Armstrong and Giles Whittell as they battle to pitch the top story.

**Join us at the next edition of the News Meeting Live! We host live recordings on the last Thursday of every month. Get your ticket for February 27th here

To read the BBC’s analysis of Hollywoodgate, the documentary Basia mentioned about US military equipment left behind in Afghanistan, click here.

We always love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Send a voice note to: newsmeeting@tortoisemedia.com

Host: Basia Cummings, editor at Tortoise

Producer: Casey Magloire

Executive producer: Rebecca Moore

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.