Afghanistan

[angelburst29]

Oh Geez ... now WHAT?

Trump says he canceled peace talks with Taliban over Kabul attack

U.S. President Donald Trump departs after presenting NBA Hall of Fame player Jerry West with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the Oval office of the White House in Washington, U.S., September 5, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said he canceled peace talks with Afghanistan's Taliban leaders after the insurgent group said it was behind an attack in Kabul that killed an American soldier and 11 other people.

“If they cannot agree to a ceasefire during these very important peace talks, and would even kill 12 innocent people, then they probably don’t have the power to negotiate a meaningful agreement anyway,” Trump said on Twitter, saying he had been planning to meet with Taliban leaders on Sunday.

Son of Afghan resistance hero criticizes 'secretive' U.S. Taliban deal

A "secretive" peace deal between United States and the Taliban could face wide resistance in Afghanistan if it opens the door to the insurgents' hardline regime, said the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the slain hero of the anti-Soviet resistance.

 

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Afghan president renews calls for peace, demands ceasefire

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani made a renewed call for peace on Monday but insisted the Taliban must observe a ceasefire, as he sought to regain a hold on the peace process following the surprise collapse of talks between the United States and the militants.

Sep 09 2019 - Pompeo: Afghan Peace Talks Dead ‘for Time Being’, US Won't Enter Any Agreement

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that peace negotiations with Afghanistan’s Taliban are dead and that Washington will not enter any future agreement without “commitments” from the militants.

Appearing on a round of cable news shows Sunday morning, Pompeo told Fox News, that negotiations with the Taliban are dead “for the time being”, adding that Washington is recalling its special envoy to Afghanistan to work out its next steps.

Also appearing on CNN, Pompeo noted that the US would not enter into any future agreement with the Taliban without “significant commitments” from the fighters, who now control more Afghan territory than at any point since the US invasion in 2001.

Pompeo’s statements come one day after President Donald Trump canceled meetings with Taliban officials at Camp David. Trump scrapped the talks –which were planned in secret– after Taliban-claimed attacks in Kabul killed 12 people, including one American soldier, earlier in the week.

“If they cannot agree to a ceasefire during these very important peace talks, and would even kill 12 innocent people, then they probably don’t have the power to negotiate a meaningful agreement anyway,” Trump tweeted on Saturday.

With diplomacy scuppered, Pompeo told CNN that “if the Taliban don’t behave...we’re not going to reduce our support for the Afghan security forces that have fought so hard there in Afghanistan”, a hint that the US may remain involved in Afghan affairs for some time yet.

Sep 09 2019 - Taliban Vows US 'Will Suffer More Than Anyone Else' as Trump Cancels Secret Talks

The Taliban slammed the United States on Sunday, releasing a statement warning that Americans would "suffer" for cancelling planned inter-Afghan peace talks.

"The Americans will suffer more than anyone else for cancelling the talks," Reuters cited Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying.

The spokesman warned the talks' cancellation would lead to 'further losses of US lives' and other assets, adding that the US would be forced to return to negotiations sooner or later.

In the meantime, the Taliban promised to continue their war until foreign powers carry out a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan.

According to Mujahid, talks had been proceeding smoothly until Saturday, with the government and the militants agreeing to formal intra-Afghan Peace talks on September 23.

 

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Sat. Aug 31 2019 - Report: Bolton Excluded from Afghan Policy Decisions After Irritating Trump

Sep 08 2019 - Report: Trump's Clash with Bolton as US Meeting with Taliban Cancelled

US National Security Adviser John Bolton has described a peace agreement that Washington is trying to clinch with the Taliban as irrelevant, reminding President Donald Trump of the deal’s “potential pitfalls”, several unnamed sources revealed.

Trump has stated that he had decided to cancel a meeting with the Taliban movement's leadership after the group claimed responsibility for staging a terrorist attack in the Afghan capital Kabul which left “12 innocent people” dead, including an American soldier.

The sources told Bloomberg that Bolton specifically berated US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad for agreeing to terms offered by the Taliban that Bolton claimed were too vague.

He apparently referred to Khalilzad recently tweeting that Washington is “at the threshold of an agreement that will reduce violence and open the door for Afghans to sit together to negotiate an honourable and sustainable peace and a unified, sovereign Afghanistan that does not threaten the United States, its allies, or any other country".

In late August, US media reported that Bolton has been kept out of any discussions related to the ongoing US-Taliban negotiations because his opposition to diplomacy has irritated Trump.

Bolton has called for an expanded military presence in Afghanistan and also opposed Trump’s efforts to negotiate with North Korea and any potential engagement with Iran, The Washington Post reported, citing unnamed officials.

TIME Magazine has also reported that while the US and Taliban are close to a peace deal to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has declined to sign the Afghan peace deal.

Bolton's alleged frustration over the matter comes as Trump announced on Saturday that he had cancelled a secret meeting with Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani as well as the Taliban movement's leadership in Camp David over recent deadly terrorist attacks in Kabul.

Trump has recently vowed the United States would leave 8,600 troops in Afghanistan regardless of the outcome of the talks.

Sep 08 2019 - Afghan Government Urges Taliban to Stop Violence, Hold Direct Talks

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani urged the Taliban on Sunday to end violence and talk directly to his government after US President Donald Trump announced he had canceled a planned meeting with the insurgent group over a draft peace accord.

Afghan president renews calls for peace, demands ceasefire

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani made a renewed call for peace on Monday but insisted the Taliban must observe a ceasefire, as he sought to regain a hold on the peace process following the surprise collapse of talks between the United States and the militants.

More Americans will die after Trump abruptly ends Afghan talks, Taliban say

President Donald Trump's decision to cancel Afghan peace talks will cost more American lives, the Taliban said on Sunday while the United States promised to keep up military pressure on the militants, in a stunning reversal of efforts to forge a deal ending nearly 20 years of war in Afghanistan.

 

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Trump says as far as he is concerned, Afghanistan talks are dead

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that talks with Afghanistan's Taliban leaders are off and that he was still considering a U.S. troop drawdown in the country.

U.S. military likely to ramp up operations against Taliban: U.S. general

The U.S. military is likely to accelerate the pace of its operations in Afghanistan to counter an increase in Taliban attacks, a senior U.S. general said on Monday following Washington's suspension of peace talks with the insurgents.

Trump says Taliban talks 'dead,' U.S. military to ramp up Afghanistan operations

U.S. President Donald Trump proclaimed talks with Afghanistan's Taliban leaders dead on Monday, while the general in charge said the U.S. military is likely to ramp up operations in Afghanistan to counter an increase in Taliban attacks.

US, Taliban insist on Russia’s presence at signing of agreement — senior diplomat

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov © Valeriy Sharifulin/TASS

VLADIVOSTOK, September 3, 2019 - The United States and Afghanistan’s movement Taliban (outlawed in Russia) insist that Russia should be present in some capacity at the possible signing of an agreement the two sides are working on, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said in reply to a TASS question.

"Firstly, we’ve got to realize when the agreement will be achieved and what it is about. It is not ruled out that at the request of both participants in the negotiations Russia will be present at the signing of the document in some capacity, if and when it has been agreed," Morgulov said, adding that "not only Russia, but some other countries might be present at the signing."

Reuters said on Monday that an agreement on a peace settlement in Afghanistan between the Taliban and the United States would be officially signed after its approval by Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani. According to information available at this point US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad had met with the Afghan leader to present to him a draft peace agreement between the Taliban and the US administration. Ghani has two days to consider the draft agreement and make up his mind.

 

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U.S. military likely to ramp up operations against Taliban: U.S. general

The U.S. military is likely to accelerate the pace of its operations in Afghanistan to counter an increase in Taliban attacks, a senior U.S. general said on Monday following Washington's suspension of peace talks with the insurgents.

In a statement, the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned that Americans would suffer more for cancelling the peace talks.

Taliban Vows US 'Will Suffer More Than Anyone Else' as Trump Cancels Secret Talks
Sep 09, 2019

"The Americans will suffer more than anyone else for cancelling the talks," Reuters cited Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying.

Zarif: Iran Concerned about Imminent Spread of Violence in Afghanistan
Sep 09, 2019

“The Islamic Republic of Iran warns that foreigners and aggressors may cash in on the new situation in this country and trigger a fresh round of killing and bloodshed in Afghanistan,” Zarif said on Sunday.

 

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Oh, real serious stuff ... wonder what's going to happen here - a week from now, on September 19th?

Congress committee subpoenas Trump envoy to Taliban talks

Thurs. Sept.12, 2019 - WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday issued a subpoena to the Trump administration's envoy to the U.S.-Taliban talks, demanding that he testify at an open congressional hearing next week.

Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., complained that the Trump administration was keeping Congress and the American people "in the dark" about negotiations with the Taliban, which have broken down.

Engel issued the subpoena to compel Zalmay Khalilzag to testify Sept. 19. He said he issued the subpoena because the State Department had refused requests in February, April and earlier this month for briefings or testimony from Khalilzad.

The State Department had no immediate comment Thursday.

In a weekend tweet, Trump called off negotiations and canceled a meeting he said he wanted to have with Afghan government leaders and the Taliban at the Camp David presidential retreat.

"More than 2,000 American troops have died in Afghanistan, and I'm fed up with this administration keeping Congress and the American people in the dark on the peace process and how we're going to bring this long war to a close," Engel said in a statement.

"For months, we haven't been able to get answers on the Afghanistan Peace Plan, and now the President is saying the plan is dead. We need to hear directly from the administration's point person on Afghanistan to understand how this process went off the rails. (...oow ... hot-hot-HOT!)

U.S. House panel to force testimony from Trump's Afghan envoy

The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee said on Thursday it will subpoena President Donald Trump's special Afghanistan envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, to testify on Sept. 19, after the abrupt cancellation of talks with the country's Taliban militia.

Taliban car bomb blast kills four Afghan special forces in Kabul
A suicide bomber targeted an Afghan Special Forces base in Kabul on Thursday, killing at least four commandos, officials said, as violence continued to escalate following the collapse of peace talks between the United States and Taliban insurgents.

Sep 12 2019 - Trump Says 'Intensified' US Assault on Taliban to Go on as Secret Peace Talks Cancelled

Speaking at the 9/11 commemoration event, US President Donald Trump said that over "the last four days" US forces have "hit our enemy harder than they have ever been hit before and that will continue".

On day one, new U.S. envoy to U.N. vows 'strong American leadership'

New U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, started work at the 193-member world body on Thursday, pledging to defend U.S. values and interests, support friends and allies and advocate for the poor with "strong American leadership."

 

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Two Afghan Taliban shadow governors killed as air strikes step up
Afghan security forces, backed by U.S. air strikes, killed two of the movement's shadow provincial governors on Sunday, as fighting stepped up in the wake of the collapse of talks aimed at ending the conflict, officials said.

Afghanistan hit by blackouts after power pylons destroyed
September 16, 2019 - KABUL - Afghan households and businesses in about a third of the country have been hit by blackouts after
electricity pylons in the northern province of Baghlan were blown up over the weekend, the main power utility said on Monday.

The utility, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), said three pylons carrying 220 KW of electricity imported from neighboring Uzbekistan had been destroyed on Sunday, cutting power in 11 of the country’s 34 provinces, including the capital, Kabul.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks, which come as fighting has intensified in northern provinces including Baghlan amid stalled efforts by the United States and the Taliban to agree plans to withdraw thousands of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

DABS said engineers had arrived from neighboring provinces to work on restoring the pylons.

Afghanistan generates only 25 percent of its electricity domestically and the lines bringing power in from Uzbekistan have been attacked regularly, forcing those that can afford it to rely on expensive diesel generators. For poorer families, the blackouts mean hours without power for daily needs.

 

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17th service member killed in Afghanistan this year, 1st since peace talks collapse

September 16, 2019 - A U.S. service member was killed in action in Afghanistan on Monday, the first American combat death since President Donald Trump decided to call off peace talks with the Taliban earlier this month.

The service member is the 17th American killed in combat in Afghanistan this year -- the highest number since the end of 2014.

"In accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the name of the service member is being withheld until 24 hours after family notification is complete," Resolute Support, the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, said in a statement on Monday.

U.S. service member killed in Afghanistan
A U.S. service member was killed in Afghanistan on Monday, the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said, after the collapse of talks between the United States and Taliban to end the nearly 18-year old war.

China signals veto in standoff with U.S. over Afghanistan U.N. mission: diplomats

China and the United States are deadlocked over a U.N. Security Council resolution to extend the world body's political mission in Afghanistan, with Beijing signaling it will cast a veto because there is no reference to its global Belt and Road infrastructure project, diplomats said on Monday.

Spain's court rules against extraditing Venezuelan ex-spymaster

Spain's High Court ruled on Monday that the government should refuse a request from the United States to extradite Venezuela's former military intelligence chief and ordered his release from jail.

 

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Blast kills 24 at Afghan election rally, aide says president unhurt

Independent Election Commission personnel check biometric devices on September 16, 2019 as they prepare for the upcoming presidential election. (AFP)

September 17, 2019 - KABUL: An explosion near an election rally attended by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani killed 24 people and injured 31 others, a health official said, but Ghani was unhurt according to an aide.

Ghani had been due to address the rally in Charikar, capital of Parwan province, north of Kabul, when the suspected militant attack occurred.

“Women and children are among them and most of the victims seem to be the civilians. Ambulances are still operating, and the number of casualties may rise,” said Abdul Qasim Sangin, head of the provincial hospital.

A local government official said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

“The president is unharmed,” Ghani’s aide said. There was no claim of responsibility from any militant group after the blast.

In a separate incident, an explosion killed at least three people in the center of Kabul, police officials said. Ambulances and Afghan forces rushed to the blast site.

Taliban commanders have vowed to intensify clashes with the Afghan and foreign forces to dissuade people from voting in the Sept. 28 presidential election, when Ghani will bid for a second five-year term.

Security at rallies across the country has been tight following threats by the Taliban to attack meetings and polling stations.
Peace talks between the United States and the Taliban collapsed last week. The two sides had been seeking to reach an accord on the withdrawal of thousands of American troops from Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees from the insurgents.

The talks, which did not include the Afghan government, were intended as a prelude to wider peace negotiations to end more than more 40 years of war in Afghanistan.

 

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Blast kills 24 at Afghan election rally, aide says president unhurt

Taliban attacks kill 48, Afghan leader unhurt as bomber targets rally

Taliban suicide bombers killed 48 people in two separate attacks in Afghanistan on Tuesday, the deadliest taking place near an election rally by President Ashraf Ghani, though he was unhurt.

Iran says it held talks with Afghanistan's Taliban

Iran held talks with a delegation from Afghanistan's Taliban, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, a week after peace talks between the United States and the Islamist insurgents collapsed.

 

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Afghan president sees his chance after collapse of U.S.-Taliban talks

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had no more than 20 minutes to study a draft accord between the United States and the Taliban on pulling thousands of U.S. troops out of his country, but upcoming elections could put him back at the heart of talks to end decades of war.

U.N. Security Council overcomes Chinese veto threat to renew Afghanistan mission

The United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed on Tuesday to extend a U.N. political mission in Afghanistan after last-minute talks overcame a Chinese threat to veto if there was no reference to Beijing's global Belt and Road infrastructure project.

Prosecutor can appeal ICC decision blocking Afghan investigation

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court was granted permission on Tuesday to appeal a ruling by judges that blocked an investigation into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, a case that has put the court on a collision course with the Trump administration.

Comment: I consider this prosecutor - a top notch professional. She has a history of being very efficient, has an impressive track record and sticks closely to the "facts".

 

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Suicide bomber, gunmen attack government building in eastern Afghanistan: officials

Gunmen and at least one suicide bomber attacked a government building in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, wounding nine people including a child and a woman, officials said.

Suicide bomber and gunmen hit eastern Afghanistan gov't office

A suicide bomber and gunmen wounded at least nine people, including a child and a woman, in an attack on a government building in eastern Afghan on Wednesday, officials said.

Pakistan PM to urge Trump to restart Afghan peace talks

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday that he would urge U.S. President Donald Trump next week to revive Afghanistan peace talks with the Taliban militant group. Khan is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly while in New York.

 

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Sep 19 2019 - Afghan Farmland Hit by US-Backed Drone Strike, Dozens Killed

At least 30 civilians were killed and 40 injured in an air raid conducted by the Afghan security forces, backed by US air support, in Eastern Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday.

The attack, on Wednesday night was aimed at destroying a hideout used by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) group militants, but it accidentally targeted farmers near a field in Wazir Tangi area of Khogyani district in Nangarhar province, Al-Jazeera reported.

Sohrab Qaderi, a provincial council member in Eastern Nangarhar province said a drone strike killed 30 workers in a pine nut field and at least 40 others were injured.

The defense ministry in Kabul confirmed the strike, but refused to share casualty details immediately. Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor of Nangarhar confirmed the air strike.

Malik Rahat Gul, a tribal elder in Wazir Tangi, noted that the air raid happened at a time when tired workers, mainly daily wage earners, had gathered near their tent after harvesting pine nuts in a field nearby.

"The workers had lit a bonfire and were sitting together when a drone targeted them," Gul added.

U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

A U.S. drone strike intended to hit an Islamic State (IS) hideout in Afghanistan killed at least 30 civilians resting after a day's labor in the fields, officials said on Thursday.

U.S. to withdraw and withhold funds from Afghanistan, blames corruption
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday the United States would return about $100 million to the treasury for an energy infrastructure project in Afghanistan and would withhold a further $60 million in planned assistance to the country due to a lack of transparency.

Taliban truck bomb kills at least 20 in southern Afghanistan

A Taliban truck bomb killed at least 20 people and wounded 95 when it exploded near a hospital in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, a provincial official said, with casualties expected to rise as rescuers sift the rubble.

Afghanistan braces for deadly attacks as Taliban vow to disrupt presidential election

A deadly suicide bombing this week near an election rally in central Afghanistan where President Ashraf Ghani was due to speak came as a sharp reminder of the risks to a ballot set for the end of next week in the shadow of failed peace talks.

 

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U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan

Letter detailing civilian presence failed to prevent deadly Afghan drone strike

Twelve days ahead of the pine-nut harvest season, the governor of Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province received a letter from village elders in the Wazir Tangi area about their plans to recruit 200 laborers and children to pluck the dry fruit.

Afghanistan hospital attack deaths rise to 39, with 140 wounded: Afghan official
A Taliban suicide bombing of a hospital in southern Afghanistan killed 39 people, almost doubling the previous death toll of 20, a provincial governor spokesman said on Friday.

Afghan President Ghani promises to introduce measures to prevent civilian casualties in war against militants

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday promised to introduce measures to prevent civilian casualties in the ongoing war against militants, a day after at least 30 civilians were killed in a U.S. drone strike in eastern Nangarhar province.

Sep 20 2019 - US Withholds $160mln in Afghan Aid

The US State Department is withholding $160 million from Afghanistan, citing corruption and lack of transparency in Kabul over how the funds are used.

Citing “Afghan Government corruption and financial mismanagement”, the State Department said in a statement on Wednesday that it would return $100 million to the Treasury that was slated for a “large energy infrastructure project”, The Hill reported.

It will also withhold $60 million in planned assistance over Kabul’s “failure to meet benchmarks for transparency and accountability” and cease funding the Afghan government’s Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, which develops and oversees anti-corruption efforts.

“Afghan government institutions and leaders must be transparent and accountable to the Afghan people. We stand against those who exploit their positions of power and influence to deprive the Afghan people of the benefits of foreign assistance and a more prosperous future,” the State Department said.

“American taxpayers and the Afghan people can count on the United States to act when we see assistance funds misused,” it added.

 

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Afghanistan's Taliban meets Chinese government in Beijing
A Taliban delegation met China's special representative for Afghanistan in Beijing on Sunday to discuss the group's peace talks with the United States, a spokesman for the Islamist insurgency said.

The meeting comes after U.S. President Donald Trump’s eleventh-hour cancellation earlier this month of the negotiations between his country and the Taliban, which many had hoped would pave the way to a broader peace deal with the Afghan government and ending a 17-year war.

The Taliban’s nine-member delegation traveled to Beijing and met Deng Xijun, China’s special representative for Afghanistan, said Suhail Shaheen, the Afghan group’s spokesman in Qatar, on his official Twitter account.

Qatar was where the Taliban and the United States held peace talks over the past year.

“The Chinese special representative said the U.S.-Taliban deal is a good framework for the peaceful solution of the Afghan issue and they support it,” Shaheen wrote.

Mullah Baradar, the Taliban delegation’s leader, said they had held a dialogue and reached a “comprehensive deal”, Shaheen tweeted.

“Now, if the U.S. president cannot stay committed to his words and breaks his promise, then he is responsible for any kind of distraction and bloodshed in Afghanistan,” Baradar said, according to Shaheen.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to an e-mail requesting comment, sent outside its usual operating hours. Chinese officials in Kabul also did not immediately respond to a messaged request for comment.

Afghanistan will this coming week hold its fourth presidential elections since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban from power in 2001.

Those elections have gained importance since the collapse of the peace talks, as the negotiations could have led to the creation of an interim government, now a more distant prospect.

In June, before the peace talks fell apart, another Taliban team went to China to meet with the government.

At the time, a foreign ministry spokesman said China supports Afghans resolving their problems themselves through talks, and the visit was an important part of China promoting such peace talks.

China’s far western Chinese region of Xinjiang shares a short border with Afghanistan.

China has long worried about links between militant groups and what it says are Islamist extremists operating in Xinjiang, home to the mostly Muslim Uighur people, who speak a Turkic language.

China, a close ally of Pakistan, has been deepening its economic and political ties with Kabul and is also using its influence to try to bring the two uneasy neighbors closer.