US wants Afghanistan’s wealth, strategic position: Analyst
Press TV
November 20, 2018
The United States has no plans to end the war in Afghanistan despite knowing full well that there is no military solution to the ongoing conflict in the country, says an American political commentator, arguing that America’s interests in the Asian country far outweigh the costs of war.
Stephen Lendman, a Chicago-based author and radio host, made the remarks while discussing remarks by General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who admitted that the Taliban “are not losing” in Afghanistan.
Speaking during a discussion at a security forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Sunday, the top US military officer said much more needed to be done to bring peace to the war-torn country 17 years into the longest war in American history.
Dunford admitted “what has been well known for so many years; that the war in Afghanistan is something America can never win, no matter how long they fight it,” Lendman told Press TV on Tuesday.
Lendman said the war was part of a regional plot by the CIA and the Mossad to steal Afghanistan’s vast mineral resources
While the US Department of Defense’s estimates have put Afghanistan’s untapped wealth of gold, copper, uranium and other rare-earth minerals at well around $1 trillion, Afghan officials’ latest geological studies hint at figures three times larger.
The number can probably explain Washington’s willingness to continue the war in Afghanistan, which has dragged on for 16 years and has cost the US economy more than $714 billion dollars, according to the Pentagon’s Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) July report.
The second longest war in the US history has also killed over 2,000 American soldiers and injured 20,000 more.
“That’s certainly something for America to wage war over, so the idea is that America wants to be controlling these resources,” he added.
Afghanistan’s strategic importance for the US was another reason that the war has continued for so long, Lendman argued.
“It’s a land-based aircraft carrier targeting Russia, targeting Iran” and other neighboring countries such as Pakistan, he further argued.
Noting that Washington had failed to weaken the Taliban over the years, Lendman predicted that the militant group could continue the war for another 18 years.
The US government’s overseer for the military push in Afghanistan warned in a report earlier this month that the Taliban had cemented their position by taking control over larger chunks of the country while the Afghan government had seen its control shrink to about 56 percent of the land — down from 72 percent in 2015.
Suicide Blast At Kabul Religious Gathering Kills At Least 40
By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
November 20, 2018
A suicide bombing at a large gathering of Afghan religious clerics in Kabul has killed at least 40 people, officials says.
Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Majrooh told RFE/RL that another 60 people were wounded in the November 20 blast, which targeted a gathering at a wedding hall to mark the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.
The explosion was caused by a suicide bomber, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish.
He said the number of dead and wounded was “more than 50” so far.
A manager of the hotel where the blast occurred told the AFP news agency that a suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of the gathering.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, one of the deadliest attacks to strike the Afghan capital in months.
The Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) militant groups have targeted Muslim religious scholars aligned with the Afghan government in the past.
Afghan security forces have struggled to counter attacks from the two groups since the withdrawal of most NATO combat troops in 2014. The remaining Western forces mainly train and advise the Afghan military, although some are still occasionally caught in firefights.
A local affiliate of the IS group claimed a suicide bombing in June that targeted a meeting of the country’s top religious body in the capital. That attack killed at least seven people, including several clerics.
The Afghan Ulema Council had issued a religious order, or fatwa, declaring suicide attacks forbidden, or “haram,” under the principles of Islam.
With reporting by AFP
Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Pakistan Takes Rare Credit for Helping US Kill al-Qaida Leader
Osama bin Laden
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
November 20, 2018
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan summoned Tuesday the top U.S. diplomat in the country to formally protest President Donald Trump’s allegations that Islamabad had sheltered al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, despite receiving billions of dollars in U.S. assistance.
Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua told American charge d’affairs Paul Jones that Trump’s “baseless rhetoric” and unsubstantiated allegations were “totally unacceptable” for her country, according to a foreign ministry statement issued after the meeting.
“Rejecting the insinuations about OBL (Osama bin Laden), Foreign Secretary (Janjua) reminded the U.S. CdA (charge d’affairs) that it was Pakistan’s intelligence cooperation that provided the initial evidence to trace the whereabouts of OBL,” the statement noted.
This is the first time Pakistan has publicly admitted it had played a role in helping the U.S. locate and kill bin Laden in 2011 during a night helicopter raid on his hideout not far from the country’s prime military training academy in Abbottabad.
Until now, Pakistani leaders have insisted state security institutions were unaware of bin Laden’s presence in the country and complained Washington conducted the unilateral raid without informing Islamabad.
Janjua stopped short of warning Trump’s tirade against Pakistan would undermine bilateral working with the U.S. in coordination with regional stakeholders to seek a politically negotiated end to the prolonged conflict in Afghanistan.
“At this critical juncture, baseless allegations about a closed chapter of history could seriously undermine this vital cooperation,” she said.
Afghan peace process
The United States has recently opened direct talks with Taliban officials based in Qatar to try to begin an Afghan peace process. Washington has acknowledged Islamabad’s cooperation in furthering the nascent dialogue process with the insurgents whose leaders are allegedly using Pakistani territory for planning attacks on the Afghan side of the border, charges Pakistani officials deny.
Foreign Secretary Janjua recounted her country’s unprecedented human and economic losses while fighting the U.S.-led “war on terror” as a partner nation. She noted U.S. leaders repeatedly acknowledged Islamabad’s cooperation helped in “decimating” the al-Qaida network in the region.
“Pakistan’s continued support to the efforts of international community in Afghanistan through Ground/Air and Sea lines of communication was unquestionably critical to the success of this Mission in Afghanistan,” Janjua noted.
Pakistani military chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa also defended his country’s successes against terrorism, saying it has done “much more” for peace in Afghanistan than any other country.
“We have paid the highest military, economic, political and social cost and the world should acknowledge that. We shall continue to contribute towards peace in Afghanistan but Pakistan’s honor and Pakistan’s security shall always stay premier,” an army statement Monday quoted Bajwa as saying.
The United States and NATO continue to heavily rely on Pakistani land and air routes for sending supplies to their troops in landlocked Afghanistan.
Pakistan slams Trump
In an interview with Fox News and subsequent tweets on Monday, Trump asserted that “everybody in Pakistan” knew bin Laden was hiding in the country, but they withheld the information from the United States, despite receiving $1.3 billion a year in aid.
Trump’s tirade angered Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan who slammed the American leader for making “false assertions”.
Khan noted that Pakistan has suffered 75,000 casualties since joining the “war on terror” and incurred economic losses of more than $123 billion. He added that “U.S. “aid” was what he called a “minuscule” $20 billion.
The traditionally uneasy relations between Pakistan and the U.S. have deteriorated particularly since August 2017, when President Trump announced his South Asia strategy to tackle the resurgent Afghan Taliban. He directly accused Pakistan at the time of sheltering Taliban and other militants involved in deadly cross-border attacks against U.S. troops.
Islamabad swiftly rejected the accusations as politically motivated and stemming from Afghan battlefield setbacks.
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Taliban: No deal reached with US in Qatar on deadline to end Afghan war
Khalilzad
Press TV
November 19,2018
The Taliban militant group says it has failed to reach any agreement with the United States after three days of talks in Qatar, citing dissatisfaction with a deadline set by Washington’s Afghanistan envoy to end the war.
The Taliban leaders met US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad at their political headquarters in Qatar last week for the second time in the past month, said the militant group’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid on Monday.
“These were preliminary talks and no agreement was reached on any issue,” Mujahid added.
The statement came a day after Khalilzad said he was hoping to cut a peace deal with the Taliban by April 20, 2019, the date set for presidential elections in Afghanistan.
The militant group, however, said they had not accepted any deadline set by Washington.
Another senior member of the Taliban said Khalilzad’s strategy to declare a deadline showed how desperate Washington was to withdraw foreign forces from Afghanistan.
“Taliban leaders have not agreed to any deadline because we are winning on all fronts,” he claimed.
The Taliban also warned the US against sending mixed messages that could muddle the peace process. The group was apparently referring to an earlier statement by Khalilzad that said the Taliban believe they will “not win militarily.”
“We were astonished to see Khalilzad’s statement in Kabul on Sunday. He wrongly quoted us, saying that the Taliban admitted that militarily we would not succeed,” said a senior Taliban member in Afghanistan.
The United States appointed Khalilzad, its former ambassador to Iraq and Afghanistan, in September to lead the reconciliation efforts with the Taliban.
Khalilzad has since been traveling to the region for discussions with the national government and the Taliban, trying to renew the peace talks.
Two senior US officials also confirmed that the second round of talks ended last week, and that the Taliban expected Khalilzad to visit Qatar for a meeting before the end of 2018.
“The second round of talks went on for three days. This clearly proves that both sides are exercising patience and caution during their diplomatic engagement,” a US official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The group’s five-year rule over at least three quarters of Afghanistan came to an end following the 2001 US-led invasion, but 17 years on, Washington — having failed to end Taliban’s militancy campaign – is seeking truce with the militants.
The Taliban have strengthened their grip over the past three years, with the government in Kabul controlling just 56 percent of the country, down from 72 percent in 2015, a US government report showed this month.
The Taliban issued a statement earlier this month, demanding the lifting of sanctions against its leaders; the release of prisoners and the recognition of their office in Qatar.
Kabul, however, is strongly opposed to any recognition of the Qatar office, which was established at the request of Washington in 2013 to “facilitate peace talks.”
Diplomats and political analysts in Kabul have urged Khalilzad to include Afghan politicians and officials from neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Iran in the process before a third round of talks.
“Khalilzad’s hasty approach could lead to an epic disaster,” Reuters cited a Western diplomat in Kabul as saying. “The Taliban would trust him only if he did not speak on their behalf.”
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Khan Slams Trump’s Denunciation of Pakistan’s Anti-Terror Efforts
Imran Khan
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
November 19, 2018
ISLAMABAD — Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan sharply criticized President Donald Trump Monday for questioning Pakistan’s anti-terror efforts, saying Washington is making Islamabad “a scapegoat” for U.S. “failures” in Afghanistan.
In an interview that aired Sunday on the U.S. network Fox News, Trump defended his decision to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Pakistan, saying the country doesn’t “do a damn thing for us.”
The president went on to accuse Pakistan of sheltering al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden before he was tracked and killed by U.S. Special Forces in 2011 during a unilateral daring night helicopter raid deep inside the country.
Khan rejected Trump’s tirade against his country in a series of tweets, saying Pakistan participated in the U.S. “war on terror” even though no Pakistani was involved in the September 2001 attacks on America that prompted the military invasion of Afghanistan.
Khan noted that Pakistan has since suffered 75,000 casualties in the war and suffered economic losses to of more than $123 billion. He added that “U.S. “aid” was what he called a “minuscule” $20 billion.
“The war drastically impacted lives of ordinary Pakistanis. Pak continues to provide free lines of ground & air communications (GLOCs/ALOCs). Can Mr Trump name another ally that gave such sacrifices?,” asked Prime Minister Khan.
The United States and NATO continue to heavily rely on Pakistani land and air routes for sending supplies to their troops in landlocked Afghanistan.
Khan went on to say his country’s military operations to secure the border with Afghanistan in support of the U.S.-led coalition have devastated Pakistani tribal areas near the frontier and uprooted millions of people from their homes.
“Instead of making Pakistan a scapegoat for their failures, the U.S. should do a serious assessment of why, despite 140000 NATO troops plus 250,000 Afghan troops and reportedly $1 trillion spent on war in Afghanistan, the Taliban today are stronger than before,” said the Pakistani leader.
“Trump’s false assertions add insult to the injury” Pakistan has suffered in U.S.-led war on terror “in terms of lives lost & destabilised & economic costs.” Khan said in another tweet, adding that Trump “needs to be informed” about historical facts and that now Islamabad “will do what is best for our people & our interests.”
A traditionally uneasy relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. has deteriorated particularly since August 2017, when President Trump announced his South Asia strategy to tackle the resurgent Afghan Taliban. He directly accused Pakistan at the time of sheltering Taliban and other militants involved in deadly cross-border attacks against U.S. troops.
Islamabad swiftly rejected the accusations as politically motivated and stemming from Afghan battlefield setbacks.
This past January, the U.S. president said that around one billion dollars in military assistance would be suspended until Islamabad improved its counterterrorism record.
Pakistan maintains the money is not assistance but reimbursements for counterterrorism operations its troops conduct to secure the Afghan border in support of coalition actions on the other side.
Govt Rejects Reports of Proposed Interim Administration in Kabul
Ariana: The Afghan government on Monday rejected the reports about the proposed interim administration in Kabul as part of the peace efforts with the Taliban armed group. President Ghani’s office Spokesman Mohammad Haroon Chakhansoori said that the government is committed for the April 2019 presidential elections and that rumors about the formation of a new interim government in Kabul or delay in coming elections are “baseless”. Click here to read more (external link).
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1TV Afghanistan Dari News – November 19, 2018
Trump to visit Afghanistan
Donald Trump
1TV: US President Donald Trump will visit Afghanistan, which will be his first after taking office nearly two years ago. Trump revealed this in an interview with Fox News after being asked why he hasn’t visited US troops serving in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).
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