Pentagon draws up plans for quick Afghanistan withdrawal in case Trump blindsides military
Pentagon
NBC News: The Pentagon recently began drawing up plans for an abrupt withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan in case President Donald Trump surprises military leaders by ordering an immediate drawdown as he did in Syria, three current and former defense officials said. The contingency planning is ongoing, the officials said, and includes the possibility that Trump orders all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan within weeks. Officials cautioned, however, that the planning is a precaution and there is currently no directive from the White House to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. One of the officials called it “prudent planning.” Click here to read more (external link).
Ghani’s Finance Minister Requests Big Loans from Foreign Donors
Qayoumi (left) and Ghani (right)
Tolo News: On the sideline of the World Bank’s annual meetings in Washington this week, Afghan Minister of Finance Humayoun Qayoumi reportedly asked for loans worth billions of dollars from several global financial institutions while promoting Afghanistan’s “Self-Reliance Accelerator Package,” sources have told TOLOnews. Lawmakers in Afghanistan’s parliament reacted to the move with dismay… Lawmakers said there are fears of embezzlement in view of the ongoing corruption allegations plaguing government institutions. “They are trying to take money under the guise of reconstruction. But they divide 99 percent of the money with their foreign counterparts and then it is our future generations who have to compensate,” said MP Ramazan Bashardost. Click here to read more (external link).
IEC says main door of data center was opened to help police get warm
1TV: Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission said on Tuesday that the main door of its data center was opened to help two special forces of police get warm. This comes as Abdullah Abdullah’s team has claimed that the data at the digital center were altered in an organized night raid that happened in collusion with President Ashraf Ghani’s team. It specifically said that the raid targeted quarantined biometric devices and urged IEC not to upload data from them. Click here to read more (external link).
Taliban Attack Kills 17 Afghan Policemen
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
October 22, 2019
ISLAMABAD – Officials in northern Afghanistan say Taliban insurgents have stormed a security outpost in Kunduz province, killing at least 17 policemen and injuring several others.
The late night deadly raid in the Ali Abad district of the troubled Kunduz province also killed the police base commander, a district official told VOA Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
Provincial police spokesman Inammudin Rahman, when contacted by VOA, confirmed the Monday night attack but shared no further details.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said its fighters carried out the attack and killed 20 Afghan security forces in the ensuing clashes before overrunning the base.
The insurgent group controls or hotly contests several districts in Kunduz, a strategic crossroads giving easy access to much of northern Afghanistan and the capital, Kabul.
The provincial capital, also named Kunduz, has twice briefly fallen to the Taliban in recent years before Afghan security forces recaptured the city with the support of U.S. military airpower.
US Quietly Reduces Troop Force in Afghanistan by 2,000
A file photo of American soldiers at an unknown location in Afghanistan.
Ayaz Gul
VOA News
October 21, 2019
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – The top American commander in Afghanistan revealed Monday the size of U.S. troop force in the country has quietly been reduced by 2,000 over the last year, insisting remaining military personnel are still capable of reaching their stated objectives.
The revelation by Gen. Austin Scott Miller, means the number of residual U.S. force now stands at roughly 12,000 soldiers. They are tasked with fighting terrorist groups, including al-Qaida and Islamic State, as well as training, advising and assisting Afghan forces battling Taliban insurgents.
“Unbeknownst to the public as part of our optimization, over the last year… we have reduced our authorized strength by 2,000 here,” Miller told a joint news conference with visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper in Kabul.
“So, there is a constant look as a military commander to optimize the force here, and what it’s based on is you understand the risks to the force, risks to the mission, and look at it in terms of capabilities,” Gen Miller said. He was responding to comments Esper made a day earlier that even if the troop size is eventually reduced down to 8,600, it will not undermine the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.
The U.S. defense secretary arrived in the Afghan capital on an unannounced visit Sunday and held talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, and met with U.S. service members.
Esper on Monday dismissed concerns that Washington could be preparing to stage an abrupt pull out from Afghanistan, as many see the U.S. military doing in northeastern Syria.
“We have a long standing commitment to our Afghan partners. We have invested billions upon billions of dollars. Both the Afghan people and the American people have sacrificed treasure and the lives of their soldiers,” Esper noted.
A “virulent terrorist “ threat is still facing the country, he said.
“So, all these things I think should reassure our Afghan allies and others that they should not misinterpret our actions in the recent week or so with regard to Syria and contrast that with Afghanistan,” Esper stressed.
During his visit, the U.S. defense secretary also emphasized that a political agreement was “always the best way forward” with regard to next steps in Afghanistan.
His comments came days after U.S. chief peace negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad informally met with Afghan Taliban leaders in Pakistan, raising hopes the stalled dialogue might eventually resume to bring an end to the 18-year-old Afghan war.
U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly broke off the yearlong dialogue last month, just when the two adversaries had come close to signing a peace deal. He cited an uptick in Taliban attacks and the death of an American solider in a car bombing in Kabul that also killed 11 Afghan civilians.
Just before the collapse of the dialogue with the insurgent group, Khalilzad had said the U.S. was supposed to withdraw more than 5,000 troops from Afghanistan within the first five months of the signing of the draft deal he negotiated with the Taliban.
That would have reduced the size of the U.S. troop force to roughly around 8,600.
The Taliban has repeatedly called for American interlocutors to return to the negotiating table to conclude the agreement, insisting the document is just awaiting signatures from the two sides.
Also Sunday, a group of senior American lawmakers led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a secret grip to the country.
Pelosi’s office said in a statement Sunday her bipartisan delegation met President Ghani, the country’s chief executive Abdullah Abdullah and civil society leaders, as well as U.S. military commanders. The delegation was able to briefly compare notes with Esper and was briefed by U.S. diplomats in Afghanistan on reconciliation efforts with Taliban insurgents.
Trump has in recent days repeatedly underscored the need for ending what he often refers to as America’s “endless” foreign wars. He has made those comments particularly with reference to the Afghan conflict, which entered its 19th year this month.
Some analysts, like Michael Kugelman at the Willson Center in Washington are skeptical on whether U.S. assurances will help ease Afghan concerns.
“Trump’s growing impatience with the war in Afghanistan is a major concern among Afghans, and the U.S. defense secretary’s boilerplate comments about seeking an eventual settlement won’t do much to ease those concerns. There’s well-founded anxiety in Afghanistan that Trump may eventually withdraw before a peace deal is struck,” Kugelman noted.
He says it is no secret that Trump wants to bring U.S. troops home and he has been “unwavering” in his sentiment.
“When he articulates this desire publicly, he not only underscores one of his few consistent positions- and one supported by many Americans – but he also reinforces the leverage enjoyed by the Taliban. President Trump is in a hurry to leave Afghanistan, and the insurgents have the luxury of waiting him out until the day that U.S. soldiers head for the exits,” Kugelman cautioned.
Related
- U.S. Defense Chief Looks To Reassure Afghans That Syria Pullout Is One-Off Move
- US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Meets Top Officials in Afghanistan
1TV Afghanistan Dari News – October 21, 2019
Abdullah’s camp claims police raided election commission’s digital center
Ali Ahmad Osmani
1TV: Abdullah Abdullah’s camp manager claimed on Monday that police special forces conducted a raid on the Independent Election Commission’s digital center last night. Speaking at a press conference, Ali Ahmad Osmani said that the attack was not only an attack on votes for Abdullah’s team but on democracy. Click here to read more (external link).
Afghanistan Participates In Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship
Tolo News: Afghanistan’s National Bowling Team is participating in the 25th Asian Tenpin Bowling Championship, which kicked off on Sunday in the Farwaniya Governorate of Kuwait. A total of 228 athletes from 27 countries will participate in the championship, which goes until October 30. Click here to read more (external link).
Other Sports News
EU sees ‘chance for ceasefire’ in Afghanistan despite spike in violence
Press TV
October 20, 2019
The European Union (EU) says there is a chance for a ceasefire in Afghanistan, despite renewed violence in the country after the collapse of talks between the United States and the Afghan Taliban militant group.
“It’s the right moment and the right opportunity to maybe go one step beyond a simple reduction in violence and explore ways in which a ceasefire… will take place,” Roland Kobia, the EU special envoy for Afghanistan, told journalists in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday.
“The idea is really to see how we can move the ceasefire idea forward instead of leaving it for later… There is an opportunity here today,” he added.
Talks collapsed between the US and Taliban on September 9 after the militant group claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack that killed 12 people, including an American soldier.
The Afghan government was already excluded from the negotiations because the Taliban “do not recognize” the administration in Kabul.
Kobia did not explain how the collapse of those talks now provided an opportunity, though he seemed to signal that the EU could now take the initiative.
The EU official said a ceasefire would help normalize future relations between the European bloc and the Taliban, which he suggested might return to power in “one form or another” within months.
“A ceasefire would be a token, a guarantee of goodwill and good preparation for the normalization of these relationships,” he said.
The Taliban has previously ruled out an immediate ceasefire.
Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper has arrived in Kabul on an unannounced visit.
Esper was due to meet with “key leaders and receive an operational update,” said Fawad Aman, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry.
The US’s chief negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, has met with Taliban members in Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad, raising the possibility that Washington is seeking to resume the talks.
Pakistan has helped facilitate the talks before.
The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan to remove a Taliban regime in 2001. But insecurity has spiked, and US forces have remained bogged down there through the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.