Pompeo Says Trump Wants To ‘Reduce’ Foreign Forces In Afghanistan By November 2020

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Mike Pompeo

Mike Pompeo

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 29, 2019

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says President Donald Trump wants combat forces of the United States and its allies reduced in Afghanistan before the next U.S. presidential election in November 2020.

Pompeo made the remarks on July 29 during a talk on foreign policy hosted by the economic Club of Washington, D.C. — a nonprofit organization based in the U.S. capital.

Asked whether he expects the United States to reduce troops in Afghanistan before the next U.S. presidential election, Pompeo said: “That’s my directive from the president of the United States.”

“He’s been unambiguous: end the endless wars, draw down, reduce. It won’t just be us,” Pompeo said about Trump’s directive. “We hope that overall the need for combat forces in the region is reduced.”

Trump’s South Asia strategy, unveiled in August 2017, calls for an open-ended deployment of U.S. forces with the goal of compelling the Taliban to negotiate a peace deal with Afghanistan’s internationally backed government.

Pompeo said there had been “real progress” at peace talks with the Taliban.

“I try not to do timelines, but I am optimistic,” he said. “We are not just negotiating with the Taliban — that is the [media] story. The truth of the matter is we are talking to all Afghans.”

Pompeo’s remarks are expected to add to speculation that Trump is prepared to strike any deal with Taliban militants that will allow for at least a partial U.S. withdrawal before November 2020, irrespective of the concerns of Afghanistan’s government.

His comments come at a sensitive time as U.S. envoys are preparing to meet this week for another round talks with Taliban negotiators in Qatar.

Critics say disclosing Trump’s goals of withdrawing forces could weaken the U.S. negotiating position if the Taliban think Trump wants to withdraw, regardless of the outlines of a peace deal.

On July 26, the U.S. State Department said Pompeo and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani agreed in a phone call to “accelerate efforts” to end the war, and that the United States remains committed to a conditions-based troop reduction in Afghanistan.

Pompeo said Washington wants Afghans “to take their country back” and to “reduce what is, for us, tens of billions of dollars a year in expenditures” in Afghanistan.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Uzbekistan Focused on Developing Trade with Afghanistan

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uzbekistanThe Diplomat: Tashkent is set to become a dominant trade partner to Afghanistan as the two sides continue to negotiate on major projects. Uzbekistan has focused on fostering trade relations both globally and regionally. Tashkent has chased and negotiated various trade opportunities, and one country that stands out is Afghanistan. Click here to read more (external link).

Pakistan PM Khan may soon visit Afghanistan

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Imran Khan

Imran Khan

1TV: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan may soon visit Afghanistan in an effort to help the peace process , a Pakistani newspaper has said. Khan’s close aides told The Nation that he had promised to play a ‘more positive’ role in the Afghan peace process during his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington. Click here to read more (external link).

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Taliban Says ‘No Agreement’ On Direct Talks With Afghan Government

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Sohail Shaheen

Sohail Shaheen

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
July 28, 2019

The Taliban has rejected a statement from a senior Afghan minister who said he hoped direct talks would begin within two weeks between the militant group and the government in Kabul.

Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Qatar, said on July 28 that negotiations with the government will only come after an agreement has been reach with the United States on the departure of foreign forces from Afghanistan.

Another Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said there had been “no agreement” on a meeting between government officials and the insurgent group.

Once the insurgents reach a deal with the United States, the Taliban would be open to intra-Afghan talks, Mujahid said, insisting that any government representatives would have to participate in a personal capacity.

The comments come the day after Abdul Salam Rahimi, Afghanistan’s state minister for peace affairs, told reporters that a 15-member Afghan government delegation was “preparing for direct talks” with the Taliban.

“We are working with all sides and hope that in the next two weeks the first meeting will take place in a European country,” Rahimi said, as U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad was continuing a visit to Kabul.

Khalilzad is expected to return to Qatar during the next week for an eighth round of direct talks between U.S. officials and Taliban negotiators to end the nearly 18-year war in Afghanistan.

Two Taliban officials told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity on July 28 that the group’s negotiating team will include five more officials, rising to 19 the number of Taliban negotiators.

Both Washington and the Taliban have said recently that they were making progress toward reaching a peace deal, which would require direct talks between the Taliban and representatives of Afghanistan’s government.

The Taliban so far has refused to speak to President Ashraf Ghani’s government in any official capacity, saying it is illegitimate and is a puppet of foreign states.

On July 28, Ghani marked the official start of Afghanistan’s presidential election campaign by insisting that “peace is coming” and that negotiations with the Taliban “will take place.”

Ghani was speaking at a rally in Kabul marking the start of two months of campaigning, a day after he dissolved Afghanistan’s High Peace Council. The body had been appointed by the president and previously had been meant to lead Kabul’s peace efforts with the Taliban.

Ghani, who is facing 17 other candidates, hopes to score a second term at the delayed presidential election, now set for September 28.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Afghan President’s Running Mate Wounded By Bomb Attack On His Office

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Saleh-injured

Saleh

By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
July 28, 2018

KABUL — A bomb has targeted the Kabul office of President Ashraf Ghani’s running mate, Amrullah Saleh — wounding the vice presidential candidate on the first day of campaigning for Afghanistan’s September 28 presidential election.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said two people were killed and at least 25 civilians were injured by the blast on a road near the private Ghalib University.

Afghanistan’s Health Ministry said one of the dead civilians was a woman.

Rahimi told RFE/RL that gunmen stormed the building of Saleh’s Green Trends Movement after the blast and were engaged in a battle with Afghan security forces.

He said at least one of the attackers had been killed but two others were still battling Afghan forces in the early evening.

Rahimi said Saleh was wounded by shrapnel from the bomb but had been safely evacuated amid the ongoing battle.

Photographs shared on Twitter by Rahmatullah Nabil, a former Afghan intelligence chief who also is a candidate for the presidency, and Tamim Asey, a former Afghan deputy defense minister, show Saleh sitting in a garden with blood stains on his right arm. He was surrounded by security guards.

Saleh is an outspoken and uncompromising opponent of the Taliban and other hard-line Islamist militant groups.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came just hours after Ghani marked the official start of Afghanistan’s two-month presidential election campaign by insisting that “peace is coming” and that negotiations with the Taliban “will take place.”

Ghani made the remarks at a rally in Kabul on July 28. He is facing 17 other candidates and hopes to secure a second term by winning the delayed presidential election.

Earlier on July 28, the Taliban rejected a statement from a senior Afghan minister who said he hopes direct talks would begin within two weeks between the militant group and the government in Kabul.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Afghan Presidential Campaign Kicks Off Amid Doubts Whether Polls Will Go Ahead

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ballot_boxAyaz Gul
VOA News
July 28, 2019

ISLAMABAD – The campaign to elect Afghanistan’s new president started Sunday amid fear of foul play, insecurity and doubts whether the vote — set for September 28 —  will actually take place.

Eighteen candidates, including incumbent President Ashraf Ghani and his governing partner, chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, have embarked on a two-month campaign.

Key rival candidates, including Abdullah, have accused the president of using government resources for the electoral campaign. Several contenders have also expressed lack of confidence in the election process,

Election officials, however, have vowed to ensure a transparent and safe election, even though half of the Afghan territory is controlled or hotly contested by the Taliban insurgency.

The September presidential ballot is the fourth held in since the United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan and ousted the Taliban regime in late 2001.

Ghani and Abdullah were among the candidates who addressed their campaign rallies Sunday, with both promising to put the country on the path of stability and economic development.

Both the leaders, however, have faced sever criticism for failing to deliver on commitments under the current coalition government mainly due to simmering internal political rifts between the two over governance-related matters.

Ghani said in his speech Sunday he will push his peace efforts with the Taliban if he won another five-year term to end the bloodshed in Afghanistan.

“Peace is around the corner and negotiations will begin. Those negotiations will be serious and legitimate,” Ghani insisted.

But the Taliban insurgency refuses to engage in any reconciliation process with Ghani and his administration, denouncing them as illegitimate and “American puppets.”

US-Taliban peace talks

The lingering election-related uncertainty stems from peace negotiations the United States is holding with the Taliban in a bid to end the 18-year-old Afghan war between the two adversaries and prepare the way for intra-Afghan peace talks.

American and Taliban negotiators are said to be on the verge of announcing a final agreement after nearly a year-long dialogue. Such an eventually, it is widely perceived, would mean the election will be overseen by transitional government in Kabul, where the Taliban will also have a say.

Some presidential candidates have supported a deadline to allow the peace process take root. But in his speech Sunday, President Ghani rejected any compromise on the elections, saying they will go ahead as planned.

The election campaign started a day after the Afghan government announced direct talks with the Taliban will begin in the next two weeks. But the insurgent group swiftly rejected the claims, raising questions about the motives of Ghani’s administration as some critics said Saturday’s official announcement was aimed at subverting the U.S.-led peace process.

A spokesman for the Taliban’s negotiating team, Suhail Shaheen, while talking to VOA, stressed again that only if an agreement is reached with Washington on a U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the insurgent group would negotiate peace with Afghans, where Kabul would have its representation but not as a government.

U.S. chief negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, also issued a clarification late Saturday, backing the insurgent assertions, saying direct Afghan-to-Afghan negotiations will happen after a U.S.-Taliban agreement is concluded.

“They [intra-Afghan negotiations] will take place between the Taliban and an inclusive and effective national negotiating team consisting of senior government officials, key political party representatives, civil society and women,” Khalilzad tweeted.

The Afghan-born American envoy’s statement just before the election campaign was to be launched, critics said, dealt a political blow to Ghani.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month Washington hopes an Afghan peace deal would be reached by September 1.

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