Tag: Taliban

The talks, which Mr. Karzai and the other politicians say could build trust and clarify how the Taliban see their future political role, come at a delicate time. Besides Mr. Karzai, who made no real progress on peace talks with the Taliban during his 13-year presidency, the Afghan delegation includes about three dozen former officials, representatives of political parties and members of Parliament. Both sides said they had agreed, in principle, to a framework on two issues: a Taliban guarantee that Afghan soil would never again be used by terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, and a pledge from the United States to withdraw its troops. The insurgents have refused to meet with anyone from Mr. Ghani’s administration, instead reaching out to other political figures and parties. Many Afghans are concerned that the Americans might be too eager to strike a deal, given that the Taliban have not clarified their views on fundamental issues — including the future of Afghan women, who were denied rights and a role in public life when the Taliban held power before the American invasion in 2001. In a statement released before the Moscow meeting, a group of Afghan women objected to the domination of the peace process so far by men and by non-Afghans. They said Afghan women had been marginalized in talks about a future in which they had more to lose than anyone. “Afghan women would not accept peace bought at the cost of their hard-gained freedoms,” the statement said. “Which Afghan will accept that the resources of the forces, built on blood, will again be sold as scrap metal?” Ostensibly, the talks in Moscow are being organized by an Afghan diaspora group. While Russia supported the American mission against Al Qaeda and the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks, in recent years President Vladimir Putin’s government has grown more skeptical and hedged its bets by supporting elements of the Taliban.

Rep. Jim Banks details the hearing process for Maj. Matthew Golsteyn who's now being charged with murdering a suspected Taliban bomb maker in 2010. #AmericasNewsroom #FoxNews FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking…

Five Gitmo detainees who were freed in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl have joined the Taliban's political office in Qatar; reaction from Lt. Col. Michael Waltz, a former Green Beret commander who led search missions to find Bergdahl in Afghanistan.…

Image Good Friday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today: • Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, is close to a plea deal with federal prosecutors, people familiar with the case said. [Read the story] • Safiya Wazir, 27, who fled the Taliban in Afghanistan with her family in 1997, won an upset victory in a Democratic primary for New Hampshire state representative. [Read the story] • Dianne Feinstein, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said she had referred an unspecified matter involving Judge Brett Kavanaugh to federal investigators. [Read the story] • Brock Long, the FEMA chief, has been forced to divert attention amid Hurricane Florence preparations to personal damage control over an investigation into his possible misuse of agency vehicles. [Read the story] • The National Labor Relations Board is set to publish a proposed rule redefining a company’s responsibility for workers engaged at arm’s length, such as those hired by contractors or franchisees. [Read the story] • Economists say relatively modest gains over the last few years are endangered by the Trump administration’s policies and are vulnerable to a downturn. [Read the story] • Mark Zuckerberg published a roughly 3,300-word blog post cataloging steps that Facebook has taken to prevent election interference. [Read the story] • Companies and business groups are mounting a last-ditch effort to convince Mr. Trump that his trade policies are hurting his base. [Read the story] Today’s On Politics briefing was compiled by Emily Baumgaertner in Washington.

In the last half of last year, U.S. armed forces under President Donald Trump’s direction launched 2,000 air strikes against Taliban targets in Afghanistan. That is, if one’s goal is to win the war. In fact, even the increased U.S. bombing campaign has so far failed to shrink Taliban positions. One would also assume that defeating the Taliban is the purpose of said longest-ever U.S. war, now being waged for the 17th year by U.S. forces . Second, it may force the Taliban to the negotiating table and a deal creating a joint power arrangement between the Taliban and the ephemeral Afghan government. We are now spending ‘blood and treasure’ to force the wicked government we somewhat successfully sought to remove from power to come on back and re-take a measure of political control. “The new strategy presupposes that U.S. and Afghan forces can pound the Taliban so hard that it has no choice but to relinquish its war against the Afghan government and instead join it in some sort of power-sharing agreement,” explains the Post, adding that one American general acknowledged “the Taliban could even be given control of entire provinces in such an agreement.” Hmm. “We should leave Afghanistan immediately. We cannot build a sparkling, new, self-sufficient, freedom-loving Afghan society. If a resurgent Taliban government were to again threaten the USA, that could be addressed, as Trump put it, “hard & quick.” It is a far more realistic policy, destined to be cheaper in lives and treasure, than nation-building decade after decade — and bombing an enemy you are hoping to turn into a partner in a future Afghan government.