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Reuters

US President Donald Trump met with top advisers on Friday to review negotiations with the Taliban on a US troop pull-out from Afghanistan and the potential for a political settlement between the warring sides.
“The meeting went very well, and negotiations are proceeding,” the White House said in a statement.
Trump, who is on a working holiday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, received an afternoon briefing from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other advisers on the talks, which have been handled by Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad.
US Vice-President Mike Pence and White House national security adviser John Bolton were among the attendees, an official said.

A US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said significant differences remained between the United States and the Taliban after an eighth round of talks ended in Qatar on Monday.
Some 14,000 US troops remain engaged in America’s longest war, training and advising Afghan security forces and conducting counter-insurgency operations against militant groups such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State’s local affiliate.
The US military presence dates to 2001 when then-President George W. Bush invaded in pursuit of al-Qaeda and ousted the Taliban rulers who had given Osama bin Laden and his followers a safe haven in which they plotted the September 11 attacks.

Just completed a very good meeting on Afghanistan. Many on the opposite side of this 19 year war, and us, are looking to make a deal - if possible!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2019

Trump has been adamant that he would like to withdraw US forces, possibly ahead of the November 2020 election.
A pull-out has raised deep concerns within the US military and among some lawmakers that Afghanistan could plunge into a new civil war that could see a return of Taliban rule and give al-Qaeda and other militants a sanctuary in which to expand and plot new attacks on US and allied targets.
US Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said any deal should allow the United States to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan to pursue such groups.
‘Scary’: Islamic State plots world terror from mountain hideouts
“Any peace agreement which denies the US a robust counterterrorism capability in Afghanistan is not a peace deal,” he said in a statement. “Instead, it is paving the way for another attack on the American homeland and attacks against American interests around the world.”
A senior administration official said a decision was not necessarily expected from the Bedminster meeting but Trump “has been pretty clear that he wants to bring the troops home”.
Both sides had raised expectations of being close to finalising an agreement before convening the latest round of talks.

The US defence official, however, said differences remained over US demands that the insurgents publicly renounce ties to al-Qaeda and other militant groups and agree to a nationwide ceasefire, the official said.
Khalilzad also is seeking the Taliban’s agreement to hold direct negotiations on a political settlement with Kabul government officials who would be part of a delegation that included opposition leaders and civil society representatives.
Taliban leaders to date have refused to hold official talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government, which they denounce as a US puppet.


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Afghanistan

Donald Trump meets top advisers on Afghanistan peace plan

Afghan policemen stand guard after an explosion near the police headquarters in Kabul on August 7. Photo: AP

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump speaks to the media in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on July 26, 2019. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

FILE PHOTO: U.S. envoy for peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad speaks during a debate at Tolo TV channel in Kabul, Afghanistan April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani/File Photo

At least 35 people killed by roadside Taliban bomb in Afghanistan

An Afghan security official keeps watch at a checkpoint. Photo: EPA

epa07749658 A passenger who were injured when their bus hit a roadside bomb on the Kandahar-Herat highway, receives medical treatment at a hospital in Herat, Afghanistan, 31 July 2019. At least 35 people were killed and 17 others were wounded on 31 July when a mine placed on a national highway in Farah province in western Afghanistan exploded, hitting a passenger bus. EPA-EFE/JALIL REZAYEE

How cricket gave Afghanistan its hope back

Afghanistan’s national cricket team in 2015, led by then captain Mohammad Nabi. Photo: Khaama Press

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani sat in front of T.V. to watch the match between Afghanistan's futsal team and Japan. Photo: Afghanistan's Presidential Palace

Coach Taj Malik Alam with Afghanistan cricketers in a muddy cricket ground in 2003, Kabul. Photo Courtesy Facebook (Taj Malik Alam)

Afghan youths play cricket in a muddy ground on the outskirts of eastern Jalalabad city, Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, where cricket is the most popular game. Photo by Ezzatullah Mehrdad

Afganistan's Mohammad Nabi plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan at the VCA stadium in Nagpur on March 12, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Prashant Bhoot

Afghanistan's Under 20 Futsal Team in June 2019, Asian Championship. Photo courtesy Afghanistan Football Federation

US soldier killed in action in Afghanistan, Nato says

Taliban members patrol in Waghaz district of Ghazni, Afghanistan. Photo: EPA-EFE

News

World

United States & Canada

Middle East


President has been adamant about wanting to pull US troops out of country, possibly ahead of 2020 election
﻿But US military and some lawmakers fear Afghanistan could plunge into new civil war that could see a return of Taliban rule



President has been adamant about wanting to pull US troops out of country, possibly ahead of 2020 election.


Donald Trump

United States

Diplomacy

Donald Trump meets top advisers on Afghanistan peace plan

President has been adamant about wanting to pull US troops out of country, possibly ahead of 2020 election ﻿But US military and some lawmakers fear Afghanistan could plunge into new civil war that could see a return of Taliban rule

President has been adamant about wanting to pull US troops out of country, possibly ahead of 2020 election

But US military and some lawmakers fear Afghanistan could plunge into new civil war that could see a return of Taliban rule