U.S.: All Options on Table for Decision on Afghan Military Mission

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U.S.: All Options on Table for Decision on Afghan Military Mission
By: Ayaz Cul - VOA News - 03-08-21
Re: https://www.voanews.com/usa/us-all-o...litary-mission

Photo link: https://im-media.voltron.voanews.com...?itok=xS5thfXt
FILE - U.S. soldiers load onto a Chinook helicopter to head out on a mission in Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2019.

ISLAMABAD - The United States says no decision has been made about its military commitment to Afghanistan after May 1, a deadline for the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops to withdraw from the country in line with a year-old peace pact with the Taliban insurgency.

The comments came in response to reports that Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a letter to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, warned that Ghani’s government may have to deal with a Taliban onslaught on its own if the Afghan leader fails to urgently consider proposals on accelerating U.S.-initiated peace efforts. Proposals reportedly include an international conference under the auspicious of the United Nations to push forward the Afghan peace process.

When contacted by VOA, a State Department spokesperson said, “As a general matter, we do not comment on alleged correspondence with foreign leaders.”

The spokesperson also said, “We have not made any decisions about our force posture in Afghanistan after May 1. All options remain on the table.”

Senior Afghan officials and opposition politicians confirmed that Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the country’s peace council, had received the letter. They said the U.S. peace envoy to the country, Zalmay Khalilzad, discussed and explained the proposed peace plan outlined in the correspondence

Khalilzad reportedly also shared proposals for installing an interim government in Kabul to oversee the peace process.

“The letter was handed over to President Ghani and myself two days before the visit of Khalilzad,” Abdullah said Monday in a nationally televised speech to a ceremony in the Afghan capital.

Speaking to the same event, Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh brushed aside Blinken’s letter, saying his government was not worried about the contents of the document nor would he ever agree to such a peace plan.

“America and NATO have the right to arrange conferences and talk to the Taliban about their troops in Afghanistan, but it is our right too not to make a deal based on others’ timetable and compromise on the destiny of 35 million Afghans,” Saleh said.

2nd photo link: https://im-media.voltron.voanews.com...?itok=0gnYpXRS
FILE - British soldiers with the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission arrive at the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 6, 2020.

During his meetings with Afghan government officials, politicians and civil society leaders in Kabul, Khalilzad also discussed the formation of an interim government for overseeing the peace process.

Ghani strongly opposed the idea while addressing the Afghan parliament on Saturday, saying any transfer of power must come through elections and he was ready to discuss hold fresh elections under the country’s constitution.

Blinken wrote to Ghani that the U.S. would ask the U.N. to “convene foreign ministers and envoys from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India, and the United States to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan.”

He also said Washington would ask Turkey to host a high-level meeting of Afghan stakeholders and the Taliban in the coming weeks to “finalize a peace agreement,” and urged Ghani to send his representatives.

The U.S. is pursuing high-level diplomatic efforts “to move matters more fundamentally and quickly toward a settlement and a permanent and comprehensive cease-fired” in Afghanistan, the letter said.

Blinken concluded his letter by warning that in the event of a U.S. troop drawdown he was concerned “the security situation will worsen and that the Taliban could make rapid territorial gains.”

Peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban insurgents in Qatari capital, Doha, have largely stalled as U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration reviews how to handle the process, including troop withdrawal.

3rd photo link: https://im-media.voltron.voanews.com...?itok=ObmS-1WN
FILE - Members of the Taliban delegation attend the opening session of the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in the Qatari capital Doha, Sept. 12, 2020.

After his meetings in Kabul, Khalilzad traveled to Doha where he shared with Taliban leaders his proposal for an interim Afghan government, a spokesman for the insurgent group told VOA. Mohammad Naeem said the Taliban was studying the proposal and will issue a formal response later.

The U.S. has renewed diplomatic efforts for arranging a peace deal amid concerns the Afghan government and the Taliban are preparing to intensify fighting in the coming spring fighting season.

The U.S.-Taliban deal signed in February 2020 requires all American and roughly 10,000 NATO troops to withdraw from Afghanistan. In return, the Taliban has pledged to cut ties with terrorist groups and find a negotiated settlement the country’s long conflict with Afghan rivals. The insurgents, however, are under fire for allegedly not abandoning terror links or not reducing violence.

VOA’s Cindy Saine contributed to this report.

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Blinken Warns Afghanistan’s Ghani of Dire Consequences Without Urgent Changes
By: Ayesha Tanzeem - VOA News - 03-07-21
Re: https://www.voanews.com/south-centra...urgent-changes

ISLAMABAD - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Afghanistan that it may have to face a Taliban onslaught on its own if President Ashraf Ghani fails to urgently consider proposals on accelerating the peace process.

“I must also make clear to you, Mr. President, that as our policy process continues in Washington, the United States has not ruled out any option. We are considering the full withdrawal of our forces by May 1st, as we consider other options,” the letter said.

Fearing that might lead to a worsening of the security situation and the Taliban making swift territorial gains, Blinken added, “I am making this clear to you so that you understand the urgency of my tone regarding the collective work outlined in this letter.”

A source in Ghani’s office confirmed that the Afghan president had received a letter from Blinken.

The letter, a copy of which VOA has obtained, outlines the intense diplomatic efforts under way over Afghanistan and the expectations from Ghani.

Blinken said the U.S. would ask the United Nations to “convene foreign ministers and envoys from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India, and the United States to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan.” These were the countries, according to the secretary of state, that had to work together for a chance at successfully resolving Afghanistan’s conflict.

He also said the U.S. would ask Turkey to host a high-level meeting of Afghan stakeholders and the Taliban in the coming weeks to “finalize a peace agreement,” and urged Ghani to send his representatives.

The U.S., Blinken said, had prepared a revised proposal for a “90-day Reduction-in-Violence, which is intended to prevent a spring offensive by the Taliban.”

A spring offensive is when the Taliban start their attacks with renewed energy after a lull or a reduction forced by the harsh winter months in Afghanistan’s mostly rugged terrain.

The reduction in violence is a top demand of the Afghan government and the international community, which says the Taliban kept the levels unacceptably high despite a February 2020 deal with the U.S.

In return, Blinken asked Ghani to show “the urgent leadership that President Biden and I ask of you in the coming weeks” by working with political rivals and others to create a united front that Afghans regard as “inclusive and credible.

“[D]isunity on the part of Afghan leaders proved disastrous in the early 1990s,” Blinken told Ghani.

The letter asked Ghani to “develop constructive positions” on proposals the U.S. envoy on Afghanistan peace, Zalmay Khalilzad, brought with him to the region last week in an effort to jumpstart the flailing peace process

The proposals included the formation of a “’transitional Peace Government of Afghanistan” that would eventually transfer power to a permanent government “following the adoption of a new constitution and national elections.” Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem told VOA that Khalilzad shared with them the proposal and said Taliban leaders will study it before a formal response is issued.

“I suspect this letter could worsen relations between Ghani and the Biden administration, given that the letter makes clear that the U.S. is prepared to take steps to help put together a new Afghan government, something that Ghani has rejected because it likely wouldn’t include him,” said Michael Kugelman, the deputy director for the Asia program at the Washington-based Wilson Center, a policy forum group.

The idea of a transitional setup has been floating around in various forms since before the Afghan presidential elections of 2019, but Ghani has always bristled at the suggestion.

Soon after Khalilzad left Kabul for Doha, Qatar, to meet the Taliban, Ghani seemed to publicly reject the proposal.

“[F]ree, fair, and inclusive elections under the auspices of the international community” should be the only way to form a new government, Ghani said Saturday while inaugurating the third year of the 17th legislative term of the Afghan National Assembly.

Without naming Khalilzad, Ghani also dismissed what he said was a dream written on sheets of paper.

“These papers were written in the past, are written now, and will be written in the future,” he said. “Our constitution is our national document. We do not need other documents.”

The Taliban reject the Afghan constitution. Changes to it are expected to be on the agenda during negotiations between the insurgents and government.

Ghani’s political rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who chairs the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), said all proposals should be discussed.

The proposals are in a document titled “Afghanistan Peace Agreement,” a copy of which VOA has obtained. It suggests a three-part approach including agreement on the guiding principles for a future constitution, terms for governing the country during the transition period, and terms for a comprehensive cease-fire between the warring factions.

The document suggests setting up a new High Council for Islamic Jurisprudence to advise and provide religious guidance to local and national governments and the judiciary.

It also tries to ensure protection of women’s rights and freedom of speech along with other civil liberties, suggests a nonaligned foreign policy for Afghanistan, and recommends setting up a 21-member commission, including 10 representatives of the Taliban, to work on the new constitution.

The proposed agreement demands both sides “immediately announce and implement an end to all military and offensive operations and hostile activities against the other.”

A cease-fire has been a longstanding demand of the Afghan government, but the Taliban have always resisted.

People like former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, (SRAP) Richard Olson, say that is because “the only leverage they have is the use of violence,” referring to the Taliban. “They are dreadfully unpopular politically,” he said.

The cease-fire terms also demand that the Taliban “remove their military structures and offices from neighboring countries, and they agree to end military relations with foreign countries.”

Top U.S. and Afghan officials have repeatedly alleged that top Taliban leadership lives in Pakistan. U.S. officials have occasionally also accused Iran and Russia of helping the Taliban. The three countries deny the allegations.

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Personally I don't really know why we are still there? Is it oil or what? Why are we still in that hell hole after all these years? Peace Talks - we've had them over and over and yet just when you think all is going to end - its starts all over again. Is it really in our best interest to stay there or is there something I'm overlooking?
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