"...[Afghan gov't says] cease-fire would be the delegation’s top priority. The Taliban, who have used attacks against security forces and civilians as leverage, seek instead to negotiate a form of governance based on strict Islamic law before discussing any cease-fire."
"...the Taliban have been more aggressive in their assaults than the government, whose troops tend to stay on bases and at checkpoints, responding to persistent attacks."
"Both sides are also waiting to see whether President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. will honor the troop withdrawal schedule or, conceivably, move to renegotiate the entire deal."
"If Mr. Biden decides to leave a residual American military counterterrorism force in Afghanistan after May 2021, as some American lawmakers are proposing, [@Afghan_Policy] said, “the Taliban have made it clear that would nullify the entire agreement.”"
"Mr. Agha, the former Taliban leader, said little progress was likely [in next round] unless an impartial mediator emerged who could break down the lack of trust in Doha. “If not,” he said, “I don’t think the next round of talks will end with a positive result.”"
""Some analysts fear an even more ominous outcome. [@TorekFarhadi], a former Afghan government adviser, said, “One thing is clear — without a settlement, we are headed for a civil war.”"
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In this 2019 podcast with former ambassadors Deborah McCarthy and Richard Olson, Secretary Defense nominee @LloydAustin discusses US policy towards Pakistan during his stint as CENTCOM chief from 2013 to 2016. Some highlights: 1/n generalambassadorpodcast.org/035
Austin says Pakistan "will remain strategically important" to the US.
Austin talks about his relationship with Pakistan's army chiefs in his time: Kayani and Raheel Sharif.
Senior al-Qaida leader Husam Abd-Al Rauf — referred here as Mohsin al Masri — seems to have been killed by Afghan intelligence in Ghazni province. He had been in the region for a while including Waziristan circa 2005-2014 and there was no news of his targeting or leaving Af-Pak.
I speculated in (footnote of) @MiddleEastInst report that Rauf might still be in Afghanistan: mei.edu/publications/a…. He was on FBI wanted list: fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_…. He was a feature in al-Qaida media; as early as 05, wrote in Vanguards of Khorasan & released video in 2019.
Too bad he wasn’t captured alive — that could have provided more visibility into al-Qaida’s presence in and strategy for the region, and status of Zawahiri. Maybe they have picked up other documents etc from site of the raid?
Great story by @wesleysmorgan: "the U.S. military has been quietly helping the Taliban to weaken the Islamic State...Remarkably, it can do so without needing to communicate with the Taliban, by observing battle conditions and listening in on the group." washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/1…
"...inside JSOC, the team working on this mission is jokingly known as the “Taliban Air Force,” one task force member told me."
"As negotiators closed in on their deal in Doha, officers repurposed tools honed against the Taliban: Reaper drones and an intelligence complex with nearly two decades of practice spying on Afghan guerrillas."
Trump is thinking troops withdrawals from Afghanistan & Somalia. One proposal seems to be to shift Somalia strategy from a broad targeting + train-&-advise campaign to the Idlib model--limited to targeting of int'l terror cells in Shabab. nytimes.com/2020/10/15/us/…
"White House convened a small interagency meeting of senior officials late last week to discuss Mr. Trump’s demand for more drastic troop withdrawal options [from Afghanistan and Somalia?], according to three officials..."
On Somalia: "One idea now under consideration would involve removing most or all ground troops from the country...ending strikes aimed at combating or degrading the Shabab, Al Qaeda’s largest and most active global affiliate."
Trump will make a major speech in which he will announce an "additional decrease" in troops in Afghanistan. nbcnews.com/politics/2020-…
Also has details on Trump's tussle with military advisers on troop reduction: "During a recent White House meeting the issue came up again, officials said, and Trump pushed for bringing home all American forces. But military advisers...argued in favor of keeping...residual force"
"Growing increasingly frustrated at the pushback, Trump made his views known on Twitter. "We should have the small remaining number...home by Christmas!"...Trump's public declaration was intended "to light a fire under the commanders," a senior administration official said."
What are the main issues in the US-Pak relationship these days? Today, US ambassador-nominate for Pakistan William Todd detailed them in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Some highlights from his testimony. 1/n foreign.senate.gov/hearings/nomin…
His summary of where US relationship with Pakistan stands: "...this is a longstanding and important, but always complicated and sometimes contentious relationship. We certainly have our differences, but Pakistan is an essential regional partner..."
Issue #1 is Afghanistan: "Pakistan played a critical role in creating the conditions that brought Afghan leaders and the Taliban to the historic start of Afghan Peace Negotiations. They have an even more important role to play in supporting efforts..."