Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

2 days ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

2 days ago

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

2 days ago

US Construction Spending Extends Decline in June

2 days ago

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

2 days ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

3 days ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

3 days ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

3 days ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

4 days ago
Rise in US Deaths in Afghanistan Clouds Outlook for Peace
By admin
Published 7 years ago on
November 28, 2018

Share

WASHINGTON — A rash of American combat deaths in Afghanistan is putting a spotlight on a stalemated 17-year war that is testing President Donald Trump’s commitment to pursuing peace with the Taliban.

The human cost of the conflict rarely makes headlines in the U.S., leaving Trump with political room to maneuver. But that might be changing.

Trump has acknowledged that his original instinct was to withdraw from Afghanistan, but last week he suggested he is willing to stick it out, asserting that the U.S. is in “very strong negotiations” — an apparent reference to U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad’s efforts to get the Taliban to agree to peace talks.

On the other hand, Trump indicated he had little confidence the talks are going to succeed. “Maybe they’re not. Probably they’re not,” he said.

The human cost of the conflict rarely makes headlines in the U.S., leaving Trump with political room to maneuver. But that might be changing.

Death Toll Now Exceeds 2,400

In early November, Brent Taylor, the mayor of North Ogden, Utah, and a major in the Utah National Guard, was killed by an Afghan soldier in Kabul. Last Saturday, Sgt. Leandro Jasso, a 25-year-old Army Ranger from Leavenworth, Washington, was mortally wounded in southern Afghanistan. On Tuesday, U.S. officials said they had determined that Jasso probably was accidentally shot by an Afghan soldier during battle with an al-Qaida fighter.

The U.S. military headquarters in Kabul announced Tuesday that three U.S. servicemembers were killed and three wounded by a roadside bomb in Ghazni province, south of Kabul, where the Taliban has been resurgent. It was the deadliest attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan this year.

The Taliban, who ruled Afghanistan before U.S. forces invaded in October 2001, carry out near-daily attacks on Afghan army and police forces, and in August the insurgents overran parts of Ghazni, leading to days of intense fighting before they were driven out. Ghazni was the only one of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces where parliamentary elections could not be held in October because of security worries. Voting there has been postponed for a year.

Stephen Biddle, a professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University who has closely tracked the war from its beginning, said little that has happened in Afghanistan in recent years has grabbed the American public’s attention, including a death toll since 2001 that now exceeds 2,400.

Keeping Troops There Because Experts Said So

“The war hasn’t produced torch-lit marches on the Pentagon or for that matter any meaningful effect on any election campaign,” Biddle said. “What (the uptick in casualties) could do is change the mind of Donald Trump. At a minimum, he is erratic and clearly doesn’t like the war.”

“The war hasn’t produced torch-lit marches on the Pentagon or for that matter any meaningful effect on any election campaign. What (the uptick in casualties) could do is change the mind of Donald Trump. At a minimum, he is erratic and clearly doesn’t like the war.” — Stephen Biddle, a professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University

In a Washington Post interview Tuesday, Trump called the latest deaths “very sad” and said he was keeping troops there only because “experts” told him it was necessary.

In Geneva on Wednesday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani urged a gathering of U.S., Russian and other diplomats to continue support for his government, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed hope for an “end to this fratricidal war.” In Ghani’s absence, Kabul, the Afghan capital, was hit Wednesday by a coordinated insurgent attack against security forces, and in the southern province of Helmand, local officials said at least 30 civilians and 16 Taliban fighters were killed in overnight fighting.

Recommitting U.S. Forces to Winning in Afghanistan

Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, ended the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014 with the aim of compelling the Afghans to provide for their own defense. Trump came to the White House having called the war a waste, but in August 2017, he announced he was recommitting U.S. forces to winning in Afghanistan while revealing that his first instinct had been to pull the plug. Over several months, the Pentagon sent an additional 3,500 troops and changed the way it advises Afghan forces. There are now about 15,000 U.S. troops in the country.

Trump’s strategy in Afghanistan is built on hope that the Taliban can be drawn into peace talks. That has not yet happened, but some U.S. analysts say prospects are better than at any time in the war. A second pillar of the strategy, ending Pakistan’s tactical support for the Taliban, has proved ineffective.

David Sedney, who has worked on Afghan issues as a diplomat and civilian policy official since the war began, said he believes the chances for successful peace talks with the Taliban are low but are better than at any other time in the long conflict. Sedney said he heard encouraging words from Afghans — supporters of the government as well as those who favor the Taliban — during a visit to the county in late October and early November.

Further Complications

“There’s a growing expectation that peace is possible,” Sedney said.

“There’s a growing expectation that peace is possible.”David Sedney, who has worked on Afghan issues as a diplomat

Further complicating the outlook is the presence in eastern Afghanistan of an Islamic State affiliate. Both the Taliban and the IS affiliate want to overthrow the Afghan government and impose a harsh form of Islamic rule. But they are bitterly divided over leadership, ideology and tactics.

Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said earlier this month that efforts to draw the Taliban into peace talks are being made “below the surface.” But he indicated that progress is insufficient. “We’re a long way from where we could say that we’re on the right path,” Dunford said at the Halifax International Security Forum, referring to effectively combining military, political and social pressure on the Taliban.

Noting that U.S. officials as recently as a year ago called the war a stalemate, Dunford said “it hasn’t changed much” since.

Watch the Cost of Freedom

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

DON'T MISS

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

DON'T MISS

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

DON'T MISS

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

DON'T MISS

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

DON'T MISS

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

DON'T MISS

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

DON'T MISS

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

DON'T MISS

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

DON'T MISS

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

UP NEXT

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

UP NEXT

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

UP NEXT

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

UP NEXT

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

UP NEXT

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

UP NEXT

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

UP NEXT

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

UP NEXT

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

UP NEXT

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

UP NEXT

Kia America Recalls 201,149 US Telluride Vehicles

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

7 hours ago

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

7 hours ago

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

8 hours ago

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

8 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

8 hours ago

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

9 hours ago

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

9 hours ago

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

1 day ago

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

1 day ago

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

1 day ago

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

DUBAI — The commander-in-chief of Iran’s military, Amir Hatami, said on Sunday that threats from Israel persist, according to state me...

7 hours ago

Iranian Army commander-in-chief Amir Hatami attends a meeting in the Iranian Army's War Command Room at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on June 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

Protesters walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Palestine Action Group's March for Humanity in Sydney, Australia, August 3, 2025. AAP/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
7 hours ago

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives at a press conference to make an announcement on recognizing Palestinian statehood, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, July 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

A Union Pacific rail car is parked at a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train yard in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 10, 2017. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

World Aquatics Championships - Women 4x100m Medley Relay Final - World Aquatics Championships Arena, Singapore - August 3, 2025 Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske of the U.S. celebrate after winning the final and making a new world record REUTERS/Edgar Su
7 hours ago

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

A view shows Alabama Fertility, an IVF clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S., February, 23, 2024. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

8 hours ago

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

The Gifford Fire has scorched nearly 40,000 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties as of Sunday, August 3, 2025, prompting multiple evacuation orders and the closure of Highway 166 as crews work to contain the fast-moving wildfire. (CalFire)
8 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend