KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan's president opened a grand council on Monday of more than 3,200 Afghans seeking to agree on a common approach to peace talks with the Taliban, but the gathering may further aggravate divisions within the U.S.-backed government. President Ashraf Ghani hopes to showcase unity at the four-day...
3 American Soldiers, 1 US Contractor Killed in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The U.S. and NATO Resolute Support mission said the four...
Officials: Pentagon Planning Troop Pullout From Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is developing plans to withdraw up to half of the 14,000 American troops serving in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said Thursday, marking a sharp change in the Trump administration's policy aimed at forcing the Taliban to the peace table after more than 17 years of war. One...
Rise in US Deaths in Afghanistan Clouds Outlook for Peace
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. Trump has acknowledged that his original instinct was to withdraw from Afghanistan, but last week he suggested he...
3 Top Afghan Officials Killed by Guards But US General Survives
KABUL, Afghanistan — The three top officials in Afghanistan's Kandahar province were killed when their own guards opened fire on them at a security conference Thursday, the deputy provincial governor said, and a Taliban spokesman said the target was Washington's top general in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, who escaped without...
Assaults by Taliban Raise Questions About US Plan for Peace
WASHINGTON — A year after the Trump administration introduced its strategy for Afghanistan, the Taliban are asserting themselves on the battlefield even as U.S. officials talk up hopes for peace. That's raising questions about the viability of the American game plan for ending a war that began when some of...
Negotiate With Taliban to End Afghan War: Zakaria
Recent news reports on U.S. strategy in Afghanistan have raised the possibility of future direct talks with the Taliban aimed at reaching a peace accord and allowing for the withdrawal of American troops from the war-torn country. Following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the conflict has since become America's...
'It's a Massacre.' Taliban Bomb Kills at Least 95, Injures 158 in Kabul.
The New York Times reported Saturday morning (Jan. 27) that Taliban terrorists drove an ambulance packed with explosives into a crowded Kabul street, setting off an enormous blast that killed at least 95 people and injured 158 others. The deadly attack continues one of the most violent stretches of the...