WASHINGTON, Aug 19, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Sunday
hailed progress in negotiations on an Afghanistan peace deal, saying that
talks with both the Taliban and the Afghan government are going well.
But while Trump said the United States has things “under control,” a
massive bombing in Kabul highlighted the rampant violence still plaguing
Afghanistan and the major challenges it would face even if an agreement is
reached.
“We’re having very good discussions with the Taliban. We’re having very
good discussions with the Afghan government,” Trump told reporters.
Expectations are rising for a deal in which the United States would start
withdrawing its soldiers from Afghanistan after nearly two decades of war
that has ground into a stalemate.
“We’ve really got it down to probably 13,000 people and we’ll be bringing
it down a little bit more and then we’ll decide whether or not we’ll be
staying longer or not,” Trump said.
“We have things under control very well with the small force. We can
probably make it a little bit smaller and then we’ll decide,” he said,
adding: “It’ll depend on the Taliban, it’ll depend on the Afghan government.”
A US-Taliban agreement would not by itself bring an end to Afghanistan’s
war, as the insurgents would still need to make a deal with the Washington-
backed government in Kabul.
– Bombing highlights challenges –
Trump reiterated Sunday that the United States would maintain an
intelligence presence in the country even if it withdraws troops, in order to
guard against potential militant threats.
“I think it’s very important that we continue intelligence there in all
cases, because it is somewhat of a nest for hitting us,” the president said.
Washington is keen to end its involvement in Afghanistan, where it has
spent more than $1 trillion and Trump has said since the start of his
presidency that he wants troops out.
In return, the Taliban would commit to various security guarantees,
including that the Islamist hardliners who long harbored Al-Qaeda would not
allow Afghanistan to become a jihadist safe haven — but any such promise
would be tough to keep.
On Saturday, a bombing at a packed Afghan wedding hall killed at least 63
people, underscoring both the inadequacy of Afghanistan’s security forces and
the massive challenges they face.
The Islamic State group claimed the attack, saying that one of its fighters
blew himself up at a “large gathering” in Kabul while others “detonated a
parked explosives-laden vehicle” when security forces arrived.
While the police and army claim they prevent most bombings from ever
happening, insurgents pull off horrific attacks with chilling regularity.
And even as Trump claimed progress in talks, little has changed for Afghans
on the ground.
A UN tally found last year was the deadliest on record, with at least 3,804
civilian deaths caused by the war — including 927 children.
And according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA), more than 217,000 people had to flee their homes because of
fighting during the first seven months of 2019, prompting a huge need for
humanitarian aid across the war-torn nation.