As the U.S. withdraws its combat forces from Afghanistan, I may post here from time to time to update the situation. I have deleted the previous post because due to my neglect, it had accumulated an avalanche of spam. I have also turned on comment moderation; if that proves too troublesome, I may eliminate commenting entirely.
I stopped blogging here essentially because there was, unfortunately, so little interest in the U.S. in the lands the country invaded early in this century. That is regrettable. We have an obligation to be concerned about them, although not, certainly, any obligation to continue a military presence. I suspect, however, that the withdrawal from Afghanistan will leave behind some covert special forces and, of course, armed drones will likely continue to strike targets there. We may never hear about this, however.
Today, a three day truce to mark Eid-al-Fitr ended, and fighting between government and Taliban forces resumed in Helmand province. However, attacks on civilians continued during the purported cease fire, perhaps committed by other, unknown, militant groups.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke with president Ghani on the telephone:
Secretary Blinken conveyed Eid greetings and expressed his deepest condolences to the families of those lost in recent violence in Afghanistan, including in the horrific attack on a girls’ school in Kabul last week, the US Department of State said in a statement.
The Secretary conveyed America’s steadfast support for the U.S.-Afghan partnership and for Afghanistan’s security forces, the statement added.
The two leaders discussed the importance of national unity in Afghanistan at this time as well as regional efforts to advance the peace process, according to the statement.
Not sure what any of that means concretely.
