Update for Sunday, August 12, 2018

Fighting continues in Ghazni among conflicting claims about the state of battle. Reuters offers a lengthy report. While the government claims to be in control of "Strategic locations and centers in the city" reports from locals that have trickled out suggest that government forces are holding on only to the governor's office and security HQ. Telecommunications are out so reports are scanty. At least 100 members of the security forces are said to have been killed. The highway is mined to prevent reinforcements. The U.S. continues to support the defenders with air strikes.

A military convoy on the way to relieve the city is attacked in Wardak.

I will provide an update once the situation becomes clearer.

Update for Friday, August 10, 2018

Recount is finally completed in Iraq, election results are not substantially altered. Muqtada al-Sadr's party retains the lead with 54 seats. Negotiations over formation of a government continue, with the outgoing president having 15 days after official announcement of the results to convene parliament.

Arab news discusses the negotiations in more detail. Sadr has been unable to form a coalition, in part because of sabotage by former PM Nouri al-Maliki, whose party only won 25 seats but who is close to Iran. The sub-text of the negotiations, at least as Sadr presents his goals, is non-sectarian government, rooting our of corruption, and independence from Iran. More on Sadr's "40 conditions" for joining the government here.

Following protests, PM Abadi has fired officials at the electricity ministry.

Renewed U.S. sanctions against Iran will harm Iraq's economy, as it struggles to rebuild from war.

In Afghanistan, Taliban assault on Ghazni is repelled with U.S. air support but Taliban briefly hold parts of the city and it is not clear that they have been fully expelled.

Bodies of dozens of Afghan soldiers are found in a military base in Uruzgan that the Taliban overran last week.

U.S. air strike in Logar reported to kill Afghan security forces, but U.S. now says that no Afghan forces were killed.

Pakistan moves to reinforce the border with Afghanistan with U.S. financing. (Presumably they want to keep militants who oppose the Pakistani government from launching attacks from havens in Afghanistan. Will they also crack down on Afghan Taliban harboring in Pakistan?)

Update for Monday, July 30, 2018

The U.S. has been talking with the Taliban. There are a few takes on this.

Afghan president Ghani has been trying to get the Taliban to the table, but they have insisted on talking with the U.S. first. Deutsche Well suggests that the U.S. overture threatens to undermine the Afghan government.

Apparently the outreach is a result of frustration by the U.S. president  over the seemingly endless war. However Afghan officials are worried that the U.S. could be too eager for a settlement at a time when the Taliban are in a strong military position, holding considerable rural territory.

Indeed, the U.S. has called for a retreat from remote areas, which has gained some support from within the Afghan government but also has engendered much controversy.

Jessica Purkiss and Abigail Fielding-Smith describe the descent into chaos in Nangarhar,  where civilian casualties have doubled since a year ago, many of them the result of government action.

An editorial in the Afghan Times describes the current state of despair over the endless war.

Civilians describe forced marriages and rape by IS, particularly in Darzab in Jawzjan province.

Update for Monday, July 16, 2018

Protests erupt throughout southern Iraq over failure of public services and unemployment. Grand Ayatollah Sistani has endorsed the protests. Two demonstrators are killed by security forces in Samawa while dozens of people are injured in Basra.

Sixty-five protesters are arrested in Muthanna where one was killed on Sunday.

Protesters gather at a natural gas field in Basra while others storm the airport in Najaf.

PM Abadi deploys security services to the south to protect jails.

The situation is exacerbated as Iran suspends electricity exports to Iraq, due to its own shortages.

Several airlines suspend service to Najaf due to the security situation.

PM Abadi threatens to shoot "saboteurs" and provacteurs among the protesters, as blockage of Internet and social media make it difficult to monitor the situation in the south.

Protesters set fire to Hezbollah HQ in Najaf. (No indication of why.)

Meanwhile, U.S. troops withdraw from Fire Support Base Um Jorais south of Sinjar after providing artillery support to operations against IS. (What the U.S. is not doing is providing significant support for the rebuilding of the country. -- C)

Update for Thursday, July 12, 2018

U.S. service member killed in combat in eastern Afghanistan. An Afghan soldier was also killed in the operation. Meanwhile the soldier killed by an insider attack in Uruzgan on Saturday is identified as Army Cpl. Joseph Maciel of 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment.

Taliban offensive in Kunduz kills at least 31 Afghan troops. Number of Taliban casualties is unclear, but a military spokesman says 50 were "killed or wounded," without explaining how he knows this.

Taliban attack in Farah results in numerous government casualties, with the number of dead reported as either 4 or 7, and a claim that 15 police were captured.

NATO extends funding for Afghan operation to 2024.

Three Afghan national police killed, claim of 15 militants killed in fighting in Ghazni.

Protests in support of exiled warlord Dostum continue with blockage of highways.

Syed Zafar Mehdi thinks the U.S. effort in Afganistan is a failure. Gee, what could possibly make him think that? Pull quote:

So what has the US achieved in Afghanistan in past 17 years? Americans are told by their government that the ‘wasted effort’ in Afghanistan is to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for terrorist groups that seek to attack the US. That argument holds no water. It’s called paranoia.
Pompeo, who was on his first visit to Afghanistan since taking up the new job, perhaps needs a reality check. The security has deteriorated alarmingly, civilian casualties have jumped alarmingly, the cultivation and smuggling of narcotics has increased, corruption has touched new high, and the fledgling government in Kabul that was formed through a deal brokered by Washington continues to be beset with numerous problems. This is the legacy of America in Afghanistan.

Update for Tuesday, July 10, 2018

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan under extremely tight security, claims U.S. strategy is working and that the Taliban may join the peace process without substantial concessions. However, as this WaPo story (I linked to a reprint to avoid the paywall) makes clear, the Taliban have stepped up their military activity and hold substantial portions of the country.

Suicide attack in Jalalabad kills at least 10, no claim of responsibility as yet.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State meets with warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the first time a U.S. official has met with him in decades.

Casualty totals are disputed in separate skirmishes in Farah and Badghis, but up to 11 government troops and 9 Taliban may have been killed.

Schools in Afghanistan are becoming ideological and political battlegrounds, while 2.6 million children lack access to primary education entirely.

Update for Sunday, July 8, 2018

Sorry I've been away for a while, I'll try to start posting more regularly.

The military has been quite tight-lipped about this but one U.S. service member is killed and two injured in an "insider attack." Although Resolute Support provides no further details, Afghan officials say the incident happened in Uruzgan, and the Taliban have claimed responsibility.

Also in Uruzgan, Afghan army frees seven prisoners from Tabliban.

U.S. Green Berets and Afghan forces assault an IS stronghold in Nangarhar, claim to have suffered no casualties of their own while killing 167 IS fighters. (If it's that easy what took them so long?)

Saudi Arabia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation will host a conference this week on Afghanistan, in which Islamic scholars will discuss promotion of peace and stability.

Afghan airstrikes in Ghazni are said to kill dozens of militants.

Five people are injured by mortar attacks, also in Ghazni.

President Ghani calls for reining in private militias.

Perhaps this has something to do with riots over the detention of a top aide to warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum.