Resolute Support forces arrive at the site of a car bomb explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2019. (Rahmat Gul/AP)
“We want to make sure we are negotiating a peace, not simply a withdrawal,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel said in a letter Thursday to Trump’s peace envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad.
Engel is demanding that Khalilzad, who has said the U.S. and the Taliban are on the threshold of a peace deal, come to testify before the House committee about the negotiations. The envoy was invited to appear Feb. 26 and April 8, but never responded.
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While details are scant about the deal the administration appears close to approving, the rising violence has rattled Kabul, the capital, and other sites around the country.
“Peace with a group that is still killing innocent people is meaningless,” said Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
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“I would find it odd for Trump — based on how far this has gone — for him not to do it,” Blanc said. “My understanding is that the deal is very, very close to done. I would not be surprised if it’s a matter of days or a matter of weeks.”
He said he doesn’t believe the draft agreement includes a complete Taliban cease-fire, only a pledge to reduce violence.
Navy Vet
Article URL : https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/09/05/taliban-attacks-test-trump-as-he-seeks-to-end-afghan-war/