Afghanistan

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UN unanimously backs US-Taliban peace deal for Afghanistan

By EDITH M. LEDERER - Associated Press

In this Monday, March 9, 2020, photo, Afghanistan's Abdullah Abdullah, front left, greets his supporters after being sworn in as president in Kabul, Afghanistan. Washington moved forward Tuesday on its peace deal with the Taliban, launching its troop withdrawal, while praising Afghanistan's newly installed President Ashraf Ghani's promise to proceed with a Taliban prisoner release as well as cobble together a team to start negotiations with the insurgent group. But the dueling presidential inaugurations a day earlier with Ghani's rival, Abdullah Abdullah also being sworn in as president is indicative of the uphill task facing Washington's peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad as he tries to get Afghanistan's bickering leadership to come together. (AP Photo)

U.S. starts troop pullout, seeks end to Afghan leaders’ feud

By Kathy Gannon and Rahim Faiez - Associated Press

In this April 14, 2018, file photo, then-Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth Franklin "Frank" McKenzie Jr. speaks during a media availability at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Taliban has driven ISIS out of eastern Afghanistan with ‘very limited’ U.S. support: Pentagon

By Lauren Toms - The Washington Times

In this March 1, 2020, file photo, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during a news conference in the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

Dueling Afghan leaders both declare themselves president

By Rahim Faiez and Tameem Akhgar - Associated Press

Blood stains and shoes are seen the aftermath of Friday's deadly attack on memorial ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, March 7, 2020. Gunmen opened fire Friday at a ceremony in Afghanistan's capital attended by prominent political leaders, killing dozens of people and wounding many more before the two attackers were slain by police, officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

U.S.-Taliban peace deal threatened by Afghanistan violence

By Guy Taylor - The Washington Times

Foreign security personnel and Afghan police arrive at the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 6, 2020. An Afghan official said gunmen in Afghanistan’s capital attacked a remembrance ceremony for a minority Shiite leader. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Officials say gunmen kill 32 at ceremony in Afghan capital

By Tameem Akhgar - Associated Press

US seeks UN backing for Taliban peace deal to end Afghan war

By EDITH M. LEDERER - Associated Press

An injured man is carried into an ambulance after an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 6, 2020. Gunmen in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul attacked a remembrance ceremony for a minority Shiite leader on Friday, wounding more than a dozen of people, officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Officials say gunmen kill 32 at ceremony in Afghan capital

By TAMEEM AKHGAR - Associated Press

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, Thursday, March, 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) **FILE**

Mike Pompeo slams ICC plan to probe U.S. officials for war crimes

By Guy Taylor - The Washington Times

Peace Plan Shot Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

The Taliban peace deal turned ugly quickly

By Gary Anderson

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during a news conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, March, 1, 2020. Ghani said Sunday he won't be releasing the 5,000 prisoners the Taliban say must be freed before intra-Afghan negotiations can begin. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

International court approves Afghanistan investigation

By MIKE CORDER - Associated Press

In this Monday, March 2, 2020, file photo, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, left, speaks during a briefing with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley, at the Pentagon in Washington. The U.S. military said Wednesday, March 4, 2020, that it has conducted an airstrike against Taliban forces in southern Afghanistan, only days after American and Taliban officials signed an ambitious peace deal in Doha, Qatar. A U.S. military spokesman said in a tweet Wednesday that it was the first U.S. strike against the militant group in 11 days. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Donald Trump’s Taliban deal thrown into question by wave of attacks and U.S. strike

By Guy Taylor - The Washington Times

Dove Formation Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

If Taliban initiates any new war offensive in Afghanistan, U.S. must get involved

By Gary Anderson

President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he leaves the White House, Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Washington, to visit the National Institutes of Health's Vaccine Research Center in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Trump speaks to Taliban leader, says they agree on ‘no violence’ in Afghanistan

By Dave Boyer - The Washington Times

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, left, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and Afghan Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah attend before a joint news conference in presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. The U.S. signed a peace agreement with Taliban militants on Saturday aimed at bringing an end to 18 years of bloodshed in Afghanistan and allowing U.S. troops to return home from America's longest war. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

US peace deal leaves Afghans to determine post-war landscape

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during a news conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, March, 1, 2020. Ghani said Sunday he won't be releasing the 5,000 prisoners the Taliban say must be freed before intra-Afghan negotiations can begin. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

China pledges support for US-Taliban peace agreement

Associated Press

Defense Secretary Mark Esper, left, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley, right, during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Monday, March 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) **FILE**

Gen. Mark Milley, Joint Chiefs chairman, backs peace deal with Afghan Taliban

By Mike Glenn - The Washington Times

Defense Secretary Mark Esper, left, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley, right, during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Monday, March 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Mark Esper: U.S. to start initial troop pullback from Afghanistan

By Lolita C. Baldor - Associated Press

In this Dec. 31, 2001, photo, U.S. Marines with full battle gear prepare to leave the U.S. military compound at Kandahar airport for a mission to an undisclosed location. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Donald Trump actually fulfilling promise to reduce troops in Afghanistan

By Charles Hurt - The Washington Times

Afghanistan's Taliban delegation congratulate each other as they arrive for the agreement signing between Taliban and U.S. officials in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. The United States is poised to sign a peace agreement with Taliban militants on Saturday aimed at bringing an end to 18 years of bloodshed in Afghanistan and allowing U.S. troops to return home from America's longest war. (AP Photo/Hussein Sayed)

U.S. to free 5,000 Taliban fighters, lift sanctions on leaders in Afghan peace deal

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times