Afghanistan

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Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan, left, arrives in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday morning, Feb. 11, 2019, to consult with Army Gen. Scott Miller, right, commander of U.S. and coalition forces, and senior Afghan government leaders. The unannounced visit is the first for the acting secretary of defense, Pat Shanahan. He previously was the No. 2 official under Jim Mattis, who resigned as defense chief in December. (AP Photo/Robert Burns)

Patrick Shanahan: No U.S. military Afghanistan withdraw order from Trump

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

FILE- In this Sept. 9, 2014, file photo, former Afghan President Sibghatullah Mujadidi, left, accompanies Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, right, during a ceremony honoring a beloved anti-Taliban fighter who was assassinated 13 years ago, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Mujadidi, who served as Afghanistan's first president following the ouster of the invading Soviet army and the collapse in 1992 of Kabul's pro-Communist government, dies. He was 93. His former spokesman Sharif Yusufi says Mujadidi died overnight Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, in the Afghan capital.(AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

Anti-communist guerrilla who became Afghan president dies

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan greets an Afghan commando at Camp Commando, Afghanistan on Monday, Feb. 11, 2019. The unannounced visit is the first for the acting secretary of defense, Pat Shanahan. He previously was the No. 2 official under Jim Mattis, who resigned as defense chief in December. (AP Photo/Robert Burns)

Patrick Shanahan, acting defense chief, makes surprise visit to Afghanistan

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

FILE - In this Nov. 28, 2018 file photo, Afghan president Ashraf Ghani delivers a speech during the United Nations Conference on Afghanistan at the UN Offices in Geneva, Switzerland. Ghani says the Taliban are welcome to set up a political office in the Kabul but that his government must be included in any peace talks. In a speech Monday, Feb. 11, 2019, he rejected the idea of an interim government, which has been embraced by the Taliban and some opposition figures, vowing that elections will he held as planned later this year. (Fabrice Coffrini/pool photo via AP, File)

Ghani says Afghan government must be included in peace talks

Associated Press

Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad approaches the microphone to speak on the prospects for peace, Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump’s Afghan envoy intensifies peace efforts with Taliban

By MATTHEW LEE - Associated Press

Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan, center, arrives in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday morning, Feb. 11, 2019, to consult with Army Gen. Scott Miller, right, commander of U.S. and coalition forces, and senior Afghan government leaders. The unannounced visit is the first for the acting secretary of defense, Pat Shanahan. He previously was the No. 2 official under Jim Mattis, who resigned as defense chief in December. (AP Photo/Robert Burns)

Top Pentagon official in Afghanistan amid push for peace

By ROBERT BURNS - Associated Press

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, second from right, answers a question from the media during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Pentagon, Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) **FILE**

Pat Shanahan in Afghanistan amid Taliban peace push

By Robert Burns - Associated Press

Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad speaks on the prospects for peace, Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) **FILE**

U.S., Taliban see roadmap for peace in Afghanistan

By Carlo Muñoz - The Washington Times

Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad speaks on the prospects for peace, Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

US peace envoy says talks with Taliban far from finished

By ROBERT BURNS - Associated Press

Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad speaks on the prospects for peace, Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

U.S. aims to have Taliban peace deal in place by July, says top Afghan negotiator Zhalilzad

By Carlo Muñoz - The Washington Times

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, first row center, and other participants of the &quot;intra-Afghan&quot; talks pray during their meeting in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. The U.S. has promised to withdraw half of its troops from Afghanistan by the end of April, a Taliban official said Wednesday, but the U.S. military said it has received no orders to begin packing up. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Top Russian diplomat meets Taliban, encourages US withdrawal

Associated Press

Taliban political chief Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, first row second from left, Abdul Salam Hanafi and other Taliban official pray during the &quot;intra-Afghan&quot; talks in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. The U.S. has promised to withdraw half of its troops from Afghanistan by the end of April, a Taliban official said Wednesday, but the U.S. military said it has received no orders to begin packing up. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Taliban: Half of US troops to leave Afghanistan by May 1

By FRANCESCA EBEL - Associated Press

Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, speaks during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Feb. 4, 2019. A two-day meeting in the Russian capital, which starts Tuesday, Feb. 5, is seen as a step toward resolving Afghanistan's 17-year war, but no Kabul government officials are invited, and while Abdullah Abdullah welcomes the prospects of peace he said the Afghan government should be involved in any peace talks. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Afghan officials: Taliban kill 11 policemen, 10 others

By Rahim Faiez - Associated Press

FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2019 file photo, released by the Foreign Office, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, left, receives U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad, Pakistan. Khalilzad is in a hurry to find a peace deal for Afghanistan that would allow America to bring home its troops after 17 years of war. The main talks are between Khalilzad and the Taliban’s political leadership, which is based in the Gulf nation of Qatar. Khalilzad is meeting with Pakistan, which is widely believed to harbor the Taliban’s top leadership, as well as China, India and Russia, which have an interest in stabilizing the region -- and in expanding their influence. (Pakistan Foreign Office, via AP, File)

Taliban to take part in ‘intra-Afghan’ talks in Moscow

By KATHY GANNON and RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press

FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, file photo released by the Afghan Presidential Palace, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, center, speaks to U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, third left, at the presidential palace in Kabul. Khalilzad is in a hurry to find a peace deal for Afghanistan that would allow America to bring home its troops after 17 years of war. The main talks are between Khalilzad and the Taliban’s political leadership, which is based in the Gulf nation of Qatar. (Afghan Presidential Palace via AP, File)

Q&A: US envoy’s road to Afghan peace littered with obstacles

By KATHY GANNON - Associated Press

President Donald Trump speaks during an event on human trafficking in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Trump’s ‘America first’ policy to key in on foreign shores

By DEB RIECHMANN - Associated Press

President Donald Trump holds a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019. Vice President Mike Pence is at right. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Donald Trump insists troops must come home, dismisses pleas from the Senate

By Gabriella Muñoz - The Washington Times

President Donald Trump speaks during an event on human trafficking in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Trump’s ‘America first’ mantra will be prominent in address

By DEB RIECHMANN - Associated Press

Afghan security forces gather at the site a day after an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019. A Taliban suicide bomber detonated an explosive-laden vehicle in the capital Kabul on Monday evening, according to officials. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Afghanistan report questions Ashraf Ghani viability, paints bleak situation

By Carlo Muñoz - The Washington Times

FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2018, file photo a Afghan Security forces member walks next to a crater caused by suicide bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. As the Trump administration pushes for peace in Afghanistan, a new U.S. watchdog report says Afghan security forces are shrinking, gaps in security are growing, and the Taliban are largely holding their own despite a surge in American bombing. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

Report: Afghan forces still shrinking, security gaps growing

By ROBERT BURNS - Associated Press