7/9/2018

AFGHANISTAN/MIKE POMPEO/TALIBAN/TRUMP PEOPLE: “U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, making an unannounced visit to the Afghan capital on Monday [7-9-18], said the prospect for talks between the Kabul government and Taliban militants was now brighter thanks to the Trump administration’s rejuvenated strategy for fighting the 17-year war. Mr. Pompeo’s first official visit to Afghanistan since he was sworn in as America’s top diplomat came as the administration seeks to fuel momentum toward talks with the Taliban following last month’s unprecedented cease-fire…Mr. Trump’s South Asia policy includes a surge in airstrikes, the deployment of some 3,000 additional U.S. forces, and eschewing timelines in favor of a conditions-based yardstick for assessing progress in the war. Standing alongside Mr. Pompeo at the news conference, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani effusively praised the Trump administration, describing the policy as a ‘game-changer.’ While the secretary said there was ‘still a great deal of work to do,’ the tentative sense of optimism infusing official American and Afghan discussion of the war is unmistakable.”

Craig Nelson, “An Optimistic Pompeo, in Kabul, Urges Talks With Taliban,” The Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2018 3:03 pm