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Written by Jyoti Malhotra | Published:August 7, 2017 1:18 am US President Donald Trump (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Three weeks ago in the middle of July, 14-year-old Fatemah Qaderyan took a selfie with her father at Herat airport, just before she flew to the US with Afghanistans all-girl robotics team to participate in the First Global Challenge international robotics competition. Mohammed Qaderyan had fully supported his daughter and her friends in their persistent efforts to get US visas, including lobbying with the press when the team was initially refused permission, and had seen them off with his blessings.

On August 2, Qaderyan was among 37 killed in a terrorist attack on Herats Shia Jawadya mosque. Just two weeks earlier, his daughter and the robotics team had returned home to a heros welcome delighted with the certificate of courageous achievement that they had earned, and the praise that the American judges had showered on them.

Fatemah Qaderyans tragedy has devastated even Afghanistan, a country that is used to war and its horrors. President Ashraf Ghani visited the families of the Herat attack victims over the weekend. And in the US, asked if anything was going to change, National Security Advisor Lt Gen H R McMaster told MSNBC that The President [Donald Trump] has also made clear that he, that we, need to see a change in the behaviour of those in the region, which includes those who are providing safe haven and support bases for the Taliban, Haqqani Network and others.

This, McMaster added, is Pakistan, in particular, that we want to that we want to really see a change and a reduction of their support for these groups. This is of course, you know, a very paradoxical situation, right, where Pakistan is taking great losses. They have fought very hard against these groups, but theyve done so really only selectively.

McMasters comments were chillingly similar to those made by Afghanistans National Security Advisor Hanif Atmar who, in an interview to The Indian Express recently in Kabul, said, We cannot defeat the Taliban unless we defeat the sanctuaries and support structures outside Afghanistan, in Pakistan. It is also clear why they are there (in Pakistan), Atmar said. The Pakistan strategic community never abandoned its plan to have Afghanistan more than a friendly neighbour. They want to have us as a client state We find it so offensive to describe this in words, but we know it for what it is.

Atmar, who was a close associate of the former Afghan President Najibullah, who was executed by the Taliban in 1996, said Afghanistans current situation reminded him of the late 1980s, when the mujahideen targeted the Soviets in the belief that cutting off Soviet support to the Afghan government would lead to its collapse. The May 31 truck bomb attack close to Kabuls diplomatic quarter, carried out by the Pakistan-based Haqqani network, Atmar said, had the express purpose of increasing the feeling of insecurity among foreign diplomats, and forcing them to abandon Afghanistan.

Atmars comments may turn out to be prophetic. On July 19, Trump told his officials he was deeply unhappy with Americas flawed strategy in Afghanistan. He pointed out that Chinas growing economic involvement, especially in the mining sector, had meant that while Americans continued to die in their effort to stabilise Afghanistan, China was only interested in its profits. We arent winning the war in Afghanistan, Trump reportedly said. We are losing it.

Indeed, the attack in Herat that killed Fatemah Qaderyans father, as well as the fact that the Taliban now control some 95 out of Afghanistans 407 districts, means that the US is faced with a very difficult choice. The roll-call of deaths has been increasing according to the UN, 11,418 people were killed in Afghanistan in 2015 and 2016, of which at least 24% are children, and 2017 has seen 1,700 deaths so far.

This is war and we are at war, with Pakistan, a war for the very existence of our nation, a senior Afghan security official told The Indian Express. Afghan security forces had been holding some frontlines against the Taliban at the cost of huge casualties, he said, adding that neither the US, nor NATO, nor Iran, nor anyone else are agreed how to turn off the tap of terror which is located in Pakistan.

Asked about the Islamic State, which has claimed the attack on the Shia mosque in Herat, the Afghan official said, Who is ISIS? Different terrorist groups are using ISIS as a cover. ISIS has become a brand in Afghanistan. The groups are Haqqani, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Taliban. Terror has unfortunately become a weapon in the hands of some countries.

Hanif Atmar said that he strongly rejected accusations that India was instigating regional tension in Afghanistan a commonly heard comment from Pakistani analysts these days. But, according to a senior analyst with the American think tank Atlantic Council, if Trump does choose to pull out of the messy and costly war in Afghanistan, estimated at $ 1 trillion already (and goes ahead with firing the US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John W Nicholson, as he is reported to have indicated to close aides), then chances are high that history will repeat itself in Kabul.

Like in the 1980s, Pakistan has returned to the centre of possible solutions to the Afghan conflict. Moscow has been ingratiating itself to Rawalpindi in the hope that a spillover of Taliban terror into Russias unstable southern provinces can be prevented. And Beijing, without firing a shot, has inveigled itself into several international dialogue processes, including a trilateral Russia-Afghanistan-China dialogue.

However, if Trump sees the light, the Afghan official said, and follows through with shutting down the terror infrastructure and funding sources inside Pakistan, his long-promised US policy review may yet get some teeth. As the 16th anniversary of the September 11 attacks approaches, India and the world will be looking to Trump to make some key decisions.

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In terror-struck Afghanistan, waiting for Trump to 'see the light' - The Indian Express

There has been an outpouring of generosity in the U.S. for the families of two U.S. Army paratroopers who were killed in Afghanistan last week.

As of Saturday night, online campaigns had raised about $75,000 for the families of Spc. Christopher Michael Harris and Sgt. Jonathon Michael Hunter, who were killed in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the Fayetteville Observer in North Carolina reported.

Both Harris and Hunter had been stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, before being deployed to Afghanistan.

The paratroopers were killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) used against their convoy, Pentagon officials said. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

A spokesman for the GoFundMe fundraising website confirmed that campaigns had been launched for the Harris and Hunter families, the Observer reported.

A campaign to benefit Harris's wife, Britt, had raised nearly $50,000 as of Saturday night. Mrs. Harris recently learned that she and her husband were expecting their first child. The Harris campaign is at gofundme.com/48091y8.

Meanwhile, two campaigns for Hunters family had raised more than $24,000 combined. The campaigns, to benefit Hunters wife, Whitney, and his father, Mark Hunter, are at gofundme.com/support-for-sgt-jonathon-hunter and gofundme.com/jonathon-hunter-funeral.

The soldiers were members of the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, and had been deployed a little more than a month each, the Observer reported.

Harris, 25, was from Jackson Springs, North Carolina, while Hunter, 23, was from Columbus, Indiana. The two soldiers were in Afghanistan as part of the Resolute Support Mission to train and assist Afghan forces.

NATO officials in Afghanistan said four other soldiers were wounded, but their injuries were not considered life-threatening, the Observer reported.

Since the paratroopers were identified last week, social media sites have been filled with messages of support and condolences for the families.

The deaths of Hunter and Harris brought the total number of U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan this year to nine, Fox News reported.

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Donations pour in for families of US paratroopers killed in Afghanistan - Fox News

A Wright-Patterson airman who rushed to a bomb explosion site to treat critically injured service members was honored by top Air Force leaders in a Portraits of Courage ceremony Friday at the Pentagon.

Sr. Airman Joshua OSullivan was deployed to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan for less than a month when a Nov. 12 explosion near his barracks seriously injured fellow service members, according to Wright-Patterson.

OSullivan, a respiratory therapist with the 88th Medical Group, was the first medic at the explosion site, helping save the lives of 12 U.S. military personnel and an allied coalition member, according to the Air Force.

He received the Air Force Commendation medal for his actions.

OSullivan, 27, an Elizabeth, Illinois, native, was a former emergency medical technician before he joined the Air Force six years ago, according to Wright-Patterson.

He was among 22 Air Force individuals and units to receive recognition Friday at the Pentagon ceremony.

Cox Media Group Ohio staff writer Amy Rollins contributed to this story.

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Wright-Patt airman recognized at Pentagon for actions in Afghanistan - Dayton Daily News

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A suicide bomber struck a NATO convoy near the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Wednesday killing two U.S. service members, the Pentagon said.

The Taliban promptly took responsibility for the attack, and a spokesman for the insurgents said the bombing allegedly killed 15 soldiers - a claim that appeared exaggerated as many similar Taliban claims have been in the past.

Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said two U.S. service members were killed in action in the attack and that more information would be provided when it became available.

In their claim of responsibility, the Taliban also said the attack destroyed two armored tanks. The insurgents' spokesman for southern Afghanistan, Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, said fighter Asadullah Kandahari was the "hero" who carried out the attack with a small pick-up truck, packed with explosives.

U.S. troops assess the damage to an armored NATO vehicle after a Taliban suicide attack in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, Aug. 2, 2017.

Reuters/Ahmad Nadeem

Kandahar province was the Taliban spiritual heartland and the headquarters of their leadership during the five-year rule of the Taliban, which ended with the U.S. invasion in 2001.

Eyewitness Ghulam Ali, who runs a mechanics shop near the attack site on the outskirts of the city of Kandahar, said the intensity of the blast knocked him out.

When he came to, he saw a military vehicle on fire on the road. He stepped out of his shop but a sudden burst of gunfire drove him back inside, he said. Then, helicopters arrived and he saw soldiers being taken away from the scene but could not determine the extent of their injuries.

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Shah Agha Popal, who runs a vehicle parts shop also nearby, said he also saw soldiers being taken away by two helicopters.

"But I couldn't tell if they were wounded or if they were dead," he said.

The combined U.S. and NATO troop contingent currently in Afghanistan is about 13,500. The Trump administration is deciding whether to send about 4,000 or more U.S. soldiers to Afghanistan in an attempt to stem Taliban gains.

The attack came as Afghan authorities in western Herat province tightened security ahead of a mass funeral for the victims there of an attack the previous evening that killed 32, said provincial governor's spokesman Jilani Farhad.

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Another 66 worshippers were injured in the horrific suicide assault Tuesday evening. As worshippers began their evening prayers a suicide attacker sprayed bullets at the private guards protecting the mosque before entering inside and detonating his explosives.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, claimed responsibility for the mosque bombing saying it was carried out by two of its fighters. ISIS said in a statement that the two men, whom it identified as Amir Qassim and Tayeb al-Kharasani, also used automatic rifles in the Shiite mosque before they detonated themselves.

The statement claimed that the attack killed nearly 50 and wounded more than 80.

Witnesses said demonstrators brought 31 bodies near the provincial governor's residence in a large freezer truck. Protesters demanded the people behind the brutal assault be arrested.

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On Monday, after taking credit for an attack on the Iraq Embassy in the heart of the Afghan capital Kabul, the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan warned it would strike Shiites. The Sunni militant group considers Shiite Muslims as apostates.

Also on Wednesday the Taliban ambushed and killed Jaghatu District Gov. Manzur Hussain and a passenger in his car, Ghazni provincial police chief Mohammad Mustafa Mayar said.

The Taliban have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks hitting district headquarters, government officials and Afghan National Security Forces with increasing frequency.

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Afghanistan suicide attack kills 2 U.S. service members ...

President Trump's national security adviser H.R. McMaster onSaturday defended President Trump's strategy on winning the war in Afghanistan.

The president has not announced a comprehensive strategy on Afghanistan yet, but according to McMaster he has madea number of decisions" on the military approach there.

"The presidents already made some important decisions onAfghanistan," McMaster said inan interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that airedSaturday.

McMaster said Trump does not necessarily want to telegraph his intentions. "Youve heard inpieces" the strategy, he said.

"And what were endeavoring to do is pull this all together in a regional strategy thatmakes sense," he continued. Trump has authorized the Pentagon to take the lead ona number of military decisions during his administration.

McMaster also added that the White House wants to see a "change in behavior" from interested groups in the region, particularly Pakistan. The top aide said that while Pakistan has taken "great losses" fighting the Taliban, they have done so "selectively."

"This is Pakistan in particular that we want to really see a change in and a reduction of their support for these groups," he said. "I mean, this is of course, you know, a very paradoxical situation, right, where Pakistan is taking great losses."

"They have fought very hard against these groups," McMaster argued, "but theyve done so really only selectively."

He said that Trump is making clear that the U.S. will no longer tolerate any support for the Taliban or related groups.

"The president has also made clear that he, that we need to see a change in behavior of those in the region, which includes those who are providing safe haven and support bases for the Taliban," McMaster added.

McMaster defended the campaignin Afghanistan, arguing they had seen "tremendous" success in the country.

"Theres a tremendously successful campaign going on with Afghan forces in the lead. Its an unreported campaign in Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan," McMaster said.

"Were not gonna talk tactics anymore, right?" headded. "Everythingbefore was, you know, troop levels and very specific details announcing to theenemy years in advance exactly the number of troops youre gonna have, exactly what theyregonna do and what theyre not gonna do. And so the president has said, that 'That is not the wayto fight a war. It never has been.' This is an invention of recent years."

McMaster also said the president "absolutely" has confidencein the commander in charge of the U.S. war effort against the Taliban and ISIS in Afghanistan.

The general defended Trump's decisions in Afghanistan andthe commander in charge of the mission following reports that the president wantsto fire him.

According to reports this week of a situation room meeting in July, Trump believes Gen. John Nicholson - the commanderin charge of Afghanistan -is "losing" the war inthe country.

"Ive known him for many years," McMaster said of Nicholson. "I cant imagine a more capable commander on any mission."

He said the president "absolutely" has confidence inNicholson. McMaster also reportedly defended the generalin the situation room meeting.

McMaster himself has been the target of right-wing Trump supporters outraged at the general'sdecision to renewsecurity clearance for Susan Rice, former PresidentBarack ObamaBarack ObamaOvernight Tech: Senate panel approves FCC nominees | Dem group invests in progressive startups | Tech groups rip Trump immigration plan Russian PM: New sanctions amount to 'full-scale trade war' America's divisions: The greatest strategic vulnerability of our time MORE's national security adviser.

"General McMaster and Iare workingvery welltogether," Trump said in a statement Friday. "He is a good man and very pro-Israel. I am grateful for the work he continues to doserving our country."

McMaster in the interview with Hewitt alsoargued that Trump's loosening of restrictions on the military was beginning to see a "payoff."

"The president has said that, he does not want to place restrictions on the military that undermine our ability to win battles in combat," McMaster added. "He has lifted those restrictions, and youre beginning to see the payoff of that as well."

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McMaster: Trump has made 'a number of decisions' on Afghanistan - The Hill