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July 21 at 5:15 PM

In his July 18 op-ed, Could mercenaries end Americas longest war?, Richard Cohen disregarded the transformational, multifaceted progress made by the Afghan people in partnership with the international community. The values of democracy, pluralism, liberty and free enterprise that Afghans and Americans share continue to be institutionalized in Afghanistan. Our success in this worthy endeavor is based on sound policy and strategy, enshrined in a compact between Afghanistan and our international partners: the Self-Reliance Through Mutual Accountability Framework. This underpins the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework, the five-year blueprint for ending Afghan dependence on foreign aid. Steady progress has been made under reforms undertaken by the National Unity Government.

Private security firms cant be trusted to operate as permanent, state-run militaries that adhere to national and international rules of war. As we know from Iraq, for-profit mercenaries do not always follow those rules. Afghanistan has seen failures, wasted aid resources and human rights violations by security contractors and their subcontractors. Any effort to privatize stabilization of Afghanistan can be a recipe for a man-made disaster that must be avoided at all costs.

Afghanistan isnt a chronic disease but a center of international cooperation at the heart of a rising Asia where the United States has far-reaching interests that converge with those of Afghanistan and its neighbors. Staying the course to prosecute a war in support of a robust, results-oriented diplomatic campaign to end that war should guide the way forward.

M. Ashraf Haidari, Kabul

The writer is director-general of policy and strategy at the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Staying the course in Afghanistan represents the path to peace - Washington Post

The White House said in a statement Thursday that Trump would name John Bass, the US ambassador to Turkey, to lead diplomatic efforts in the war-torn nation.

Bass has been in his current post since 2014. Prior to that he was ambassador to Georgia, also during the Obama administration. The White House said he had served at six US missions overseas.

The announcement of the nomination came as the US undertakes a review of its strategy in Afghanistan.

The US embassy in Kabul is currently under the leadership of the charg d' affaires, Hugo Llorens.

Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have faced criticism over the pace of State Department nominations. South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham took the two to task in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" in early July, citing a lack of diplomatic leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a particular cause for concern.

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Trump taps ambassador to Turkey as new top diplomat in Afghanistan - CNN

When Maj. Gen. Lee Quintas took command of the 3rd Infantry Division in May, he said Fort Stewart felt like home. Now, just a few months into his tenure as commander of the storied Marne Division, Quintas and other senior leaders are headed to Afghanistan to help the war-torn countrys security forces.

The Marne Express is now ready to leave the station, Quintas said Friday after he and Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Hendrex cased the divisions colors in preparation to deploy with about 250 other soldiers from the divisions Headquarters Battalion.

The 3rd ID soldiers will replace 1st Cavalry Division Headquarters at Bagram Airfield as the U.S. forces national support element in Afghanistan. During the deployment, which is expected to last about nine months, Quintas will serve as commander of Bagram and as deputy commanding general for support for the NATO-led Operation Resolute Support mission.

That means providing food, fuel, ammunition, life support and equipment for the entire operation in Afghanistan for the coalition, Quintas said Friday.

The primary mission will be to train, advise and assist Afghan security forces.

Hendrex, who just got back from Afghanistan and has been deployed there four other times, said he has seen the mission in the country change drastically over the last five years.

The last time I was there, there were over 110,000 U.S. soldiers on the ground; we have less than 10 percent now, Hendrex said.

Hendrex noted improvements in Afghan special forces and aerial combat capabilities.

Theyre conducting their own unilateral operations, he said.

There are currently about 8,400 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and about 350,000 Afghan security troops and police, senior 3rd ID staff said.

The training role is widespread, Quintas said.

The essential footprint is every Afghan corps has a train, advise and assist team with them led by a brigadier general or higher, he said.

Two of 3rd IDs deputy commanding generals will serve in direct training and advising roles with Afghan security forces. Most of the deployed soldiers will be at Bagram, but Quintas said some will be located in Qatar and Kuwait.

There is still the possibility of danger. Quintas said one of his top priorities is ensuring safety at Bagram, where there was a suicide bomb attack last year. While it is generally secure, Bagram could be targeted by infiltrators or hit by indirect fire, he said.

There is a significant element of Taliban that remain and contest the government of Afghanistan as it exists today, Quintas said. Were training (the Afghans) to fight that element. Its also important, I think, for the American people to know that there are 20-some odd terrorist groups that operate in Afghanistan. Part of what were doing is fighting the away game. Were taking the fight to them in Afghanistan so that they are suppressed and they do not have an opportunity to ever come here.

During the deployment, 3rd ID soldiers still at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield will be led by Task Force Marne, which was activated Friday. Its a busy year for the rest of the division. Among other things, its 1st Brigade Armored Combat Team is preparing for a second National Training Center Rotation and its 2nd Brigade Combat Team is in the process of transitioning into an armored brigade.

Col. Sean Bernabe, Task Force Marne commander, said his priorities echo Quintas and the Armys in general.

Priority No. 1 is readiness in all of its facets, Bernabe said. The No. 2 priority is to make sure that Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield remain the best installations in our Army, and the third is to make sure that strengthen and enhance the already great relationships we have with the communities around Fort Stewart and around Hunter Army Airfield.

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About 250 3rd ID soldiers prepare for Afghanistan - Savannah Morning News

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) reopened a small medical clinic in Kunduz, Afghanistan, Saturday, their first facility there since the American airstrikes that destroyed a hospital in 2015.

The opening of this clinic is the first step toward providing more medical assistance in Kunduz, Silvia Dallatomasina, head of programs for MSF in Afghanistan, told Reuters. And for us its an important step.

Since the air attack by American special forces in 2015, which killed 42 patients, medical staff, and caregivers at the MSF trauma center, the medical aid group has been trying to secure assurances from American and Afghan military officials that their medical facilities would be respected and protected.

We are still finalizing commitments but we believe we were able to reach an agreement, Dallatomasina said.

The new clinic in Kunduz, which is not situated at the site of the destroyed hospital, will only provide outpatient treatment of minor or chronic injuries, she said.

Patients who need more advanced care including X-rays will still need to go to the government-run regional hospital, which has been overworked amid heavy fighting in the province.

The regional hospital is quite overwhelmed, so we want to try to reduce that burden by treating less serious injuries, Dallatomasina said.

While no final plans have been confirmed, MSF hopes to begin building a new trauma center in Kunduz as early as 2018, although likely on a smaller scale than the previous facility, she said.

The MSF trauma center was destroyed during a period in 2015 when Taliban militants briefly overran the city. An American military probe concluded that the attack was the result of human error and equipment failure, among other factors.

At least sixteen U.S. military personnel were disciplined for their role, but MSF has criticized the lack of independent investigation into the incident.

While Afghan troops, still backed by U.S. warplanes and special forces, have prevented the Taliban from seizing the city again, fighting has continued.

The security in Kunduz is still quite volatile, and we know that the needs are really dire, Dallatomasina said.

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Medical Charity MSF Reopens Clinic in Afghanistan - Voice of America

News & Observer (blog)

Cat rescued from U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan war zone now ... News & Observer (blog) Hooch was a proud resident of the U.S. embassy in Kabul and escaped an extermination order in 2011, getting heroically toted across international lines to ... and more »

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Cat rescued from U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan war zone now ... - News & Observer (blog)