{"id":55119,"date":"2018-07-12T01:03:30","date_gmt":"2018-07-12T01:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/12\/peace-in-afghanistan-more-elusive-as-taliban-shrug-off-talks\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:41:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:41:18","slug":"peace-in-afghanistan-more-elusive-as-taliban-shrug-off-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/07\/12\/peace-in-afghanistan-more-elusive-as-taliban-shrug-off-talks\/","title":{"rendered":"Peace in Afghanistan more elusive as Taliban shrug off talks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">KABUL, Afghanistan \u2014 With the Taliban shrugging off the Afghan government\u2019s latest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/07\/08\/taliban-again-reject-afghan-offer-of-peace-talks-with-kabul\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">offers of a cease-fire and negotiations<\/a>, peace seems as elusive as it has been for decades in this war-battered country, both for troops on the front lines and for civilians facing frequent attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Taliban have been gaining more ground in their annual spring offensive, ignoring President Ashraf Ghani\u2019s calls for talks. Hoping to end the nearly 17-year war, he had offered unprecedented incentives, including passports for insurgents and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ghani had also offered to work toward removing international sanctions against the group\u2019s leaders and allowing the Taliban to open official headquarters in the capital, Kabul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But for that to happen, he stressed, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/20\/ceasefire-over-us-led-coalition-downplays-taliban-attack-that-killed-30-afghan-soldiers\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">a cease-fire must first be agreed<\/a> on and the Taliban have to become a political group rather than an armed insurgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/13\/a-bold-afghan-peace-offer-but-are-the-taliban-interested\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-925209618.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">A bold Afghan peace offer, but are the Taliban interested?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Afghanistan\u2019s President Ashraf Ghani has put a peace offer on the table, and analysts say the ball is now in the Taliban\u2019s court. But so far the militants are showing no sign of being interested.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In June, the Taliban accepted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/07\/01\/afghan-president-orders-end-to-unilateral-ceasefire\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">a three-day cease-fire<\/a> over the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/07\/us-forces-to-honor-afghan-ceasefire\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Eid al-Fitr holiday<\/a> that caps the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, a first for the group, but rejected a subsequent government call to extend it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They maintain the only talks they would take part in would be with the United States on their key demand: the withdrawal of all American forces from Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid recently reiterated the insurgents\u2019 standing line that \u201cthe Americans are the ones continuing the war, supporting our enemies and bombing our country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo, if there are talks, they should be with them (Americans),\u201d Mujahid told The Associated Press over the phone. \u201cOtherwise they won\u2019t have any results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/05\/30\/why-should-the-us-stay-in-afghanistan-the-commander-of-coalition-forces-offers-his-views-as-he-departs\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/28115363899_8d241a916c_k.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Why should the US stay in Afghanistan? Here\u2019s what the top commander there said.<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">US forces needed to further suppress militant groups, realize Afghan gains, Nicholson said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the start of the year, the Taliban have intensified their attacks. On Jan. 27, a suicide bomber drove an ambulance packed with explosives through a Kabul checkpoint, killing more than 100 people and wounding as many as 235.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Taliban claimed that attack, as well as another, a week earlier, in which militants stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing 22 people, including 14 foreigners, and setting off a 13-hour gunbattle with security forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Wednesday, two suicide bombers stormed an education department building in eastern Nangarhar province, killing at least 10 people. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but both the Taliban and an Islamic State affiliate are active in the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At a June gathering in Kabul, the Afghan Ulema Council \u2014 an organization of Muslim clerics and scholars \u2014 issued an edict against suicide attacks, saying they are \u201charam,\u201d forbidden under Islamic law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the gathering wrapped up and the clerics were about to disband, another suicide bomber struck near the site, killing seven people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though that attack was claimed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/01\/30\/stepped-up-violence-alternately-claimed-by-isis-and-taliban\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan<\/a>, the Taliban issued a statement denouncing the conference and others like it as an \u201cAmerican process\u201d and urged clerics to reject such gatherings.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/06\/10\/us-says-it-will-intensify-fight-against-isis-in-afghanistan\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"190\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18159486606875.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">US says it will intensify fight against ISIS in Afghanistan<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The U.S. will intensify combat against the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan during the Kabul government\u2019s temporary halt to attacks on the Taliban, senior U.S. officials said Friday.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Taliban have meanwhile expanded their reach in the countryside. According to Mujahid, they now control 54 out of 388 districts across the country, with five districts seized in this year\u2019s spring offensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At least seven out of 14 districts in the southern Helmand province are completely under Taliban control. Analysts say about 80 percent of Helmand \u2014 prized for its vast opium poppy fields \u2014 has been under Taliban control since 2004, though urban centers had remained under government control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish denies the Taliban\u2019s claim, saying they control just 11 districts in the entire country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18191506006818.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-94260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18191506006818.jpg.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18191506006818.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18191506006818.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In this July 9, 2018, photo, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with coalition forces at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. (Andrew Harnik\/Pool via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But even Washington\u2019s own Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, says more than half of Afghanistan is either under direct Taliban control or under their influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. and NATO have steadily drawn down forces in recent years from a peak of nearly 150,000, and in 2014 they shifted to a support and counterterrorism role. Afghan security forces, which number 195,000 soldiers and more than 150,000 police, have struggled to combat the insurgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/05\/21\/watchdog-report-questions-us-claim-on-afghan-war-progress\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-932979444.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Watchdog says US strategy in Afghanistan shows little result<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Trump administration\u2019s revamped Afghanistan strategy has made little progress against the Taliban insurgency, leaving the country a \u201cdangerous and volatile\u201d place nearly 17 years after the U.S. invaded, a government watchdog report said Monday.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pressure is on to get some sort of peace process off the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used an unannounced trip to Afghanistan on Monday to step up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/07\/09\/pompeo-pushes-peace-talks-on-unannounced-trip-to-afghanistan\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">the Trump administration\u2019s calls for peace talks<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe region and the world are all tired of what is taking place here in the same way that the Afghan people are no longer interested in seeing war,\u201d Pompeo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/02\/16\/dod-ig-too-soon-to-tell-if-trumps-south-asia-strategy-will-break-the-taliban\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/ISISK_blownup.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">DoD IG: Too soon to tell if Trump\u2019s South Asia strategy will break the Taliban<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Pentagon made key changes to its military strategy in Afghanistan during 2017, but its effects are yet to be felt, according to the Department of Defense Inspector General.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, a conference of religious scholars organized by the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation called for a new cease-fire in Afghanistan. The request, which came at the end of the 57-nations\u2019 two-day meeting Wednesday, had already been dismissed by the Taliban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NATO leaders will be discussing Afghanistan on Thursday at their summit in Brussels during which the alliance is expected to make a commitment to keep funding the Afghan army and its training mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But many rank-and-file Afghan troops are bitter at the dim peace prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe president gave them (Taliban) a chance and announced a cease-fire, but despite this they attacked our checkpoints, ambushed our forces and nothing changed,\u201d says Mohammad Din, a 27-year-old policeman in northern Kunduz province who has been in uniform for the past seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abdul Agha, 33, lost his right arm and both eyes in eastern Logar province when his convoy hit a roadside bomb three years ago. The former policeman said he has not been able to see his two daughters, born after the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt took away my ability to see the brightness and beauty of life,\u201d Agha said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many businessmen and investors have abandoned the country, according to Abdul Karim Arefi, deputy director for the Afghanistan Industries and Investment Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPeople are discouraged, people are not confident enough to import goods and bring in businesses,\u201d Arefi said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the Taliban shrugging off the Afghan government\u2019s latest offers of a cease-fire and negotiations, peace seems as elusive as it has been for decades in this war-battered country, both for troops on the front lines and for civilians facing frequent attacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":94259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":13,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,13,24,89,16,26,65,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1806],"class_list":["post-55119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"OHJKYBN2FNDFZE3QVAS23AHR5I","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/07\/12\/peace-in-afghanistan-more-elusive-as-taliban-shrug-off-talks\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Peace in Afghanistan more elusive as Taliban shrug off talks - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With the Taliban shrugging off the Afghan government\u2019s latest offers of a cease-fire and negotiations, peace seems as elusive as it has been for decades in this war-battered country, both for troops on the front lines and for civilians facing frequent attacks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Peace in Afghanistan more elusive as Taliban shrug off talks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With the Taliban shrugging off the Afghan government\u2019s latest offers of a cease-fire and negotiations, peace seems as elusive as it has been for decades in this war-battered country, both for troops on the front lines and for civilians facing frequent attacks.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/07\/12\/peace-in-afghanistan-more-elusive-as-taliban-shrug-off-talks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Air Force TImes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-12T01:03:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T09:41:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rahim Faiez, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rahim Faiez, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta 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