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Pompeo makes unannounced Afghan visit to mediate political crisis Pompeo makes unannounced Afghanistan visit to mediate political crisis amid fears that peace deal will collapse
(about 4 hours later)
KABUL — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived Monday morning in Kabul on an unannounced half-day visit, which will be dominated by meetings with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who is attempting to form a parallel government. KABUL — With a crisis in the Afghan government threatening to derail a peace deal signed last month between Taliban and U.S. officials, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unannounced visit here Monday in hopes of resolving a clash between President Ashraf Ghani and his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who is attempting to form a parallel government.
Pompeo and other officials traveling with him did not make any comments to accompanying journalists, but the flurry of announced meetings with Ghani and Abdullah suggested that Pompeo would seek to mediate between the two men. Both Ghani, the incumbent, and Abdullah, who holds the title of chief executive, both claimed to have won the presidency in September polls. Pompeo spent the day meeting privately with both leaders, first separately and then together, before leaving the country less than nine hours after he landed. There was no immediate indication from U.S. or Afghan officials as to how much progress his efforts had made.
The Afghan government has been at a tense stalemate for nearly two weeks, with no progress made on plans to begin negotiations between Afghan and Taliban leaders over the country’s future political system. Those talks were scheduled to begin by March 10, after U.S. officials signed an agreement with Taliban representatives Feb. 29 that would allow thousands of U.S. troops to begin leaving the country. But the secretary's sudden trip from Washington, even with the novel coronavirus upending life in the United States and consuming its government, was a dramatic indicator of U.S. officials' growing alarm at the lengthening political stalemate here — both for its potential to erupt into a violent civil conflict and to undermine the peace process.
Standoff between Afghan President Ghani and rival Abdullah threatens Taliban peace dealStandoff between Afghan President Ghani and rival Abdullah threatens Taliban peace deal
Pompeo was greeted on arrival by Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. diplomat who has been leading peace talks with the Taliban for the past year. In the past week, Khalilzad has been attempting to smooth relations between Ghani and Abdullah, but he appears to have made scant progress. Afghan political and religious leaders have also been mediating between them, to no avail. The agreement signed Feb. 29 between U.S. and Taliban officials was expected to allow thousands of U.S. troops to begin leaving Afghanistan soon and to pave the way for negotiations between Taliban and Afghan leaders on a shared government in the future. Instead, both plans have bogged down, and no date has been set for the talks.
The secretary’s announced schedule includes a lengthy private meeting with Ghani, followed by a similar one with Abdullah. After that, the two Afghan leaders were scheduled to meet alone, followed by a final meeting with Pompeo. After brief meetings with Afghan security officials, Pompeo was scheduled to leave the country early Monday evening. "Unless this crisis gets resolved and resolved soon, it could affect the peace process, which was an opportunity to end. . . 40 years of war. And our agreement with the Talibs could be put at risk," a senior State Department official told journalists traveling with Pompeo, speaking on the condition of anonymity to be candid.
The unusual and quick visit here by the top U.S. diplomat appears to reflect the high level of frustration in Washington over the high-stakes political standoff in Kabul, which has aroused concerns here that a civil war could erupt. Abdullah, who claims he was cheated out of victory at the polls, is backed by an array of powerful former ethnic warlords. The official said Pompeo's "authority" as the top U.S. diplomat and a close adviser to President Trump gives him more potential influence than other intermediaries on Ghani and Abdullah, who are bitterly estranged after co-governing for five years. In recent weeks, both Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. diplomat spearheading the peace talks, and senior Afghan political and religious leaders have tried to find a compromise — to no avail.
Pompeo’s apparent mediation mission is eerily reminiscent of the last Afghan presidential election in 2014, when then-Secretary of State John F. Kerry successfully mediated an identical spat between Ghani and Abdullah. Both claimed to have won the presidency in a fraud-marred election, but Kerry persuaded them to accept a power-sharing arrangement that has proven tense and fractious. Even with "a lot going on," including the coronavirus pandemic, the official said, Pompeo had "come all the way here" to "push" both Afghan leaders to form an inclusive government and to stress the dangers that could result "if they don't do the right thing." The official said there was particular concern that the Afghan defense forces could split between "two presidents and two commanders in chief, or worse."
Pompeo is also likely to raise a second issue with Ghani that has undercut the Taliban peace deal almost from the day it was signed. The agreement reached in Qatar called for an exchange of prisoners in which the Ghani government would released 5,000 Taliban fighters and the Taliban would release 1,000 captured Afghan government forces. What the Trump administration wants is for Ghani and Abdullah to agree on an "inclusive government that is acceptable to both," the official said. "We are encouraging them to rise to the occasion" and "put the country first."
The Afghan president, however, strongly objected, saying that releasing so many insurgents would rob the government of significant leverage in future talks and would risk freeing large numbers of enemy fighters who might well return to the battle. In the past 10 days, his aides have been assessing lists of prisoners and said they are willing to release a smaller number who are old, sick or otherwise less likely to go back to fighting. After back-to-back meetings, with Pompeo shuttling between Ghani's and Abdullah's palaces — one block apart — and then meeting them together, no official statements were made.
Khalilzad has also been trying to help work out an agreement on prisoners, and over the weekend he said in a tweet that he had facilitated a video conference meeting between Taliban and Afghan prison officials on “technical” aspects of the release. He did not say whether or when any release would start. The political crisis arose after the presidential election in September. Ghani, the incumbent, was declared the winner last month, but Abdullah alleged massive fraud and refused to concede. The two have been locked in a tense stalemate for two weeks, while Abdullah, backed by an array of former ethnic minority militia leaders, has begun naming his own governors and cabinet members.
Pompeo, who attended the peace agreement signing in Doha, the Qatari capital, said at the time that the path forward would be “rocky” and that launching meaningful negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan leaders over a shared role in governing would be difficult. But he also said that while Taliban leaders have “an enormous amount of blood on their hands, they have now made a break” from their past and have promised not to allow anti-U.S. terrorist activities on Afghan soil. Meanwhile, no progress has been made on forming a government delegation to meet with the Taliban, even though those talks were scheduled to begin March 10. In a separate dispute, Ghani has refused to immediately release 5,000 Taliban prisoners as the U.S.-Taliban agreement stipulated, throwing that deal into doubt, as well, and leaving unclear if and when American troops can begin pulling out in large numbers.
The agreement, which was widely criticized by Afghans as giving too much leeway to the Taliban, called for both sides to observe a brief “reduction in violence.” It also included a Taliban anti-terrorism pledge and called for intra-Afghan talks to begin within a short time. Pompeo's mission is eerily reminiscent of what transpired after the last Afghan presidential election, in 2014, when then-Secretary of State John F. Kerry successfully mediated an identical spat between Ghani and Abdullah. Both claimed to have won the presidency in a fraud-marred election, but Kerry persuaded them to accept a power-sharing arrangement. It has proven tense and fractious.
In return, the Trump administration is expected to begin withdrawing some troops immediately, reducing the number here from about 14,000 to about 8,600, and then pulling back most of the remaining forces by the end of the year. Some reductions have reportedly begun, but U.S. military officials have not provided public details. Pompeo also raised the prisoner-release issue with Ghani, which Khalilzad has been trying to work on over the past week. Over the weekend, he facilitated a video conference between Taliban and Afghan prison officials on the “technical” aspects of a proposed release, but no plan was finalized.
Pompeo, who attended the signing of the peace agreement in Qatar, said at the time that the path forward would be “rocky” and that talks between Taliban and Afghan leaders would be difficult. But he also said that while Taliban leaders have “an enormous amount of blood on their hands, they have now made a break” with their past and promised not to allow anti-U.S. terrorist activities on Afghan soil.
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