Mattis, Afghanistan, tries to promote reconciliation as security worsens

KABUL (Reuters) – US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on a visit to Kabul on Friday.

the prospects for peace talks with the Taliban and the deterioration of the security situation in the country before the next elections.

Mattis was accompanied by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy General Joseph Dunford, who had visited Islamabad earlier this week with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on a mission to question relations with the new government. Pakistani.

The United States has withheld 800 million dollars in military aid from Pakistan this year, after accusing Islamabad of turning a blind eye or helping Afghan fighters of the Taliban and haqqani organizing attacks in Afghanistan. Pakistan denies doing it.

The United States began a year after their latest attempt to increase pressure on the Taliban by intensifying air strikes and sending thousands of additional troops to train and advise the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF).

Along with Ghani in his presidential palace, US officials discussed progress made to end the war that began 17 years ago and has become the longest running conflict in the United States.

"They discussed the peace process, the positive impact of the South Asian strategy, the ANDSF reforms, the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections, the fight against terrorism and the dialogue with Pakistan," said the spokesman for Ghani.

Mattis and Dunford also met with US General Scott Miller, who took command of NATO forces in Afghanistan on Sunday.

For now, there are still few signs that Afghanistan will become safer and more stable before next month's parliamentary elections and a presidential election in April.

In recent weeks, the Taliban have killed hundreds of soldiers and police and briefly seized the strategic city of Ghazni during a major attack.

Speaking with reporters before he arrived in Kabul, Mattis said he was hopeful about the Taliban peace talks, despite questions about Washington's strategy in Afghanistan.

"Currently, we have more indications that reconciliation is no longer just a shimmer, it's no longer a mirage," Mattis said.

"He now has a framework, there are open lines of communication," added Mattis.

During the summer, a senior US State Department official met with Taliban officials in Qatar to try to lay the groundwork for broader peace negotiations.

The US government said the Taliban would accept a temporary truce in June as a sign of why the talks should be viewed with hope.

"The most important job is to start the political process and reconciliation," Dunford told reporters traveling with him.

"What we are trying to do in the military dimension, is to convince the Taliban that they can not win on the battlefield and that they must engage in a process of peace."

In private, US officials and experts are more cautious.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was unclear what influence the Taliban leaders in Doha, Qatar, had on the leadership of the group.

"I think the United States and Afghanistan may have exaggerated the good news in Afghanistan," said Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center think tank in Washington.

Two insurgent commanders told Reuters that the Taliban had rejected a second ceasefire proposed by Ghani this month.

CREDIBLE NEGOTIATION PARTNER?

The US official, on condition of anonymity, said it was feared that the Afghan government would not do enough to create programs for Taliban fighters seeking to leave the insurgency.

"If the Afghan government can be more responsive to disaffected combatants, it will go a long way towards creating legitimacy for the peace process," said the official.

Divisions within the Afghan government could also jeopardize the chances of peace negotiations.

National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar, one of the most powerful figures in the government, resigned as he prepared to challenge Ghani in next year's presidential election.

"I would be surprised if something important happened on the brink of reconciliation before next year's presidential election, because the Taliban simply do not see the government as a credible force," Kugelman said.

The militant group of the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for a suicide bomber in a Kabul wrestling club, killed at least 20 people on Wednesday.

The Taliban also oppose the Islamic State in Afghanistan, and Mattis noted that this provided rare ground for understanding with Western forces and the Afghan government.

"The Taliban and the NATO Alliance supporting the Afghan government see ISIS in the same light," said Mattis.