Taliban tango

While the Taliban orchestrates staged peace talks around the globe, confusion reigns in Afghanistan over how the country will function if and when U.S. troops leave.

President Donald Trump said in his State of the Union address last week that the United States is working toward a deal with the Taliban. “As we make progress in these negotiations, we will be able to reduce our troop presence and focus on counterterrorism,” he said. U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad met with the Taliban and this month is leading a delegation to Afghanistan, Belgium, Germany, Pakistan, Qatar, and Turkey to push the peace process. But no concrete plans have come from the meetings, and the Taliban continues attacking Afghan military installations in the meantime. On the morning of the State of the Union address, insurgents targeted an Afghan army base in the northern Kunduz province, killing 30 soldiers. On Feb. 1, the group killed six troops in an attack on an army checkpoint in the Sari Pul province.

“I don’t think we’ve seen anything conclusive come out of these talks,” Bill Roggio, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told me. “I think the only thing that’s been agreed on is the U.S. wants to leave, and the Taliban knows it.” Roggio said the Taliban only uses the so-called peace talks as a stage to tell the world what it wants. On Feb. 5—again, the same day as Trump’s State of the Union speech—the Taliban met in Moscow with an invited delegation of Afghans, including former President Hamid Karzai. The delegates did not represent the government and had no authority to make a deal, but the group included two women as a gesture of openness by the Islamist militants.

In a separate interview during the meetings, Taliban official Abdul Salam Hanafi said U.S. officials gave a timeline for its withdrawal from the country’s 17-year conflict, even though no U.S. officials attended the talks. “The Americans told us that from the beginning of February to the end of April, half of the troops from Afghanistan will be withdrawn,” he said.

The United States currently has about 14,000 troops in the country. U.S. Army Col. Rob Manning, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said U.S. Defense Department officials did not receive any command to start withdrawing from Afghanistan.

Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan arrived unannounced in Afghanistan on Monday to meet with U.S. commanders and Afghan leaders.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani warned the government should play a role in the peace process, but the Taliban refuses to sit down with the country’s legitimate leaders. “At the end of any peace deal, the decision-maker will be the government of Afghanistan,” Ghani told TOLO News. “No power in the country can dissolve the government.”

Roggio cautioned the Taliban’s refusal to talk with the government of Afghanistan could present an additional obstacle to peace. “If the U.S. leaves and the Taliban wouldn’t talk with the Afghan government, you would just have a continuation of the war, but without the U.S. involvement.”

Politician repents of killings in the Philippines

Police killings in the Philippine drug war claimed the lives of at least 5,000 civilians, possibly many more. Former Philippine National Police Director Ronald Dela Rosa said last week those deaths weigh on his conscience. He retired in April 2018 after two years of leading President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and launched a Senate bid in October. Last week, Dela Rosa sought a Catholic archbishop’s forgiveness for the drug war killings, according to UCA News.

“I am asking for forgiveness for all those killed in our war on drugs because it [bothers] my conscience,” he told reporters. “Even though I was not the one who killed and shot them, I was the chief. It happened under my watch.”

He said the archbishop blessed and forgave him, but other members of the clergy expressed skepticism about his contrition, according to the Business Mirror.

“It is not enough to admit you committed a mistake, especially since the killings continue,” Bishop Broderick Pabillo said. “He should use his influence to stop the killings.” —Julia A. Seymour

U.S. slashes aid to Cameroon

The United States last week said it will cut its military assistance to Cameroon amid allegations of human rights violations by the country’s security forces.

The U.S. State Department said it will withdraw about $17 million in security aid to the country. The support includes armored vehicles, helicopter training, and access to U.S. National Guard resources. Cameroon is currently battling Boko Haram extremists in the Far North Region. Separatist clashes have also destabilized the country’s Southwest and Northwest regions.

In August, Amnesty International shared details of a video, likely filmed before May 2016, showing security forces firing automatic weapons at unarmed civilians in the Far North Region. In July, another video showed security forces gunning down two women with small children strapped to their backs, accusing them of being Boko Haram extremists.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement it could further reduce its assistance if conditions do not improve: “We emphasize that it is in Cameroon’s interest to show greater transparency in investigating credible allegations of gross violations of human rights security forces, particularly in the Northwest, Southwest, and Far North regions.” —O.O.

India battles foreign aid groups

Indian authorities are cracking down on foreign aid groups critical of the government, a trend gathering steam across South Asia.

Greenpeace India, which advocates for policies to address the country’s poor air quality, shut down two regional offices this month and reduced its staff after authorities raided its offices and froze its bank accounts. Tax officials accuse the group of accessing illegal funds from a shell company.

Amnesty International India also reported it cut 30 percent of its workforce and canceled some of its operations after the Finance Ministry raided its headquarters in November. The government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi similarly accused the group of getting $3.5 million from a shell company abroad. Amnesty repeatedly denounced the government’s move to detain its critics and opponents.

Since 2014, the administration has canceled the licenses of nearly 15,000 charities and blocked their access to foreign funds, claiming they failed to file their tax returns and other essential documents.

In a similar trend in neighboring Pakistan, groups including the U.S.-based Catholic Relief Services and ActionAid UK received government orders to shut down their operations due to accusations that they were “working against the interest of the state.” —O.O.

Nigeria braces for presidential election

Nigerian voters will head to the polls Saturday to choose the country’s next leader in an election that will welcome several “firsts.” The two main contenders include incumbent President Muhammad Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, both Muslims from the country’s North.

Young people between the ages of 18 and 35 make up 51 percent of the 84 million registered voters in the country. In May, the government passed the Not Too Young to Run law, which reduced the presidential age limit from 40 to 35. The presidential list includes 72 confirmed candidates, the youngest of whom is Chike Ukaegbu, a 35-year-old running under the Advanced Allied Party.

Sola Tayo, an associate fellow at the U.K.-based Chatham House, confirmed the race is tight between the two main candidates but said other contestants could stand a chance in future elections if they remain visible beyond the electoral season. “I hope more people will see the other parties out there and know they have more of a choice,” she said. —O.O.