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The U.S. under president Trump ends the 18 year long war with an agreement signed in Qatar between the U.S. and the Taliban. The Taliban are required to fight all forms of terrorism in Afghanistan as part of the agreement. In the first phase of the withdrawal of American troops, a third of the 12,000 American troops will be withdrawn with a similar reduction of NATO forces. This ends a costly war that cost about 1 trillion dollars and acted as a distraction from major problems in America such as aging infrastructure, and problems related to health, education and other services. President Trump was clear about his perception of America's role during a New Delhi news conference. America could not act in a police role for other states and regions, he said.

President Trump has secured support of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and India for the agreement to bring peace to the region.

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Detailed account of who the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan are, their manner and tactics. The situation now on the ground with the Taliban and their statements and strategy.

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The Paris based think tank International Council for Security and Development says in a report that the Taliban now have apermanent presence in 72% of the contry and are now encircling the capital Kabul, and attacking 4 roads leading to the capital. This will certainly make things difficult for Obama as he takes office in January as the economic crisis will take a lot of attention while at the same time additional troops and military support will come into an Afghanistan that is mostly in the hands of the Taliban and with Kabul region in danger.

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Questions raised about the capabilities of the Afghan army and police force following the U.S. withdrawal.

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Gen. Matttis, the U.S. Defense Secretary has completed a strategy review on U.S. presence in Afghanistan. The U.S. policy is now set to put in more troops to support the additional 3900 American troops to advise the Afghan Army authorized in June 2017, as it fights both the Taliban and the Islamic State affiliate in Khorasan, Afghanistan. Two differences from the policy of the Obama administration are the increased focus on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, the Haqqani network, and other related matters which are coming under increased review so that sanctuaries are shut down. Lt. Gen. McMaster, the national security advisor, headed the governance, anti corruption review in Afghanistan during the Obama administration. This is now the focus of the Trump administration- to ask the Afghan government for improvement in these areas in return for aid. Other changes are to secure the support levels of NATO countries in the effort, so that the U.S. is not shouldering the burden alone. Gordon, Schmitt and Haberman cite the report of Gen. Nicholson, head of the American forces in Afghanistan to the U.S. Congress. This report shows deterioration in the fight against the Taliban and Islamic State. As of Nov. 2016 the areas under Afghan government control dropped 15% to 57% since 2015. About 8,400 American troops are part of the 13,000 troop international force in Aghanistan, supporting the Afghan military. An addition 2,000 troops are in counterterrorism missions.   ...

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The government of Hamid Karzi released Mr Dastagir from jail 2 months ago even though he was aTaliban commander in an area near Turkmenistan. This fuels feeling among ordinary Afghan people that the corrupt or criminal can get themselves out of jail. In this case the tribal elders who advocated his release may themselves have faced threats from the Taliban and argued for his release. He was killed in a US pinpoint bombing raid.

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Azam Ahmedjan provides this insightful account of how the Taliban in 2015 has changed. It is no longer the old Taliban the U.S. faced following 9/11 attacks. The aging leadership in Patkistan no longer has the same level of control in Afghanistan. The older Taliban leadership inside Afghanistan has been killed in fighting with American led forces and drone strikes, leaving younger, less disciplined and fractured groups inside Afghanistan. This is the Taliban the American supported government faces. Most importantly the expectations of the Afghan people have changed. This makes it harder to negotiate a peace agreement with fractured Taliban groups on the ground. It also creates new opportunities for integrating Afghanistan into the fabric of South Asian society, as people in India and Pakistan are eager to see modernization, building of infrastructure, education, healthcare, and better standards of living after years of conflict.

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WikiLeaks leak of information about the Pakistan Intelligence Services's (ISI) long standing collaboration with the insurgents and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

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Preident Karzai of Afghanistan joins the three way peace talks of the U.S. and Afghanistan's government with the Taliban, with the cooperation of Pakistan.

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Information that suggests a shrinking role for Al Quaeda, even as the Taliban concentrating on local issues grows in Afghanistan.

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President Obama ordered the surge in 2010 for 30,000 additional troops in Afghanistan. There are now 150,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan. Of these two thirds are Americans. The goal of the surge was set by President Obama as " disrupting, dismantling, and defeating al Quaeda and its extremist allies" in Afghanistan. Yet the fact remains that official estimates on the coallition side are for only about 100 or so al Quaeda militants operating in Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan is being fought with Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan who also live in the mountainous region that comprises Pakistan and Afghanistan, and has some form of clandestine support from sections of the Pakistani military and intelligence services- the Pakistani military having played a critical role in the formation of the Taliban from its inception to act as Pakistan's proxy in that region. With the democracy protests in the Arab world in 2011, al Quaeda does not fit into the existing mood in the Middle East and the Muslim world. Considering these facts- and the mood favoring American disengagement on the part of America's allies in the Afghan government and Pakistan's military, and the American public mood favoring disengagement, the Taliban seeing their conflict as purely domestic and little to do with al Quaeda- the situation is likely to move in the direction of phased American withdrawal. ...

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The Haqqani network based in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a key part of the Taliban forces in the tribal areas along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It has ties to Pakistan's Intelligence Service. The Haqqani network was behind an attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul on Sept. 13, 2011.

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President Trump cancels a summit meeting with the Taliban and Afghan leaders at Camp David planned for this week as a step forward in ongoing peace talks to end the war in Afghanistan. The Taliban attacks in Kabul that killed an American soldier was the reason given for cancelling the meeting. President Trump has as one of his goals ending the war in Afghanistan that has tied up American and allied resources over two decades. The long drawn out conflict has little support in the U.S. particularly because of domestic priorities including infrastructure and the economy, and the lack of any national interests for the U.S. in foreign wars.

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The Afghan School in Kabul run by former Taliban officials for girls and boys is one of the best schools in Kabul. Boys and girls attend chemistry classes together. Taliban officials see the schools as a bridge between madrassas and modern schools, and now accept the idea that as long as Islamic ideals are respected girls should go to school like boys. A former Taliban foreign minister- of the government the U.S. ousted under president Bush- now helps his daughter with homework. The changes in neighboring Pakistan where the government of Nawaz Sharif is pushing modern ideas and technological development are likely to push progress in Afghanistan as well- this happens as the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan. The U.S. leaves a region hungry for progress as new governments pushing technological development supported by business emerge in Pakistan and India in 2013-2014. Unfulfilled promises of economic development are at the forefront of people's minds. A transformation as large as the shift from communism in China to state run market economy and the technological and economic transformation that followed is now at its early beginnings in the region. This shift would be from religious strife and socialist structures to a market economy....

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The prospects for direct U.S. talks with the Taliban after the planned opening of a Taliban office in Qatar. The preliminary efforts were started by U.S. special envoy for S. Asia, Richard Holbrooke. Holbrooke died in 2010, and his successor, Marc Grossman, a former ambassador to Turkey, has continued the efforts as senior representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Grossman now has a team of officials from the Defense Department, the State Department and Intelligence agencies working with him. After a decade of war, a shift in public opinion in the U.S. to domestic issues, and a withdrawal date by the international forces set for 2014, the time appears right for the negotiations that would end this war. Grossman has the backing of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in this push for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban. The recent deterioration of U.S. relations in Pakistan to a breaking point, the complex relationship between the Taliban and the Pakistan military, the growing unpopularity of the U.S. in Pakistan, the meaningless struggle with a Taliban with intrinsic links in the Pakistan military, and the fragility of the elected government in the country are other factors that may be leading the U.S. government to look at the bigger picture and grasp any opportunities towards a negotiated settlement. ...

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The view from Qureshi, Foreign Minister ofr Pakistan at the Journal's offices in New York of a sudden withdrawal when the Pakistani Taliban are threatening Pakistan and so close to Islamabad. He fears "more misery, more suicide bombings, and adramatic loss of confidence in the economy as investors fear that an emboldened Taliban , no longer pressed by coalition forces in Afghanistan, would soon turn its sights on Islamabad. Pakistan faced with a withdrawal would lessen cooperation against AlQuaeda and the intelligence that made drone attacks so precise in targeting Taliban leaders may be withdrawn. Pakistan may then strike adeal with the jihadists.

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Dexter Filkins shows here how something is changing that may have been missed by American commanders and the new US administration- the evidence of a crumbling and unpopular feudal structure that the British maintained in Afghanistan to continue the imperial presence, and which has remained that way under the government of Pakistan for the last 50 years. Baitullah Mehsud and other Taliban leaders are from the lower strata of society, the porters and street cleaners and other occupations. The British operated through the malik system of tribal elders who were supposed to maintain order, and the British pretty much left them alone. The Pathan or Pastun people on both sides of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan are going through some major social changes that are pent up for centuries. The malik system is beiing destroyed on one hand , and on the other hand the Taliban enjoy support among ordinary people in Pathan country as being good Muslims, and in parts of Pakistan itself. This creates a dangerous mix for American forces, popular sentiment of the lower strata and ordinary Afghans, with clandestine support from Islamist officers within the Pakistan army and intelligence services for more sophisticated warfare. Which only means that disproportionate resources would be needed for an expanded American project in Afghnistan, without much to offer in return....

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The talks for a peace settlement with the Taliban hosted in London in Feb. 2013 by Britain's prime minister, David Cameron. The talks were between Cameron, Pakistan's president Asif Zardari, and Afghanistan president Karzai. The effort is designed to prevent a civil war after the NATO and U.S. withdrawal in 2013-2014.

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Admiral Mullen and General Petraeus have grown impatient with Pakistan's and the ISI's support for the Haqqani network, a Taliban ally that works as a proxy for Pakistan's military and intelligence services. Recent disclosure of Pakistan's military and civilian leadership's effort at a Kabul meeting to have the Afghanistan government distance itself from the U.S. have added to concerns. The appointment of Gen. Petraeus to lead the CIA, including direction of the drone campaign, is expected to continue the tension in the relationship.

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The current number of American soldiers in Afghanistan of 32,000 in May 2014 will be reduced to about 9,800 after 2014, which would be cut to about 5000 in 2015, an leave only a small force of specially trained forces to protect the embassy and for additional security. Residual forces will include trainers and Special Operations forces to keep a check on Quaeda loyalists in remote parts of Afghanistan and in the mountains. The drones have accomplished much of the work done in earlier phases of the war by ground troops. The Afghan war has also been all about Pakistan. The completion of a full term in office of a democratically elected government for the first time, and the election of the Sharif government, including the participation of tribal and other Muslim extremists in elections, have been the hidden face of the war changing its face in other ways. The beginning of a focus on development in Pakistan and India, and the election of a new government in Aghanistan, the peace talks with the Taliban, are other parts of the shift to winding down America's presence coming from changes in the region itself- by changing the very nature of the conflict itself and isolating the most extremist elements....

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Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan visits the White House to meet president Trump. Mr. Trump welcomes Khan and lauds the Pakistani leader as an athlete and a leader. He tells him trade deals can be struck, future was bright and flow of aid can be turned on. Trump makes a casual offer to help mediate the dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, even though it is certain that nothing comes out of this, because of India's position not welcoming other countries doing any mediation. At the heart of this reconciliation is Afghanistan and president Trump's conviction that Pakistan can get the U.S. out of Afghanistan. Trump stated this- "I think Pakistan is going to help us out, to extricate ourselves. Pakistan is going to make a difference." The idea is that Pakistan can persuade the militants, the Taliban, into a face saving settlement that will allow American troops to come home. Mr. Khan in turn stated that Pakistan had given up its policy of using Afghanistan to give it "strategic depth" against India. The army would not go behind the back of the civilian government to conduct a policy of its own. Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Trump are impatient to get this done. The deadline of Mr. Pompeo is September 1 and talks continue between the Taliban and representatives from Afghanistan. The U.S. effort is handled by Zalmay Khalizad. How Afghanistan is governed in the future is not determined and Pakistan has a key role to play in making a sensible solution take place if it decides that something new has to be tried.  In the past U.S. governments from both parties lacked the ability to take a good hard look at the facts the origin and evolution of this dispute. To tackle it directly with a willingness not only to call it for what it is but also to give the other side an incentive to try new solutions. The inventive style of the Trump administration to tackle the situation directly, but also come up with new and novel solutions is what is now being tried. ...

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U.S. Defense Secretary Panetta says the U.S. will hand over provinces to Afghan government forces and complete the transition to a training role in 2013. This is part of the withdrawal of NATO forces and comes after France's president Sarkozy proposed reducing France's committment in Afghanistan. Panetta said he would tell NATO partners- "We all went in together and we will go out together." This also fits in with the changing picture in the region, poor relations with Pakistan, sentiment in the U.S. and Europe focussed on the economic crisis, and direct talks with the Taliban for a post-NATO settlement of the conflict.