US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed Serbia's intention to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organisation. AFP
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed Serbia's intention to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organisation. AFP
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed Serbia's intention to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organisation. AFP
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed Serbia's intention to designate Hezbollah a terrorist organisation. AFP

Mike Pompeo travels to Qatar for Taliban talks


Joyce Karam
  • English
  • Arabic

The US announced on Thursday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is flying to Doha to attend the opening ceremony of the Afghanistan peace negotiations, due to begin on Saturday.

"The start of these negotiations follows intense diplomatic efforts, including the US-Taliban agreement and the US-Afghanistan joint declaration, which were agreed to in February," the State Department said.

We will be down to 4,000 soldiers in Afghanistan very soon and down to 2,000 in Iraq very soon

US President Donald Trump announced the trip for the talks between the Afghan government of President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban insurgents, tying it to plans to withdraw 4,000 American troops from the country.

“No deaths, no problems since early February,” Mr Trump said. "We are getting along very, very well with the Taliban."

February was the date of the US deal with the Taliban.

But on Wednesday, a bombing in the Afghan capital hit the convoy of the country's first vice president, killing 10 people and wounding at least 31.

The vice president, Amrullah Saleh, survived the attack unharmed.

“We will be down to 4,000 soldiers in Afghanistan very soon and down to 2,000 in Iraq very soon,” Mr Trump said on Thursday.

The US has now 8,500 troops in the country, and Mr Trump is hoping that a peace agreement between different factions there would allow him to pull the soldiers out and end America's longest war.

The US special representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, who is leading the negotiations, left for Doha last week to promote reconciliation talks.

But Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, said Mr Pompeo’s trip was a sign of US eagerness to withdraw – and a boost for the Taliban.

The timing is also relevant to the US election, said Mr Haqqani, who is also a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

"From Trump’s point of view, it would be the fulfilment of a promise from the last election campaign ahead of next month’s election,” he said.

Taliban triumphalism

Mr Haqqani told The National  that the Taliban were the winners with US concessions including the withdrawal.

“The US has made all the concessions and the Taliban feel victorious," he said.

"It is difficult to imagine how virtually surrendering to the Taliban will bring peace to Afghanistan."

A study by Foreign Policy magazine released last week indicated that most of the Taliban fighters who were released after the February 29 agreement have returned to the battlefront.

“Sixty-eight per cent, of the 108 former Taliban prisoners profiled for the research have already been reintegrated into the Taliban and have resumed active roles in the conflict," the report said.

On Thursday, Mr Trump also announced the nomination of William Ruger as the next ambassador to Afghanistan.

Mr Ruger is a strong advocate for withdrawing US troops in Afghanistan.

A former veteran, he serves as vice president for research and policy at the Charles Koch Institute.

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
bundesliga results

Mainz 0 Augsburg 1 (Niederlechner 1')

Schalke 1 (Caligiuri pen 51') Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Miranda og 81')

Asia Cup 2018 final

Who: India v Bangladesh

When: Friday, 3.30pm, Dubai International Stadium

Watch: Live on OSN Cricket HD

Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO

Watford 1 (Deulofeu 80' p)

Chelsea 2 (Abraham 5', Pulisic 55')

Tuesday's fixtures
Group A
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Iran v Uzbekistan, 8pm
N Korea v UAE, 10.15pm
Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

While you're here
The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410

Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000

Engine 3.5L V6

Transmission Six-speed manual

Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm

Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

Film: Raid
Dir: Rajkumar Gupta
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'cruz and Saurabh Shukla

Verdict:  Three stars 

Voy!%20Voy!%20Voy!
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Omar%20Hilal%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Muhammad%20Farrag%2C%20Bayoumi%20Fouad%2C%20Nelly%20Karim%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

The Baghdad Clock

Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld