Taliban

The U.S. hopes to ink a peace deal to end the nation's longest war, which was first launched in 2001.

Days after talks resumed between the United States and Taliban negotiators to end America's longest-running war, a savage fusillade of gunfire erupted between Taliban militants and U.S.-Afghan forces near Bagram Airfield, the largest American base in Afghanistan.

The annual Global Terrorism Index said that the number of terrorist deaths worldwide fell significantly from 2017 to 2018.

Indian-born Asim Umar had been the head of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) since 2014.

Khan lamented the huge human and economic cost of the War on Terror, noting that Pakistan "took a real battering."

The Taliban said more Americans would die after Trump said he was canceling a secret Camp David meeting aimed at ending America's longest war.

Trump said he had been ready to meet Taliban leaders on Sunday but cancelled the visit following the death of a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan last week.

"I don't like the symbolism of the Taliban coming to Camp David," Jesse Watters said.

The hashtag was trending on Twitter after a secret peace talks meeting with the Taliban was canceled by Trump.

Over 40 retired generals and admirals write to the President to list what will make the difference between a strong and effective Afghan deal, and a weak and symbolic one that doesn't.

"It reveals that there is no process in this administration, there is no serious policymaking process," former CIA Director John Brennan said.

A Taliban spokesperson criticized Trump's decision to cancel a planned meeting with the group's representatives that was scheduled for this weekend.

Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger and Florida Rep. Michael Waltz both had tough words for the commander in chief after he invited Taliban leaders to Camp David.

"We have consistently stressed that genuine peace is possible when the Taliban stop the killing of Afghans, embrace an inclusive ceasefire, and enter into direct negotiations with the Afghan government," Afghan government spokesman Sediq Sediqqi wrote Sunday.

The president said leaders from the Taliban were secretly supposed to fly into the United States on Saturday night before he cancelled it.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo uses an Obama-era line to describe al-Qaeda and the current situation in Afghanistan. Organizations and officials claim Pompeo is underestimating their capabilities and influence.

Negotiators are reportedly close to an initial agreement that will open dialogue between the Taliban and the Afghan government with a view to ending almost two decades of conflict.

An American Speical Forces soldier was killed in Afghanistan Thursday as violence continues throughout the region amid ongoing peace negotiations between U.S. and Taliban officials.

"Given the Taliban's sordid history and ongoing violence, it strains credulity to believe it can be a partner for peace," a top House Republican wrote in an op-ed.

Newsweek has learned from senior defense officials that U.S. forces have been ordered to stop targeting the Taliban and advising Afghan allies as thousands of troops were set to withdraw from the country.

The group warned Trump that multiple historical empires have taken the dream of victory in Afghanistan "to the grave."

"Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the earth, it would be gone," Trump said on Monday.

"Al Qaeda attacked us on 9/11. That's why I and so many other people joined the military, to go after Al Qaeda. Not the Taliban," Gabbard explained.

Afghanistan will likely never become an American-style democracy. But the U.S. must ensure its peace agreement with the Taliban allows no return to the status quo ante.

While not uncommon, the request comes at a moment of high tension in Washington as Democrats grow increasingly frustrated by what they view as the Trump administration's obstruction of their oversight responsibilities.

"We have not begun any peace talks with the Afghan government at all," retired four-star General Jack Keane said. "That is going to be very, very complicated, and we've got a long road in front of us."

"I'm sad that I'm losing track of all the people I know who have been killed in action. I'm sad and angry," said a former U.S. Army EOD soldier. "I'm sad that he's gone and angry that I can't switch places with him."

The operation that resulted in the two deaths is under investigation, the NATO Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan said.

"I'm going to keep saying this. This is what the Taliban does."

By hosting direct talks with the Taliban, a former U.S. ambassador to Kabul said, "We have ourselves delegitimized the government we claim to support."