Today's D Brief: Flurry of Afghan diplomacy; Journalist killed in Kandahar; Gen. Miller, profiled; Milley’s new weapons warning; And a bit more.
By Ben Watson
July 16, 2021
The D Brief
Afghanistan’s chief negotiator is headed to Qatar today for a new round of talks with the Taliban, Afghanistan’s Tolo News reports. Abdullah Abdullah, head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, leads the group, which was sent off from Kabul by former president Hamid Karzai (whom the airport in Kabul is named after). A separate “Afghan delegation” will also travel to Pakistan on Saturday “for a meeting on Afghanistan’s peace,” Tolo reports.
By the way: Afghanistan’s president spoke with Pakistan’s prime minister today during the Central and South Asia 2021 summit, which is being hosted by Uzbekistan.
New: The U.S. just announced “a new quadrilateral diplomatic platform” linking Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and the U.S., the State Department said in a statement Friday.
“Enhancing regional connectivity” is the group’s focus, with later events planned for representatives “in the coming months.”
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/07/the-d-brief-july-16-2021/183831/
