As many as 16 candidates are fighting to win the support of more than 9.6 million voters in Afghanistan’s fourth presidential election since 2001. The elections on September 28 are taking place amid rising violence by the Taliban and more attacks by US and government forces

Former arms industry executive Charles Kupperman has stepped in as interim national security advisor, symbolizing the essential continuity in US foreign policy even in the age of Donald Trump

Observers are surprised at Trump’s decision as the Taliban had never promised to end violence as a precondition for the talks. Trump’s citing the death of a soldier for his decision is also puzzling as the US continued talks despite 15 of its dying in Afghanistan this year

Meanwhile, the Taliban has intensified its war against government forces in several provinces of Afghanistan. It carried out an attack in Kabul on Monday, killing over 16 people.

Nearly 15 years after the first presidential election, there are very few national political parties in Afghanistan, a structural weakness that prevents democracy from taking root in the country

The discussions among various Afghan groups that began on July 7 was noteworthy for the participation of two government officials, although they attended the meeting in their private capacity

David McBride, who released documents detailing war crimes by Australian security forces in Afghanistan, has not received the full brief of the case against him owning to national security concerns

Along with being remanded to federal custody for an unspecified period, a federal judge has also imposed upon Chelsea Manning a fine of USD 500 per day after 30 days in custody, and USD 1,000 per day after 60 days to coerce a testimony out of her.

Manning was released after the 62-day term of the grand jury expired. She has been summoned again to testify against Assange.

The attack took place in the western Bakwa district and the most of the civilians were daily wage laborers. Pro-government forces killed more civilians than the Taliban in the first three months of the year

The recent Loya Jirga and rounds of talks between the US and the Taliban do not seem to be able to provide a clear road map for the peace process in Afghanistan

A UN report documented that pro-government and international forces were responsible for 305 of the 581 deaths recorded so far this year. This is a 39% increase from the same period last year