THE COUNTDOWN STARTS: The U.S.-brokered seven-day reduction of violence agreement — a crucial prerequisite to the U.S. signing a troop withdrawal deal with the Taliban — takes effect at midnight tonight Afghanistan time, 2:30 p.m. today in Washington.
The stop American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, is tasked with making a determination as to whether the Taliban has held up its side of the bargain during the week that begins tomorrow.
The truce test comes as the Afghan government is in the midst of another elections crisis, with incumbent President Ashraf Ghani declared the winner of national elections but with his chief rival Abdullah Abdullah also declaring victory, citing voter fraud.
POMPEO: CARPE MOMENTUM: In a statement this morning Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that while challenges remain, “the progress made in Doha provides hope and represents a real opportunity. The United States calls on all Afghans to seize this moment.”
“Upon a successful implementation of this understanding, signing of the U.S.-Taliban agreement is expected to move forward. We are preparing for the signing to take place on February 29,” Pompeo said. “Intra-Afghan negotiations will start soon thereafter, and will build on this fundamental step to deliver a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire and the future political roadmap for Afghanistan.”
WHAT THE TALIBAN WANTS: In a highly controversial op-ed published in the New York Times, Sirajuddin Haqqani, the deputy leader of the Taliban, says his fighters are weary after more than 18 years of war, and are ready for “the opportunity for peace no matter how meager the prospects of its success.”
“For more than four decades, precious Afghan lives have been lost every day. Everyone has lost somebody they loved. Everyone is tired of war. I am convinced that the killing and the maiming must stop,” writes Haqqani. “We did not choose our war with the foreign coalition led by the United States. We were forced to defend ourselves. The withdrawal of foreign forces has been our first and foremost demand. That we today stand at the threshold of a peace agreement with the United States is no small milestone.”
“We are committed to working with other parties in a consultative manner of genuine respect to agree on a new, inclusive political system in which the voice of every Afghan is reflected and where no Afghan feels excluded,” he said in the opinion piece headlined, “What We, the Taliban, Want.”
WHERE HAVE WE HEARD THAT NAME BEFORE? Sirajuddin Haqqani is leader of the notorious Haqqani network, and happens to be on FBI’s Most Wanted list, with a $5 million bounty on his head.
“Haqqani is wanted for questioning in connection with the January 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed six people, including an American citizen,” says the FBI on its wanted poster for the Taliban leader, who is said to have coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan. “Haqqani also allegedly was involved in the planning of the assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2008,” according to the FBI.
TERRORIST PROPAGANDA? The decision by the Times to publish the musings of a brutal terrorist sparked a fury of outrage on social media. “The NYT printed the op-ed propaganda of a known terrorist,’ tweeted House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy. “Sirajuddin Haqqani, whose father was a Bin Laden mentor, leads a terrorist group that has attacked our embassy, raped an American woman, & killed hundreds of our troops. What an insult to those who have lost loved ones.”
“I have some questions for @nytimes since they decided to give the Taliban a forum to spew garbage, like, “We did not choose our war…We were forced to defend ourselves,” tweeted Republican Rep. Liz Cheney. “1. Remember 9/11? 2. The author is a designated global terrorist. Did you pay him for this piece?”
“Appalled @nytimes has given leader of the Haqqani network and leader in Taliban room in their editorial pages to espouse his views,” tweeted Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Banks “Haqqani network is responsible for 1000s of Americans killed in Afghanistan and provides shelter to al Qaeda operatives… they sheltered Bin Laden.”
RELATED: Washington Examiner: Opinion: New York Times publishes Taliban propaganda.
ON THE DEFENSIVE: “We know firsthand how dangerous and destructive the Taliban is,” said Eileen Murphy, the Times senior vice president of communications, in defense of the op-ed.
“Sirajuddin Haqqani is one of the negotiators hammering out an agreement with American officials in Doha that could result in American troops leaving Afghanistan. That makes his perspective relevant at this particular moment,” Murphy said in an email to The Hill newspaper.
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HAPPENING TODAY: All three services secretaries — Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, and Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly — will take part in a discussion at 10 a.m. at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Live stream at https://www.csis.org/events
ALSO TODAY: Dana Deasy, the Pentagon’s chief information officer, and Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, will hold an on-the-record and on-camera briefing for reporters on the adoption of ethical principles for Artificial Intelligence at 1 p.m. Live stream at https://www.defense.gov/Watch/Live-Events.
IRAN VOTES: Iranians are voting in parliamentary elections that the U.S. says have been rigged to give more power to hardliners who support Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by disqualifying thousands of potential candidates in favor Khamenei’s allies.
“Any Iranian who wants to run for office must first be approved by the Guardian Council and its Committee for Election Supervision. The Guardian Council is led by a group of 12 unelected clerics and so-called legal experts. They decide who gets on the ballot. They are the ones who really get to vote in Iran,” said Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran at the State Department yesterday.
“For the elections tomorrow, the council denied more than 7,000 candidates the right to participate in the election. They also disqualified 90 sitting members of Iran’s parliament for running for re-election,” he said. “Unfortunately for the Iranian people, the real election took place in secret long before any ballots were even cast. This is how it has been for the last 41 years in Iran. “
COMING HOME: The Pentagon is beginning to withdraw some of the forces it surged to the Persuian Gulf region as tensions flared with Iran last month, now that the threat of war has diminished.
“It’s fair to say we have seen a change in Iranians’ behavior,” said Defense Secretary Mark Esper last week in Munich. “I think we restored deterrence. And it’s something we watch very, very carefully.”
About 800 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division have returned to Fort Bragg, while roughly 2,700 other soldiers who were deployed then still remain in Kuwait. Officials described the rush to get extra troops to the region as the “most significant no-notice deployment of combat forces” in three decades.
CRISIS IN SYRIA: New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, says the Syrian government assault on the last rebel redoubt in northern Syria is a full-fledged humanitarian crisis.
“The unthinkable horrors unfolding in Idlib, Syria have been years in the making. More than 900,000 civilians have fled from the frontlines since December 1, most of whom are women and children,” Menendez said in a statement. “The Syrian regime and Russian aircraft are continuing to hammer civilians and refugees trying to flee from increasingly smaller spaces. Many of those who manage to escape the attacks are succumbing to the Syrian winter.”
“Now is the time for an immediate ceasefire between Russia, the Syrian regime, and Turkey. Now is the moment for the Turkish government to realign its security interests with those of the United States and NATO allies against the murderous regimes it is fighting on the ground,” Menendez said. “The Administration should reconsider its inhumane approach to those fleeing brutal violence and send a signal that we will stand with all those who are oppressed. The Administration must throw the full weight of American diplomacy into promoting stability.”
RELATED: The Middle East Institute holds a discussion on “The Crisis in Syria’s Idlib.” at 10 a.m. today, with Zaher Sahloul, president and founder of MedGlobal; Elizabeth Tsurkov, fellow with the Foreign Policy Research Institute; Charles Lister, senior fellow and director of the Countering Terrorism and Extremism Program at MEI; and Alexander Marquardt, senior national correspondent at CNN.
The Rundown
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Defense News: U.S. ‘Can’t Continue’ Tolerating Russian ‘Noncompliance’ On Open Skies, Esper Says
Military.com: Pentagon Awarded $876M In Contracts Meant For Disabled Vets To Ineligible Companies: IG
Reuters: Assange’s fate hangs in balance as UK court considers U.S. extradition bid
Al-Monitor: SDF avoids fight with Trump over budget cut
Bloomberg: New Space Force’s Purchasing Projected at $4.7 Billion by 2025
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South China Morning Post: China’s Military Tightens Secrecy Rules As PLA Steps Up Exchanges Abroad
International Policy Digest: U.S. Should Recognize Allies’ Concerns about Libya
Calendar
FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 21
10:00 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. — Center for Strategic and International Studies conversation with the service secretaries, with Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, and Kathleen Hicks, director, CSIS International Security Program. https://www.csis.org/events/discussion
10 a.m. 740 15th St. N.W. — New America book discussion on “The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War,” with author Fred Kaplan, national security columnist at Slate; and Peter Bergen, vice president of New America. https://www.newamerica.org/international-security/events/bomb
MONDAY | FEBRUARY 24
5:30 p.m. Pentagon Briefing Room 2D972 — Defense Secretary Mark Esper and South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo hold a joint news conference. Esper welcomes Jeong to the Pentagon with an “an advanced honor cordon” at 4:30 p.m. on the steps of the River Entrance. News conference streamed live at https://www.defense.gov/Watch/Live-Events/
WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 26
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley testify before the House Armed Services Committee on “The Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Budget Request from the Department of Defense.” https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
THURSDAY | FEBRUARY 27
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “The Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Budget Request for the Department of the Navy, with acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday, and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
2 p.m. 2154 Rayburn — House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on National Security hearing on U.S. troops who say they were exposed to chemical and radiological hazards while deployed to Karshi-Khanabad (K2) Air Base in Uzbekistan after Sept. 11, 2001, with testimony from retired Air Force Master Sgt. Paul Widener, K2 Veteran; Kim Brooks, spouse of Army Lt. Col. Timothy Brooks; and retired Army Chief Warrant Officer Scott Welsch. Livestream at https://www.youtube.com/user/OversightDems
WEDNESDAY | MARCH 4
9 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. — McAleese Defense Programs Conference. Register at [email protected]
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“For more than four decades, precious Afghan lives have been lost every day. Everyone has lost somebody they loved. Everyone is tired of war. I am convinced that the killing and the maiming must stop … That we today stand at the threshold of a peace agreement with the United States is no small milestone.”
Sirajuddin Haqqani, deputy leader of the Taliban, writing in an op-ed published by the New York Times.
