Afghanistan’s chief negotiator is headed to Qatar in the present day for a brand new spherical of talks with the Taliban, Afghanistan’s Tolo Information studies. Abdullah Abdullah, head of the Excessive Council for Nationwide Reconciliation, leads the group, which was despatched off from Kabul by former president Hamid Karzai (whom the airport in Kabul is known as after). A separate “Afghan delegation” may also journey to Pakistan on Saturday “for a gathering on Afghanistan’s peace,” Tolo studies.
By the best way: Afghanistan’s president spoke with Pakistan’s prime minister in the present day throughout the Central and South Asia 2021 summit, which is being hosted by Uzbekistan.
New: The U.S. simply introduced “a brand new quadrilateral diplomatic platform” linking Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and the U.S., the State Division mentioned in a press release Friday.
“Enhancing regional connectivity” is the group’s focus, with later occasions deliberate for representatives “within the coming months.”
An Afghan particular forces commander was killed throughout combating in Kandahar province this morning, Tolo reports. His identify was Sediq Karzai, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters photographer was additionally killed in the identical clashes round Spin Boldak, close to the border with Pakistan. That photographer was 38-year-old India native Danish Siddiqui.
Try a few of Siddqui’s reporting (and pictures) from the final collection of missions by way of his Twitter account, here; and listed below are a few of his award-winning pictures from work outdoors of Afghanistan. The New York Occasions has a bit extra on Siddiqui, right here. Reuters has extra right here.
#LongRead alert: Veteran nationwide safety reporter James Kitfield simply turned in a feature-length profile of now-former Afghan struggle commander, U.S. Military Gen. Austin Miller, printed Friday in Politico. Kitfield carried out two in-depth telephone interviews with Miller himself in preparation for this piece, which has no scarcity of floor to cowl—this being America’s longest struggle. Dive into this one, right here.
From Protection One
Nationwide Guard Scrambles for Funds After Congress Refuses to Cowl Jan. 6-Associated Prices // Tara Copp: Greater than a half billion {dollars} within the gap, the Guard’s chief has ordered the heads of the Military and Air Guards to claw again cash from state models.
Researchers Create Drone Swarms That Can Detect Gasoline Leaks, Different Threats // Patrick Tucker: A brand new algorithm referred to as “Sniffy Bug” exhibits how tiny drones will do harmful work even in areas the place they will’t use GPS.
The Subsequent Warfare’s ‘Butcher’s Invoice’ Will Match WWII’s—Except the US Adapts, Milley Says // Caitlin M. Kenney: NATO militaries should grasp new applied sciences, from AI to next-gen long-range fires, inside 15 years, Joint Chiefs chair warns.
Officers Deny American Troops Are Pulling Out Of Iraq as Strategic Talks Close to // Tara Copp and Jacqueline Feldscher: Biden will seemingly focus on the way forward for the American troop presence in Iraq when the prime minister visits Washington this month.
The Naval Temporary // Caitlin M. Kenney: Del Toro listening to; shipbuilder layoffs; provider retrofit; and extra…
NATO Should Shore Up Management of a Key Maritime Chokepoint // Scott Savitz: Independence actions alongside the GIUK Hole may depart the alliance wanting key bases and affect.
SecDef Teases New Deterrence Technique, Vows Billions Extra for AI // Mila Jasper: In pursuit of “built-in deterrence,” Lloyd Austin dedicated $1.5 billion over 5 years to the Pentagon’s synthetic intelligence hub.
Welcome to this Friday version of The D Temporary from Ben Watson with Jennifer Hlad. Should you’re not already subscribed to The D Temporary, you are able to do that right here. On this present day at 5:29 within the morning 76 years in the past, the world entered the Atomic Age when the U.S. detonated a nuclear weapon for the primary time ever at what’s now the White Sands Missile Vary in New Mexico.
The U.S. navy will not be withdrawing from Iraq as quickly as you’ll have heard, regardless of what regional reporters have been advised this week by Iraqi sources, Protection One’s Jacqueline Feldscher, Tara Copp and Kevin Baron reported Thursday.
Background: Brett McGurk, the Nationwide Safety Council’s high official for the Center East and North Africa, met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi on Thursday to debate preparations for the following strategic talks between the US and Iraq.
From the area: Lebanon’s prime minister simply stepped down after failing to type a brand new authorities, and it’s unclear when parliament will designate a brand new PM, the New York Occasions reported Thursday from Beirut.
Milley’s new weapons warning. The U.S. and NATO militaries must grasp in the present day’s rising applied sciences, from lengthy vary fires to AI and robotics, inside 15 years—or else they threat some unspecified however devastating setback within the subsequent world struggle. That was one of many messages delivered Thursday by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley at NATO’s new operational headquarters, Joint Power Command Norfolk in Virginia. Protection One’s Caitlin Kenney has extra right here.
President Biden declined to ship U.S. troops to Haiti to assist shield its infrastructure following the assassination of its president on July 7. (Haiti’s elections minister publicized the request for U.S. and UN troops two days later.) However the U.S. will ship just a few extra Marines to assist shield its embassy in Port-au-Prince, Biden mentioned Thursday. The Related Press has a bit extra on Biden’s resolution, and a brief historical past of U.S. interventions in Port-au-Prince, right here.
Gunmen shot and killed a Nigerian basic Thursday as he was touring in an car about 120 miles south of Abuja, Reuters studies from the capital metropolis. His identify was Maj. Gen. Hassan Ahmed, and his explicit killing appears to be a primary for Nigeria. “Whereas two retired generals had been shot useless final 12 months in assaults as they travelled by highway, no serving basic had beforehand been killed on this method,” Reuters writes. A bit extra right here.
In contrast to China, Russia is cozying as much as Myanmar’s navy coup leaders, the Wall Avenue Journal studies just a few weeks after a Moscow go to by junta chief Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. For the report, “No offers had been introduced” in that assembly, “although regional coverage analysts count on some are underneath means,” the Journal writes.
For what it’s price, “Russia accounted for 16% of Myanmar’s arms imports from 2015 to 2019, second to China’s 49%,” in accordance with information from the Stockholm Worldwide Peace Analysis Institute. Learn on, right here.
Again stateside, masks shall be required indoors as soon as once more in Los Angeles County, only a month after practically all COVID-19-related restrictions had been lifted. The brand new guidelines take impact at 11:59 p.m. tomorrow, the Los Angeles Occasions studies, and had been prompted by a dramatic improve in new circumstances.
Vaccines are believed “to be basically as efficient in opposition to the Delta variant as different variants. Throughout June, 86% of individuals identified with the Delta variant in L.A. County weren’t totally vaccinated,” the paper studies. “Vaccinated persons are, in essence, being requested to make a sacrifice to assist gradual coronavirus unfold among the many unvaccinated.”
And lastly this week: A brand new swarm of drones can detect fuel leaks as nicely and map rooms with out the help of GPS. It’s a expertise Protection One’s Patrick Tucker studies may very well be notably related to the U.S. navy, which is more and more taken with small drones that carry out nicely along with little human management and in tight locations the place GPS can’t attain—like underground. The swarm comes from a staff of researchers collaborating throughout the Netherlands, Spain, and Harvard College.
One catch: “They’re too small to hold the facility essential to run the identical kinds of algorithms that permit self-driving vehicles or bigger drones to map their setting, and so they lack the power to run issues like gentle detection and ranging, which additionally helps autonomous autos to map their environment.”
Have a protected weekend, everybody. And we’ll see you once more on Monday!