Nearly 16 years and all of a sudden the USA discovers Pakistan. Amazing.

"W" diverted the war that should have been fought in 2003 to Iraq for the sake of establishing oil fields for Halliburton. It is too late to enter Pakistan with USA troops. It is also illegal. The USA Congress has not authorized any movement of USA assets to Pakistan.

August 21, 2017
By David Wroe

Afghanistan and defence experts (click here) say the new strategy US President Donald Trump will unveil on Tuesday to stabilise the war-torn country will have little effect unless neighbouring Pakistan can be persuaded to stop giving sanctuary to the Taliban.

But one analyst, John Blaxland of the Australian National University, said such persuasion will be difficult and the "opportunity might already have passed" because Pakistan has grown closer to China in recent years and feels less obliged to listen to Washington than it did immediately post-September 11....

This is a report out of the United Nations. Kindly note there is NO mention of al Qaeda.

The mention of al Qaeda by the USA President is the illegal justification of increasing the USA footprint in Afghanistan. The USA CANNOT enter into a larger war in Afghanistan and/or Pakistan with or without USA military. No USA contractors! It is illegal and the only authority that can hire private militias is Afghanistan and/or Pakistan itself.

20 August 2017

A United Nations investigation (click here) published Sunday confirmed that Taliban and self-proclaimed Islamic State insurgents jointly massacred dozens of people in Afghanistan earlier this month in an attack that "may amount to a war crime".

The body's mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it had "verified allegations" of at least 36 deaths in the predominantly Shiite village of Mirzawalang in Sayad district of northern Sar-e Pul province.

"These killings, corroborated by multiple credible sources, constitute violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes," UNAMA said in its report.

It added that more than half of the killings took place on Saturday 5 August when civilians tried to flee the village after militants had captured it following a battle with a government-backed militia.

Afghan officials claim that Taliban and IS fighters killed more than 50 villagers, including by beheadings, in a rare joint operation between the two insurgent groups....

Osama bin Laden is dead. Most if not all of al Qaeda is dead. There is no physical presence of al Qaeda in Afghanistan. The AUMF is expired. The troops need to withdrawn and Afghanistan is on it's own along with it's neighbors.

The Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), Pub. L. 107-40, codified at 115 Stat. 224 and passed as S.J.Res. 23 by the United States Congress on September 14, 2001, authorizes the use of United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the attacks on September 11, 2001 and any "associated forces".

The internal unrest in the countries the USA has occupied since 2001 is a direct result of an illegal and immoral invasion into Iraq. There is nothing defining an exit strategy. Afghanistan's neighbors need to be tapped to help with stabilization of the government. The attack documented by the UN is of a Shi'ite village. Iran needs to advice Afghanistan to protect it's diaspora within that country.

Enough!