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Children pray after releasing paper lanterns on the Motoyasu river facing the Atomic Bomb Dome in remembrance of atomic bomb victims on the 72nd anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, western Japan.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (L), accompanied by defence minister Sergei Shoigu, gestures as he fishes in the remote Tuva region in southern Siberia.

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A family claiming to be from Haiti drag their luggage over the US-Canada border into Canada from Champlain, New York, U.S. August 3, 2017.

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A disabled man prepares to cast his vote at a polling station in Kigali, Rwanda, August 4, 2017

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ATTENTION EDITORS -People carry the body of Yawar Nissar, a suspected militant, who according to local media was killed during a gun battle with Indian security forces at Herpora village, during his funeral in south Kashmir's Anantnag district August 4, 2017.

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A general view shows a flooded area in Sakon Nakhon province, Thailand August 4, 2017.

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A plane landed in Sao Joao Beach, killing two people, in Costa da Caparica, Portugal August 2, 2017

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Hermitage Capital CEO William Browder waits to testify before a continuation of Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 27, 2017

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TOPSHOT - Moto taxi driver hold flags of the governing Rwanda Patriotic Front's at the beginning of a parade in Kigali, on August 02, 2017. Incumbent Rwandan President Paul Kagame will close his electoral campaigning ahead of the August 4, presidential elections which he is widely expected to win giving him a third term in office

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TOPSHOT - Migrants wait to be rescued by the Aquarius rescue ship run by non-governmental organisations (NGO) "SOS Mediterranee" and "Medecins Sans Frontieres" (Doctors Without Borders) in the Mediterranean Sea, 30 nautic miles from the Libyan coast, on August 2, 2017.

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Two children hold a placard picturing a plane as they take part in a demonstration in central Athens outside the German embassy with others refugees and migrants to protest against the limitation of reunification of families in Germany, on August 2, 2017.

AFP

Flames erupt as clashes break out while the Constituent Assembly election is being carried out in Caracas, Venezuela, July 30, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

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People in the village of Gabarpora carry the remains of Akeel Ahmad Bhat, a civilian who according to local media died following clashes after two militants were killed in an encounter with Indian security forces in Hakripora in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, August 2, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Ismail

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- Incumbent Rwandan President Paul Kagame gestures as he arrives for the closing rally of the presidential campaign in Kigali, on August 2, 2017 while supporters greet him. Rwandans go the polls on August 4, 2017 in a presidential election in which strongman Paul Kagame is widely expected to cruise to a third term in office.

AFP

Soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) get ready for the military parade to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the foundation of the army at Zhurihe military training base in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.

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Cyclists at the start of the first stage of the Tour de Pologne cycling race, over 130km from Krakow's Main Market Square, Poland

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Israeli border guards keep watch as Palestinian Muslim worshippers pray outside Jerusalem's old city overlooking the Al-Aqsa mosque compound

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A supporter of Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif passes out after the Supreme Court's decision to disqualify Sharif in Lahore

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Australian police officers participate in a training scenario called an 'Armed Offender/Emergency Exercise' held at an international passenger terminal located on Sydney Harbour

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North Korean soldiers watch the south side as the United Nations Command officials visit after a commemorative ceremony for the 64th anniversary of the Korean armistice at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas

Reuters/Jung Yeon-Je

Bangladeshi commuters use a rickshaw to cross a flooded street amid heavy rainfall in Dhaka. Bangladesh is experiencing downpours following a depression forming in the Bay of Bengal.

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The Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft for the next International Space Station (ISS) crew of Paolo Nespoli of Italy, Sergey Ryazanskiy of Russia, and Randy Bresnik of the U.S., is transported from an assembling hangar to the launchpad ahead of its upcoming launch, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan

Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov

A protester shouts at U.S. President Donald Trump as he is removed from his rally with supporters in an arena in Youngstown, Ohio

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Indian supporters of Gorkhaland chant slogans tied with chains during a protest march in capital New Delhi. Eastern India's hill resort of Darjeeling has been rattled at the height of tourist season after violent clashes broke out between police and hundreds of protesters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) a long-simmering separatist movement that has long called for a separate state for ethnic Gorkhas in West Bengal. The GJM wants a new, separate state of "Gorkhaland" carved out of eastern West Bengal state, of which Darjeeling is a part.

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Demonstrators clash with riot security forces while rallying against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela. The banner on the bridge reads "It will be worth it"

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The Heathcote river as it rises to high levels in Christchurch, New Zealand. Heavy rain across the South Island in the last 24 hours has caused widespread damage and flooding with Dunedin, Waitaki, Timaru and the wider Otago region declaring a state of emergency.

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A mourner prays at a memorial during an event to commemorate the first anniversary of the shooting spree that one year ago left ten people dead, including the shooter in Munich, Germany. One year ago 18-year-old student David S. shot nine people dead and injured four others at and near a McDonalds restaurant and the Olympia Einkaufszentrum shopping center. After a city-wide manhunt that caused mass panic and injuries David S. shot himself in a park. According to police David S., who had dual German and Iranian citizenship, had a history of mental troubles.

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Palestinians react following tear gas that was shot by Israeli forces after Friday prayer on a street outside Jerusalem's Old City

Reuters/Ammar Awad

Ousted former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra greets supporters as she arrives at the Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand

Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha

Marek Suski of Law and Justice (PiS) (C) party scuffles with Miroslaw Suchon (2nd L) of Modern party (.Nowoczesna) as Michal Szczerba of Civic Platform (PO) (L) party holds up a copy of the Polish Constitution during the parliamentary Commission on Justice and Human Rights voting on the opposition's amendments to the bill that calls for an overhaul of the Supreme Court in Warsaw

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A firefighter stands near a grass fire as he prepares to defend a home from the Detwiler fire in Mariposa, California

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Michael Lindell ,CEO of My Pillow reacts as U.S. President Donald Trump attends a Made in America roundtable meeting in the East Room of the White House

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Giant pandas lie beside ice blocks at Yangjiaping Zoo in Chongqing, China. Yangjiaping Zoo provided huge ice blocks for giant pandas to help them remove summer heat

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People ride camels in the desert in Dunhuang, China, as stage 10 of The Silkway Rally continues

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17th FINA World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Team North Korea practice under coach supervision

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IAAF World ParaAthletics Championships - London, Britain - July 17, 2017

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Workers check power lines during maintenance work in Laian, in China's eastern Anhui province

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Russia Kamaz's driver Dmitry Sotnikov, co-drivers Ruslan Akhmadeev and Ilnur Mustafin compete during the Stage 9 of the Silk Way 2017 between Urumqi and Hami, China

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Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull talks with Special Operations Command soldiers during a visit to the Australian Army's Holsworthy Barracks in western Sydney

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Men in traditional sailor costumes celebrate after carrying a statue of the El Carmen Virgin, who is worshipped as the patron saint of sailors, into the Mediterranean Sea during a procession in Torremolinos, near Malaga, Spain

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People participate in a protest in front of the Sejm building (the lower house of the Polish parliament) in Warsaw, Poland. The demonstration was organized by Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD). Members and supporters of the KOD and opposition parties protested against changes in the judicial law and the Supreme Court

EPA

People prepare to swim with a portrait of late Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong on the bank of the Yangtze River in Yichang, Hubei province, China to celebrate the 51st anniversary of Chairman Mao swimming in the Yangtze River.

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A woman takes a selfie picture with her mobile phone next to the statue of Omer Halisdemir in Istanbul, in front of a memorial with the names of people killed last year during the failed coup attempt .

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French President Emmanuel Macron gestures next to US President Donald Trump during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris.

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Philippine National Police chief Ronald Bato Dela Rosa holds an M60 machine gun during a Gun and Ammunition show at a mall in Mandaluyong city, metro Manila, Philippines

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker embrace before the EU-Ukraine summit in Kiev, Ukraine

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US President Donald Trump (R) and First Lady Melania Trump disembark form Air Force One upon arrival at Paris Orly airport on July 13, 2017, beginning a 24-hour trip that coincides with France's national day and the 100th anniversary of US involvement in World War I

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Iraqis walk on a damaged street in west Mosul a few days after the government's announcement of the liberation of the embattled city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters

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Iraqi boys wash a vehicle in west Mosul a few days after the government's announcement of the liberation of the embattled city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters

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Afghan policeman pour fuel over jerry cans containing confiscated acetic acid before setting it alight on the outskirts of Herat. Some 15,000 liters of acetic acid, often mixed with heroin, were destroyed by counter narcotics police

Hoshang Hashimi/AFP

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Isis and Taliban join forces in deadly attack in Afghanistan - The Independent

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani addresses U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and his delegation at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan April 24, 2017.

The clock is ticking for President Ashraf Ghani to protect the rights of the Afghanistans many torture victims.

In March, the government finally enacted the Anti-Torture Law after years of political and bureaucratic battles. However, the law left out a system for restitution, rehabilitation, and compensation for victims of torture by state security forces. This Redress Annex, drafted by the Justice Ministry in cooperation with nongovernmental organizations in the Detention Working Group, was completed July. It is an essential element missing from the Anti-Torture Law, and President Ghani can rectify the error by adding it by decree.

This annex is sorely needed. Torture by Afghan security forces is routine and systematic. The United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan issued a report in April that is a damning indictment of the governments failure to take effective action against torture and other ill-treatment. The report found that the highest levels of torture of conflict-related detainees in police custody since it began monitoring detentions in 2010 was in 2015-16. Police in Kandahar province tortured or mistreated a staggering 91 percent of detainees by forcibly pumping water into their stomachs, crushing their testicles with clamps, suffocating them to the point of losing consciousness, and applying electric current to their genitals, among other practices.

In May, the UN Committee Against Torture, armed with the new UN report, questioned an Afghan government delegation about why very few police officers are ever disciplined for abuse, and why not a single senior officer in the Afghan police or National Directorate for Security intelligence agency has been prosecuted for torture or other mistreatment. The committee also asked the delegation about the governments failure to provide statistics on complaints of torture and torture investigations. The committee also wondered why the governments written response neglected to mention accountability at all given the delegations claim that ending impunity was a priority.

The pervasiveness of torture in Afghanistan makes its criminalization and the prosecution of alleged torturers an urgent priority. But the government also needs to enshrine in law the rights of torture victims to redress for their suffering. While waiting for prosecutors to act, a compensation system would create a new avenue for holding the government accountable. President Ghani should prevent any further delays by making sure that happens.

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Afghanistan's Torture Victims Deserve Redress - Human Rights Watch

Erik Prince Published 7:02 p.m. ET Aug. 7, 2017

Erik Prince is a former Navy SEAL officer and founder of Blackwater USA. He is chairman of the Frontier Services Group, a logistics company focused on Africa and South Asia.(Photo: Oxford Union, REX, Shutterstock, via AP)

The war in Afghanistan is the longest in U.S. history. Despite the loss of more than 2,400 American lives and costs of $1 trillion, the United States is losing. Even Defense Secretary James Mattis confirms that coalition forces are not winning.

President Trump inherited the quagmire and has the complex task of sorting it out and bringing our troops home.

The option to simply abandon Afghanistan is enticing but in the long run would be a foreign policy disaster. The Kabul government would collapse. Afghanistan would be a rallying cry for global jihadists.

The present conventional strategy has proved ineffective. Repeating the prior troop surge also has appeal. The surge reduced Taliban influence, but the Taliban returned as troops withdrew. Furthermore, it is simply too expensive to maintain a long-term, large-scale military presence. Luckily, there is a another option.

The president can restructure the war, similar to a bankruptcy reorganization. By aligning U.S. efforts under a presidential envoy, all strategic decisions regarding humanitarian aid, military support and intelligence become laser-focused on creating a stable, self-supporting Afghanistan. Stability would give our troops an exit ramp. The envoys focus would be to support Afghan security forces from within, providing professional military leadership, reliable air support and business administration assistance. Those resources would be procured in precisely the way U.S. forces acquire material and manpower support. They hire it.

OUR VIEW:President Trump, U.S. troops need Afghanistan War strategy

This has already proved effective in Afghanistan. U.S. special operations teams have created effective commando battalions by embedding and working with them. The same can be done on a larger scale, but the U.S. Army lacks enough special forces to do this and maintain mission readiness. Outside assistance is required.

This approach would cost less than 20% of the $48 billion being spent in Afghanistan this year. Trump was hired to remake our government. There is no greater need for a restructuring than in Afghanistan.

Erik Prince is a former Navy SEAL officer and founder of Blackwater USA. He is chairman of the Frontier Services Group, a logistics company focused on Africa and South Asia.

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Erik Prince: 'Restructure' the Afghanistan War - USA TODAY

A U.S. Marine, left, watches Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers during training in Helmand province, Afghanistan on July 5, 2017. Omar Sobhani / Reuters

There are currently more than 300 Marines assigned to Task Force Southwest, and the total additional force is less than 100 marines, the officials said. The Marines will deploy from the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Crisis Response Central Command, already based in the region. The officials would not say where the marines would deploy from specifically, with one saying, "we are redirecting them from where they're at now to help with the mission."

The officials said this deployment is not

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In June President Trump delegated the authority to deploy troops to Afghanistan to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, but in this case Mattis did not need to sign off on the deployment, one of the officials said.

"The commander on the ground has the authority to move people in theater around," the official said.

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A spokesperson for Marine Corps Forces Central Command would not confirm the deployment, saying, "The repositioning and movement of forces in the CENTCOM [area of responsibility], to include presently deployed Marines, happen at the discretion of the CENTCOM Commander," adding "at this time there are no plans to deploy CONUS based Marines into Afghanistan," using the acronym for Continental United States.

The defense officials said there is also a request for more U.S. air support in Afghanistan, but none of them would provide detail on what is needed and why. The additional air assets have not yet been deployed.

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US Is Sending More Marines to Afghanistan - NBCNews.com

NEW DELHI: The Afghanistan government has requested India to launch a special satellite exclusively for its use, three months after India launched the South Asian Satellite. The Afghan Ministry of Telecommunications and Technology recently made such a request to the Indian government, officials in the Afghan government told ET.

Afghanistan minister Syed Ahmad Shah Sadat recently met Indian Ambassador Manpreet Vohra in Kabul to make the request. It is not yet clear if Kabul wants to use a dedicated satellite to track terrorist hideouts. The minister and the Indian envoy discussed opening of a terminal for Afghanistan in the South Asia Satellite, another special satellite and India-assisted small development projects.

A MoU would be signed soon to let Afghanistan benefit from South Asia Satellite. Two of the 12 transponders will be provided to Afghanistan and the satellite will be used in areas of telecommunications, television services, agriculture, mines and other sectors. A special satellite station in Kabul is also under construction.

In May this year, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had joined other South Asian leaders in welcoming the launch of a South Asian Satellite by India for South Asian nations, calling it a major step in regional cooperation.

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Kabul requests India to launch exclusive satellite for Afghanistan - Economic Times