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The Afghanistan war was forgotten during the 2016 presidential campaign although the war is the longest American war in US history. After 16 years including NATO participation, the war is inconclusive - there is no peace and seemingly no end. The war has been between U.S./NATO and the Taliban. Originally the Taliban conquered many towns and provinces without fighting as the townsmen welcomed them because they were disappointed with the mujahidin internal intrigue just the same as the American public who were disappointed with the established political order in Washington during 2016 election that led to the victory of President-Elect Donald Trump.

The Taliban had control of Afghanistan when the tragedy of Bin Laden's 9/11 took place and caused a regime change in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001. The subsequent U.S. appointed regimes failed to make peace with the Taliban and bring into the fold the 30 million Afghan citizens.

Needless to say, the American war must end by President Trump as it has no purpose to continue. The engagement of NATO members in Afghanistan was arguably unlawful. The North Atlantic Treaty initially included 12 memberships in 1949. Its mission was a collective defense pact against the threat of the Soviet Union to protect Europe. The membership has been expanded to currently 28 countries. Under article 5 of the treaty an attack on any member is considered an attack on all members. However, the Soviet Union never attacked a member of NATO and therefore its provision was never put to use until the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

The United States pressured NATO members to participate in the invasion of Afghanistan plus several additional non-NATO members such as Korea. NATO participation in Afghanistan has been a tragic failure, as evidenced in the British contingent in Helmand and the French contingent in the southern provinces of Afghanistan. Moreover citizens of France and England demonstrated against the war in Afghanistan and pressured their governments to withdraw their troops which they did prematurely. Besides the engagement of NATO in Afghanistan was arguably illegal as Afghanistan had not invaded any of the NATO member countries and therefore NATO's article 5 provisions did not apply in the particular case of Afghanistan. Historically, Afghanistan has had good relations with European countries.

During the U.S. presidential campaign candidate Trump opted to modify or withdraw from subsidizing NATO. President Trump should use this lever to redefine US Afghanistan policy.

Currently the Taliban appears to be prepared to make peace, negotiate with the U.S. government, and offer many advantages including eliminating the presence of ISIS and other Arab insurgents groups from Afghanistan soil and end Pakistan's long-term duplicity vis-i-vis U.S. interest. President Trump should not miss this opportunity to finally end the war.

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President Trump's Opportunity To End American War In Afghanistan - Huffington Post

Taliban asks Trump to review Afghanistan policy Khaama Press (press release) (blog) In a statement released following the US presidential inauguration, Taliban said the violence in Afghanistan will continue if the Trump administration continued to follow the approaches of the previous US administrations led by Obama and George Bush.

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Taliban asks Trump to review Afghanistan policy - Khaama Press (press release) (blog)

WASHINGTON (Pajhwok): Newly inaugurated US president Donald Trump interacted with a group of American soldiers based in Afghanistan, via satellite, and thanked them for their contribution in the fight against terrorism.

Trumps first interaction with US soldiers in Afghanistan happened during the course of the military ball one of the three official presidential inaugural balls Fridaynight when he appeared before cheering military men along with the First Lady Meliana Trump.

I just met your Joint Chiefs of Staff, and they are incredible. They know what to do... Were going to see what happens but we have a great country and we want to do whats appropriate, Trump said.

Thereafter, he spoke with the young American soldiers in Afghanistan who were shown on big screens inside the military presidential inaugural ball. Theres about a six second delay, the new president said, vamping a bit.

Hows it going? he said, urging the solders to start talking. Dont be like these people. Dont be too tough on me, Trump said, pointing to journalists just below him in the buffer.

Its a 10 second delay but I like them much better than I like these people, he said, again gesturing to the press corps. He pumped his right fist to rile the crowd as he awaited another comment from the field.

The courage that you show is incredible. And its going to be appreciated. Its appreciated now but its going to be appreciated more than ever before. Youll see, Trump said.

A gunnery sergeant: On behalf of all the Marines here in Afghanistan we want to say congratulations. Trump said he looks forward to seeing you soon.

Youre amazing people. Were with you a thousand a thousand a thousand percent. Keep fighting. Were going to win, he said.

Lkj/ma

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Trump interacts with US soldiers in Afghanistan - Pajhwok Afghan News (subscription) (blog)

KABUL Afghan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah on Saturday expressed hope that the United States would continue its support for the Afghan government after American President Donald Trump publicly spoke with U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan after his inauguration on Friday.

"I want to congratulate the U.S president on behalf of myself, the Afghan government and the people of Afghanistan," Abdullah said at an event to launch a bid for $550 million in international humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, which remains locked in a bloody war between the Western-backed government and insurgent groups like the Taliban.

Trump, attending a post-inauguration ball in Washington, spoke by video link with American troops stationed at a base north of Kabul.

"I'm with you all the way... we're going to do it together," he told the troops. "The courage that you show is incredible."

As president-elect, Trump spoke by phone with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in early December, but has provided few details on whether he will continue the billions of dollars per year in military and development aid to Afghanistan, nor has he confirmed the future of the nearly 9,000 American troops still deployed there.

Abdullah, who shares power with Ghani after a 2014 U.S.-brokered political deal, said he interpreted Trump's comments to the troops as a positive sign.

"I watched the U.S. president's message to their soldiers... and he announced his support for them, which is a good and gracefulstep and I am sure that cooperation will continue in all aspects."

(Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet U.S. President Donald Trump but preparations for the possible meeting may take months, not weeks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.

KOBLENZ, Germany French far-right leader Marine Le Pen urged European voters to follow the example of Americans and the British and "wake up" in 2017 at a meeting of far-right leaders.

TOKYO, A day after Donald Trump became U.S. President and vowed to put "America First", Asian media decried his isolationist policies, fearing they will chill the global economy and sow widespread international discord.

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Afghanistan's Abdullah welcomes Trump commitment to troops - Reuters

Afghan security forces patrol in Kunduz in April 2015. Omar Sobhani / Reuters

According to Curtis, Pakistan has not changed its ways enough, and she advised the new administration to "take certain risks" with the government there.

"I'm not talking about making an enemy out Pakistan (but) we need to start enforcing the conditions on [U.S.] aid and be willing to push the envelope to a certain degree."

She suggested aid to the country and its major non-NATO ally status a designation given to close military allies "may be in jeopardy if they don't demonstrate that they are in fact an ally in the fight against terrorism."

The majority of Afghans nearly 70 percent live in districts under Afghan government control or influence, according to U.S. military estimates in late 2016. Nearly 10 percent are under insurgent control or influence, while the rest of the country lives in so-called "contested areas" essentially up for grabs.

That the government in Kabul still does not control swaths of the country is a cause for alarm, said Haroun Mir, a political analyst at the Afghanistan Center for Research and Policy Studies.

"We have tremendous security challenges," he said, pointing to the fact that the Taliban has challenged the Afghan security forces and gained the territory over the last few years especially since the U.S. officially ended its combat mission in the country in December 2014.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi dismissed these fears as overblown, however, saying the Taliban does not control "any strategic places" in the country.

The insurgents launch attacks on other areas from these low-population areas, he said.

"When it comes to control of the territory, of course the Afghan government, the Afghan people, they have full control of their territory," he said.

Sediqqi did acknowledge that the government has seen "an increase in the level of attacks by the Taliban."

Security cannot be discussed without also talking about corruption.

For one thing, as Kabul loses legitimacy through corruption, the Taliban often gains it through their own parallel systems of government and justice.

"That is a dangerous thing," said Mir, the analyst. That's because while extremely harsh, the Taliban are seen as more efficient and less corrupt than the Afghan government.

"They are famous for their delivery of justice," he said.

Mir is far from alone in sounding the alarm over graft and impunity.

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John F. Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR) the government's leading oversight authority on reconstruction in the country has called corruption "widespread and rampant."

"Corruption and poor leadership go hand in hand in Afghanistan," he said

In 2014, Gen. John Allen, the ex-head of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, called corruption not the Taliban the existential threat to Afghanistan.

While the U.S. ended its official combat role in Afghanistan in Dec. 2014, there are still around 8,500 U.S. troops there.

A U.S. soldier patrols across barren foothills outside of Forward Operating Base Shank near Pul-e Alam, Afghanistan, on March 30, 2014. Scott Olson / Getty Images

The Americans both advise Afghan troops in their fight against the Taliban and, separately, hunt and kill al Qaeda and ISIS-linked affiliated fighters.

This is down from more than 100,000 in 2010.

More than $115 billion taxpayer dollars have been spent in Afghanistan since 2002, with another $7.5 billion appropriated but not yet spent, according to SIGAR.

International donors have said they would provide financial support to the country and its security forces until 2020, with the U.S. making up the lion's share at around $5 billion per year.

The U.S. has stumped up more than $64 billion since 2002 $3.45 billion in 2016 alone to support the Afghan security forces.

Yes, lots of them. According to the U.N., the first six months of 2016 saw the highest number of civilian casualties on record since 2009 1,601 killed and 3,565 injured. Nearly one-in-three casualties were children, while more than 500 were women.

The Heritage Foundation's Curtis says the first thing the new administration needs to acknowledge is that "the security situation is extremely vulnerable" in Afghanistan and the strategy will have to be reassessed.

"We need to push the Taliban back and we can't afford to let them re-dominate the country," she said. "Both because that will turn back all the social and economic gains that have been made in the country but also because they will then provide safe havens for international terrorists intent on attacking us."

U.S. troops patrol the edge of a village near Pul-e Alam, Afghanistan, on March 29, 2014. Scott Olson / Getty Images

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Obama's Afghanistan Legacy: What Trump Faces in America's Longest War - NBCNews.com