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KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) reopened a small medical clinic in Kunduz, Afghanistan, Saturday, their first facility there since the American airstrikes that destroyed a hospital in 2015.

The opening of this clinic is the first step toward providing more medical assistance in Kunduz, Silvia Dallatomasina, head of programs for MSF in Afghanistan, told Reuters. And for us its an important step.

Since the air attack by American special forces in 2015, which killed 42 patients, medical staff, and caregivers at the MSF trauma center, the medical aid group has been trying to secure assurances from American and Afghan military officials that their medical facilities would be respected and protected.

We are still finalizing commitments but we believe we were able to reach an agreement, Dallatomasina said.

The new clinic in Kunduz, which is not situated at the site of the destroyed hospital, will only provide outpatient treatment of minor or chronic injuries, she said.

Patients who need more advanced care including X-rays will still need to go to the government-run regional hospital, which has been overworked amid heavy fighting in the province.

The regional hospital is quite overwhelmed, so we want to try to reduce that burden by treating less serious injuries, Dallatomasina said.

While no final plans have been confirmed, MSF hopes to begin building a new trauma center in Kunduz as early as 2018, although likely on a smaller scale than the previous facility, she said.

The MSF trauma center was destroyed during a period in 2015 when Taliban militants briefly overran the city. An American military probe concluded that the attack was the result of human error and equipment failure, among other factors.

At least sixteen U.S. military personnel were disciplined for their role, but MSF has criticized the lack of independent investigation into the incident.

While Afghan troops, still backed by U.S. warplanes and special forces, have prevented the Taliban from seizing the city again, fighting has continued.

The security in Kunduz is still quite volatile, and we know that the needs are really dire, Dallatomasina said.

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Medical Charity MSF Reopens Clinic in Afghanistan - Voice of America

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Cat rescued from U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan war zone now ... - News & Observer (blog)

President Trump suggested in a visit to the Pentagon Thursday that he might hold off on sending more troops to Afghanistan, despite a recent order that he signed authorizing the Pentagon to add more forces.

Asked if he would send more troops to Afghanistan, where the Taliban have made significant gains in recent months, Trump replied: Well see. And were doing very well against ISIS. ISIS is falling fast.

The fight against the Islamic State in Afghanistan is only a tiny piece of the broader battle in the country to stabilize Afghanistans faltering central government and slow the Talibans battlefield momentum.

Trump gave Defense Secretary Jim Mattis the authority more than a month ago to send as many as 3,900 additional troops to Afghanistan on top of the 8,500 currently there. Most of those forces would be used to bolster the Afghan Army in its fight against the Taliban, rather than battle the relatively small Islamic State force in the country.

But Mattis has yet to send those additional forces and some U.S. officials have speculated that either he or the White House could be having second thoughts.

Hes clearly being cautious about cashing that check, said a former U.S. official who has participated in the administration debate. Mattis is either not persuaded that theres a strategic rationale for the troops or hes not persuaded that the decision will ultimately fly with the president or both.

Trumps remarks at the Pentagon, where he met with senior commanders who gave him a briefing on the status of U.S. forces globally, is likely to add to the uncertainty surrounding the possible deployment of U.S. forces.

On Wednesday, Trump presided over a rare meeting of his full national security team Wednesday in the White House that focused on Afghanistan, Pakistan and the prospects for peace talks with the Taliban.

Trump has said little about Americas longest war since taking office in January, but the debate over how to stabilize the country and reverse the Talibans momentum has divided top officials in the Pentagon, the State Department and the White House in recent weeks.

The meeting Wednesday was designed to tee up final decisions for the president in what has been a long and difficult policy review, said current and former U.S. officials.

The meeting that Trump led in the White House did not focus on the size of the American force in Afghanistan but looked at Americas broader approach to the region and its strategy regarding Pakistan, which has provided a haven for the Taliban.

National security adviser H.R. McMaster and U.S. commanders in Afghanistan have pressed for a more punitive approach to Pakistan aimed at forcing it to cut ties to the Afghan Taliban.

But such an approach has been met with skepticism by senior officials in the Pentagon and the State Department, who said that Pakistan is unlikely to change its behavior and that efforts to pressure Islamabad would likely lead to greater instability in the region.

Top U.S. officials have also been divided over whether to seek peace negotiations with the Taliban now or wait until the new U.S. strategy has begun to shift the momentum on the battlefield. The McMaster view is that you should not negotiate with the Taliban while they are still ascendant, said the former U.S. official.

But the current U.S.-Afghan war strategy is built around a four-year plan to push back the Taliban that is not likely to yield significant results until its later stages, U.S. officials said.

Earlier this week, Trump met over lunch with service members who had fought in Afghanistan and suggested that his patience with the war might be running out.

Its our longest war. Weve been there for many years, Trump told reporters before the lunch. Weve been there for now close to 17 years, and I want to find out why weve been there for 17 years, how its going, and what we should do in terms of additional ideas.

One challenge for Trump is that there are not a lot of new options available to him that do not come with a big price tag. In recent months, Trump has loosened the rules governing American airstrikes, allowing U.S. forces to boost the air campaign against the Taliban to levels not seen since 2012, when the United States had 100,000 troops in the country.

Im skeptical that the strategy can be dramatically improved, said Michael OHanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. You can try to be tougher on Pakistan. You can try to make clear that we are there for a long-term commitment. But I dont expect a dramatic metamorphosis of this mission.

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Trump suggests that more US troops might not be needed in Afghanistan - Washington Post

At the White House, President Donald Trump gathered a group of US service members in the Roosevelt Room to talk about the Afghanistan War.

And less than a mile away a group of teens, most of whom have never lived in an Afghanistan without Americans serving at war in it, symbolized another view of life on the ground: the young generation that has grown up with an international presence in the country and that wants and works to be connected to the world well beyond its borders.

"For this new generation, things are different," Mahboob told me. "They want to be leaders in science and technology. They are very proud, they have full confidence. When we asked them to compete, if they could represent Afghanistan in this competition, they all said, 'Yes we can.' "

"I was surprised," Mahboob says.

Mahboob was only the start. These girls are now surprising Washington and the world as they travel far from home and offer those they meet a glimpse of a new Afghanistan, one whose fate is not yet clear, but whose stakes most certainly are.

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All-girl robotics team symbolizes a new Afghanistan - CNN International

Fans enjoy the Afghanistan Premier League match between De Maiwand Atalan and Simorgh Alborz in Kabul. Photograph: Wakil Kohsar/AFP

The last time Afghan football attracted the attention of the global media, it was all down to a plastic bag, a young boy and his idol. Lionel Messi met Murtaza Ahmadi in December after a picture of the five-year old in his homemade blue-and-white striped replica shirt had captured the worlds sympathy.

After Ahmadi was tracked down to the Ghazni province in eastern Afghanistan, the UNs child refugee agency arranged a meeting with Messi in Doha, before a friendly between Barcelona and Al-Ahli, where he was also the official mascot. The unfortunate and telling consequence of this moment of fame was that the Murtaza family had to move to Pakistan shortly afterwards because of fears the boy would be kidnapped, an all too common occurrence in his own country.

Such an incident highlights the problems in a country that remains fiercely divided after decades of violent infighting and tempestuous conflict. This troubled history is the backdrop to the impressive work that has gone into establishing the Afghan Premier League over the last five years. There are only eight teams competing in the league, the season only lasts for three months from August to October and all 18 matches are played in one city, but the fact that this league exists at all is an affirmation of the good football can sometimes bring under the most difficult circumstances.

Although there had been organised competitions before the Afghan Premier League began in 2012 the same year that NATO officially announced its planned withdrawal of troops the establishment of this competition, the first professional league in Afghanistan, represented a big step up for the countrys football fans.

Football has always been popular in Afghanistan. The sports governing body, the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF), was set up in 1933, became a Fifa member in 1948 (when they played their first official game at the London 1948 Olympics and lost 6-0 to Luxembourg) and has been part of the Asian Football Confederation since 1954.

Under the Taliban regime from 1996 until 2001, football was barely tolerated and there were tales of raids on matches or even games being postponed because of fighting, which created an atmosphere of intimidation and intervention. Occasionally there were brutal punishments meted out, including public executions carried out in stadiums at half-time. Despite the attempts to return Afghan life to some sort of normality over the last few years, the Taliban remain a force in the country. So, for security reasons, the leagues matches are restricted to two stadiums in Kabul, the capital city.

As befits a country that has grown accustomed to the influence of external forces and assistance, a range of international partners have underpinned the game financially. Fifa has invested $1.5m since 2005 mainly in improving pitches and building the headquarters of the AFF. Both the German Football Association and the English Premier League have been involved, with the Premier League funding coaching schemes through its Premier Skills initiative in conjunction with the British Council. Even the British government have been active. David Cameron and Michael Owen shared a military bunk bed when they flew to Camp Bastion in December 2013 to announce an FA scheme to bring talented young Afghan players to St Georges Park. And the Japanese government has paid for floodlights so games can be played in the evening and fans can watch them on primetime TV when the new season kicks off in a few weeks.

The eight teams that participate in the Premier League represent the countrys eight main regions. In last years final, De Maiwand Atalan, the club from the south west region, an area that remains a Taliban stronghold and a centre of insurgency, met Shaheen Asmayee from Kabul, the very heart of the government. That two football teams from opposite ends of the political spectrum were able to meet and play out an entertaining final in front of a full house was an encouraging sign for the country.

As with any football league, television is the crucial medium. Every game is broadcast live on two national television channels, TOLO and Lemar TV, but the importance of television to the league is even more fundamental than that. When the league was established, a few players from each squad were selected through a reality television show called Green Field. Although a rather gimmicky ploy, it did succeed in drawing attention to the fledgling league. The 2016 final was watched by an estimated 57% of the potential audience, which suggests the league is succeeding in its bid to unite the country through football. As APL co-founder Chris McDonald told the BBC: Football is becoming a passion here, it brings a lot of joy and happiness, and is something that we are going to keep doing.

However impressive those viewing figures might seem, they do not translate into riches for the players. Ticket prices are set at $0.5 (with VIP seats costing up to $1.5) and players are given a daily allowance of around $12, which they can supplement with sponsorship deals and other jobs.

The league has coincided with an exponential rise in participation. There were just under 20,000 registered players in 2006 but this figure shot up to 54,000 in 2015. Encouragingly, more than 1,000 of those registered are women players and they have formed their own league, something that could never have been even contemplated in the recent past. There is still some resistance to the concept of women playing football from the most conservative in society but on International Womens Day last March, Danish sportswear firm Hummel launched a specially designed kit for the national team with an inbuilt hijab.

There is now a solid base from which to grow mens and womens football in Afghanistan. Earlier this year the current league champions Shaheen Asmayee became the first Afghan club to take part in the AFC Cup, the regional equivalent of the Europa League. They lost their qualifying play-off against Tajikistan club Khosilot Farkhor 1-0 over two legs, suggesting they are not too far off making it further in the competition in future years, which would be another significant milestone for Afghan football.

The national team has already enjoyed some success on the continent. They won the South Asian Football Championship in 2013 the year after the APL was set up by beating India 2-0 in the final, and their next aim is to qualify for the AFC Asian Football Cup, which will be hosted by the UAE in 2019. Some of the national team play in the APL but many have moved abroad. Milad Salem, a forward born in Kabul, has made his living in the German leagues and Noor Husin is now following suit in England.

Husin escaped war-torn Mazar-i-Sharif aged five and moved to England, where he joined Readings academy. Earlier this year he became the first Afghan to play a professional game in England when he scored on his debut for Accrington Stanley in a 2-0 win against Notts County. Husin is on the books at Crystal Palace, where he has featured in match-day squads but not yet made an appearance on the pitch. If things go well for him in the Premier League perhaps youngsters in Afghanistan will be writing his name on the back of their shirts in the near future. Hopefully they will not have to customise a plastic bag to do so or be forced to emigrate as a result.

This article is from the author of The Agony and the Ecstasy Follow Richard Foster on Twitter

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Afghanistan's unlikely football league: eight teams, 18 matches and one city - The Guardian