Saturday night's devastating attack on a wedding in Afghanistan's capital comes amid huge uncertainty about the country's future. The United States and the Taliban say they are nearing a deal to end America's longest conflict, one that has lasted a generation and left tens of thousands dead. The U.S.-Taliban talks have sidelined the government in Kabul, which is increasingly frustrated.
Meanwhile, the growing prominence of the local Islamic State affiliate, suspected in the wedding attack, raises fears that whatever peace the U.S. and Taliban might broker will not stop the killings of Afghan civilians.
Here is a look at the major players in the country:
An Afghan policeman stands guard after an explosion near the police headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. A suicide car bomber targeted the police headquarters in a minority Shiite neighborhood in western Kabul on Wednesday, setting off a huge explosion that wounded dozens of people, Afghan officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing. (AP PhotoRafiq Maqbool)
UNITED STATES
It has been nearly 18 years since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks to topple the Taliban-led government that harbored al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, and now President Donald Trump is eager to bring the troops home. More than 2,400 U.S. service personnel have died. The military says some 14,000 troops remain in the country after a presence that spiked to roughly 100,000 under President Barack Obama. Their combat mission formally ended in 2014 but they continue to train the Afghan military and conduct strikes on the Islamic State group and the Taliban.
For nearly a year, U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has been negotiating with the Taliban on issues including a U.S. troop withdrawal and Taliban guarantees that would keep Afghanistan from again becoming a launch pad for global terror attacks.
THE TALIBAN
The extremist group ruled Afghanistan for five years, imposing their harsh interpretation of Islamic law before the U.S.-led invasion, and many worry it might return in some form under an agreement with the U.S. The Taliban now control roughly half of Afghanistan and are at their strongest since their 2001 defeat. Their attacks have become so frequent and deadly that the Afghan and U.S. governments now keep military casualty figures confidential. The Taliban refuse to negotiate with the Afghan government, calling it a puppet of the U.S. While the group's political leaders have spoken of allowing limited women's rights and protecting civilians in talks with a range of Afghan representatives earlier this year, no one knows how many of the group's tens of thousands of fighters will follow them. Some fear that fighters unhappy with a deal with the U.S. could join other extremist groups such as IS instead.
AFGHAN GOVERNMENT
President Ashraf Ghani is openly frustrated at his government's exclusion from the U.S.-Taliban talks, and he insists that next month's presidential election in which he seeks a second term is crucial for giving the government a strong mandate to deal with the Taliban in intra-Afghan talks that are expected to follow a U.S. deal. While the Taliban have condemned Saturday night's blast in Kabul, Ghani said the group cannot absolve itself of blame because it provides a "platform for terrorists." His government has said it is still waiting for details of Trump's meeting on Friday with national security advisers on the progress of the U.S.-Taliban negotiations.
ISLAMIC STATE AFFILIATE
Many suspect the local Islamic State affiliate of carrying out Saturday's bombing in a Shiite area of Kabul, as its brutal suicide bombings have killed hundreds of the Shiite minority Hazaras in the capital and elsewhere. The extremist group, which appeared in Afghanistan shortly after IS swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, is committed to overthrowing the Afghan government on its path to establishing a global caliphate. While the Islamic State group has since lost all the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria, its Afghanistan affiliate s still trying to expand its footprint.
The Taliban and IS are sharply divided over ideology and tactics, with the Taliban largely confining attacks to government targets and Afghan and international security forces. The Taliban and IS have fought each other on a number of occasions, and the Taliban are still the larger and more imposing force. A recent United Nation report estimated that the IS affiliate in Afghanistan numbers between 2,500 and 4,000.
DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
