U.S. War in Afghanistan

Russia, China, Iran, India, and, most of all, Pakistan have interests at stake as the U.S. aims to withdraw from Afghanistan.

"The partnership is changing, but the partnership itself is enduring,” Blinken said during his unannounced visit to Afghanistan.

"No one wants to say that we should be in Afghanistan forever. But they insist that now is not the right moment to leave,” Biden rebuffs critics, charting a U.S. exit from its longest war.

During the 2001 Bonn Conference, the U.N. opted for a “light footprint” that delegated its civilian development role to foreign military forces. That cannot happen again.

A Taliban spokesman said the group was not ready to attend the conference the U.S. and the Afghan government had hoped to start on April 16.

The proposed summit is said to be scheduled to open on April 16, but the pieces are all still in flux.

In May 2020 and March 2021, the United States started up two new trilateral dialogues pairing Afghanistan with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. 

Over the past year, almost every day at least one car has exploded in Kabul -- terrifying residents with a rise in crude sticky bombs.

In each of Afghanistan’s past conflicts, intellectuals have been targets of intolerance and violence. Even as peace appears on the horizon, the risks intensify. 

With questions swirling about how long U.S. troops will remain in the country, Austin said that "in terms of an end date or setting a specific date for withdrawal, that's the domain of my boss."

Will it be May? Maybe not.