Pompeo arrives in Kabul on mission to ensure peace deal can go forward

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived Monday in Kabul on a brief but urgent diplomatic mission to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and chief political rival Abdullah Abdullah – hoping to broker a deal between the two that would expedite bringing home U.S. troops.

Abdullah, who ran against Ghani in Afghanistan’s presidential election last year, has since refused to accept the results of that election and is working instead to establish his own government in Kabul – adjacent to Ghani’s.

Pompeo hopes to broker a compromise between the two men and figure out how to form a government that they both feel is inclusive and acceptable.

Though Abdullah’s makeshift government has no real power or ability to govern the nation, his efforts undermine the ability of the U.S. to remove itself from the region, which it has been trying to do, and has in fact begun doing, since signing an agreement in Qatar last month.

The deal, brokered by the Trump administration, and signed last month, agrees to remove all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by next summer, so long as the Taliban ensures that the country isn’t used by terrorists plotting attacks on America or its allies.

The political rift between Ghani and Abdullah has put the State Department on high alert. According to The Wall Street Journal, Department officials in Kabul believes the unresolved rivalry could put the peace process at risk.

In addition to internal fighting between Ghani and Abdullah, the Afghan government has also refused to release thousands of Taliban prisoners, per the terms of the deal.