Rival Afghans will meet Sunday in Qatar, officials said, in a fresh attempt to make political headway as the United States seeks a peace deal with the Taliban within three months.
President Donald Trump said in an interview broadcast Monday that he wants to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan, but will leave a strong intelligence presence there to counter what he termed the "Harvard of terrorists."
The meeting comes after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo paid a previously unannounced visit last week to Kabul where he voiced hope for a peace deal with the Taliban "before September 1."
But he said the US will "be leaving very strong intelligence, far more than you would normally think," in an interview with the Fox News Channel's "Tucker Carlson Tonight."
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