During a surprise visit to Kabul, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
confirmed that the US is prepared to remove its troops from Afghanistan,
ending 18+ years of military presence in the country.
Pompeo says that the US has “made clear to the Taliban”
that they are prepared for such a pullout, but said the two sides still
have not agreed on a timeline for the exact withdrawal.
This echoes what the Taliban was saying last week, ahead of the Doha talks, which oddly US officials contested at the time. The Doha talks are meant to shore up an exact date for the US exit.
This has been the broad framework of a deal reported for months, that
the US would leave and the Taliban would keep ISIS and al-Qaeda out of
Afghanistan. Other aspects of the final deal, including a permanent
ceasefire and reconciliation between the Taliban and the US-backed
government, are expected to come later.
Making a deal to finalize the pullout date could well facilitate the
talks on other aspects. It seems likely that the US-backed government,
which had been obstructing direct Taliban talks, would want to hold the
reconciliation talks before the US leaves outright.
Ending the occupation Afghanistan is like trying to get antiquated state sodomy laws off the books – most agree it’s the right thing to do, but politicians don’t want to be the ones who are on the record voting for sodomy.
Heh, actually, “antiquated state sodomy” is an apt moniker for the US occupation.
Those sodomy laws were the no 1 priority of the Obama administration .
The Supreme Court voided American sodomy laws a full year before anyone outside of Illinois had ever heard of Obama and they were never at issue, let alone a “priority,” during his presidential campaigns or his administration.
He did finally come out in favor of ending marriage apartheid (after going back and forth for 20 years) near the end of his first term as it became increasingly obvious that SCOTUS was going to rule that way anyway, though.
Oh I thought we were talking about Afghanistan . I can’t imagine the supreme court having any authority thee
and just who initiated all the gay parades coming out of all the U.S. embassies .
No idea — I don’t have access to your imagination to figure out who’s living in there.
I couldn’t say it better, Dave Sullivan. That’s a good one.;D
Hey! I said that! J/k
I’ll believe it when I see it.
OTOH, they need those troops back home so they can be sent to launch another “Thirty Years War” with Iran…
Why? Does the USA need permission to leave? Just go.
“reconciliation between the Taliban and the US-backed government, are expected to come later.”
I wonder what the over/under is on how long that “reconciliation” lasts.
“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed…”
That’s all I needed to hear. I wouldn’t believe a word out of that bloated liar. The guy isn’t even a good liar. He’s a cross between Baghdad Bob and John Wayne Gacy. Trump is saving that pig beast so that he can fire him right before the election.
Trump’s is playing at a whole nother level. Compared to Trump, the media and political “professionals” are simply dunces, clueless and over-matched. I almost feel sorry for them.