16+ years into the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, President Trump has set out a major policy change, announcing that the US is unwilling to talk peace with the Taliban after spending well over a decade trying to get such talks going.
Trump says the US isn’t prepared for such talks because of recent Taliban attacks across Afghanistan, and that any future talks wouldn’t be possible for “a long time” in the future.
Most efforts at getting talks with the Taliban going have been rebuked by the Taliban, and Trump appears to prefer to spin it as the US being opposed to the talks. This does, however, make the US strategy in Afghanistan even less certain.
After over 16 years, after all, the US was never really close to defeating the Taliban outright, and the assumption has always been that at some point they’d get the Taliban to agree to some power-sharing deal. With no willingness to talk about such a deal, the US seems to be committed to a permanent, unwinnable war in Afghanistan.
The U.S. will fight to the last Afghan.
“…permanent, unwinnable war in Afghanistan.”
That has been the plan from Day 1. All of the adventures implemented in the ME since the end of WWII were never intended to be won – just stir the pot and light a fuse to burn it all down. Well, in that case, I guess you could say they were successful.
Don’t know if it was ‘the plan’ going in, – that as a gas pipeline. They had actually won at one point! But the shoot-em-up ‘payback artists’ from the NG units sent to replace the ‘warriors’, screwed that up. Failing to win certainly became their ‘fall-back position’.
Well I guess Trump shouldn’t blame the Palestinians for not being willing to talk to the U.S. “What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.”
Trump seems to be reactionary and playing for the domestic audience, it is a pity the USA doesn’t have a President that can use diplomacy to end fighting.
I guess its good for business, someone is making money on this 16 year struggle against the people of Afghanistan.
Bushco and Bammy’s ugly baby has been adopted by Hair Furor. Afghanistan is, now, Trump’s war. They’re going to laugh their asses off when he finds out he can’t win either.