In a rare look inside the negotiations between the US and the Taliban,
Taliban officials have reported that the draft of a deal has been
reached which would end the Afghan War, and see all foreign troops withdrawn from Afghanistan within 18 months.
Taliban officials further said this deal would involve a ceasefire at
some point, leading to open talks with the Afghan government. This would
be a major change as the Taliban have long refused to talk to the
Afghan government, saying they had no real power.
US negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad downplayed the reports of the deal, saying nothing would be agreed to until everything is finalized. He did, however, confirm that significant progress had been made.
Khalilzad did not offer a lot of specific details on the matter, but did
confirm that there were a “number of issues left to work out.” Talks
are expected to pick up again in early February in Doha.
Other reports have suggested that the Taliban agreed to keep all ISIS
and al-Qaeda forces out of Afghanistan in return for the US troops
leaving. US troops have been in Afghanistan since 2001, the longest war
in American history.
Taliban: Deal Would Have Foreign Troops Out of Afghanistan Within 18 Months
US negotiator says a number of issues left to work out
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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