Speaking at Texas A&M University, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
said that US negotiations with the Taliban are trying to end the longest
war in US history, and that a goal is trying to “broker peace between the Taliban and the Afghan government.”
Negotiations have been ongoing for months, and have established a
growing understanding with the Taliban. The US and Taliban have the
framework of a deal, where the US withdraws from Afghanistan and the
Taliban keeps the ISIS and al-Qaeda out.
Pompeo’s talk of brokering peace between the Taliban and the Afghan
government is unusual, as the US has largely kept this on the
back-burner, and the Taliban has shown no interest in talking with the
Ghani government.
There have been some talks involving an Afghan committee this week. The
Ghani government has been reluctant to endorse the US negotiations so
far, complaining that the US isn’t directly including them in
decision-making.
Pompeo: US Trying to End Afghan War
Says US goal is a deal between the Taliban and Afghan government
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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