With the new round of Doha peace talks between the US and Taliban
getting underway, reports are that a peace deal could be reached. On
Thursday, reports indicated that could include the US withdrawing 5,000 troops as an initial cut.
Though no deal is apparently finalized as of Thursday evening, the indications are that the US has expressed a willingness for more or less immediate draw down of forces in return for a Taliban ceasefire.
US officials have long presented the peace process as four stages, with
deals on withdrawing foreign troops, the Taliban pledging to keep ISIS
and al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan, the ceasefire, and then a power-sharing
deal between the Taliban and Ghani government.
The first two parts seem to be more or less settled, and the reports
suggest the ceasefire may be coming along with them for an immediate
drawdown. The Afghan government has appointed people to negotiate with
the Taliban now, and seems likely to be moving to do so quick if
everything else starts falling into place.
Initial Peace Deal With Taliban Could See 5,000 US Troops Withdraw From Afghanistan
US willing to draw down troops for a ceasefire
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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