Highly anticipated talks in Doha have come to an end, and the Taliban
has issued a statement saying that they and the US have resolved
differences on both the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the guarantees on the Taliban cutting ties with other groups.
The Taliban was not very specific about what was decided, as technical
teams continued to meet. The US, interestingly, has refused to comment
on the matter at all, beyond Zalmay Khalilzad saying they had made
“excellent progress.”
There had previously been suggestions that a deal could be announced at
the end of these talks, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. Progress
or not, the talks are still advancing.
But they might not be done by next month’s Afghan presidential election,
and that has the Taliban condemning that vote as a ploy, and
threatening to attack election rallies that are held.
I’m wondering what might happen when we leave if this is happening while we are there. And please don’t take that as I think we should stay. Just saying what everyone must be thinking.
https://apnews.com/6667893f2414481e8b45fcc3c2c4f44f
Why is it your business what happens IF we withdraw. Let the Afghans work things out for themselves. Yeah, I know that’s a novel idea.
I don’t think it’s my business. I just don’t understand all the pretending. The “peace deal” will be similar to the peace deal we worked out with North Vietnam.
In case you have not noticed, in the past 40 years, the Afghans have proven that they are incapable of “working things out for themselves”. I don’t mean this as a prejudice, I mean it as them being SO corrupt from top to bottom that they are incapable of running a government.
If armed gangs occupied your house for decades and decades, burning your furniture etc, would it be fair to label you a “poor housekeeper”
We won’t fully disengage. The US will have troops and “advisors” there for as long as the TAPI pipeline is constructed and operates and until all the estimated $1T worth of lithium and copper is mined.
Yup, it’s a deal until the US back out of the deal. Just like the nuke “deal” with Eye-ran….or go back further to the “deals” made with Native Americans.
Translation:
Taliban have accepted a large sum of $$$ from the US. In return they will shut up and accept the US stays in Afg forever while pretending that the US is NOT in Afg. The US has bough the Taliban leadership and a price was agreed upon while the Taliban enter the sham government process run by the CIA and Mossad
And most importantly, the Taliban will not interfere with the US trade in opium by whatever US troops and contractors – who will be presented to the US public as “nation building” – remain in Afghanistan.
Agreed. More specifically:
SERHETABAT, Turkmenistan (Reuters) – Regional leaders launched construction work on the Afghan section of an $8 billion natural gas pipeline that will link the energy-rich Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.
[…]
The project is expected to transport 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas a year along an 1,800 kilometer (1,125 miles) route from Galkynysh, the world’s second-biggest gas field, to Fazilka near the border with Pakistan in northern India.
[…]
The pipeline will run… through areas of southern Afghanistan largely controlled by Taliban insurgents fighting the Western-backed government in Kabul but the movement has signaled that it will not hinder the project.
The Taliban issued a statement on Friday, pledging its cooperation with TAPI, which it said would be an important element in building up Afghanistan’s economic infrastructure.
(Feb 23, 2018)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkmenistan-afghanistan-gas-pipeline/leaders-launch-start-of-afghan-section-of-tapi-gas-pipeline-idUSKCN1G70PU
Yes, it is a deal until there is no deal, or until US scraps it, to start over, redefines, sanctions, or bombs. US is so conflicted, so many options!
We all finally agreed to kill the same people. Sunrise/Sunset.
Hopefully this leads to a withdrawal and end of the war. Curiously optimistic at this point but things can still go awry.