Trump Reports New Work on Agreement With Afghan Taliban

Unofficial negotiations are taking place in Doha

Having successfully negotiated all the way up to the peace deal before withdrawing outright from the process, the US is once again starting discussions with Afghanistan’s Taliban, according to President Trump.

Trump offered no details, saying the US is “working on an agreement now,” citing the recent prisoner swap with the Taliban, which saw two professors exchanged for three Haqqani Network leaders.

The reports are that the “unofficial” negotiations are ongoing in Doha, and that US officials are consulting with the Afghan government on the entire process. This is a substantial change, as the US appears to have given the Afghan government little input the first time around.

Afghanistan’s High Peace Council is urging the US to work on a ceasefire first, believing that this would be a big step for the peace process. This was never agreed upon last time, but with agreements practically reached in the first talks, there is a lot of existing work that could be copied over into a new deal.

Author: Jason Ditz

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.