With a potential US-Taliban peace deal in Afghanistan potentially at hand, Taliban Deputy Leader Sirajuddin Haqqani wrote an op-ed in the New York Times clarifying exactly what the Taliban hopes to get out of the deal, what is expected and what is their red line.
For a war that’s dragged on for 19 years, Taliban demands are still straightforward and easy to understand. The main goal is, as ever, the removal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, and the deal was conditioned on the US withdrawing from the country.
Haqqani dismissed reports that the US would try to keep residual troops in Afghanistan under the deal, saying that there would be no peace deal that involved US troops staying in Afghanistan.
This has been well-established since long before the most recent peace talks began, and any reticence the US has shown toward a deal has necessarily raised questions about whether the US still wasn’t ready to commit to having no troops in Afghanistan.
President Trump has already planned cuts ahead of this year’s election, and that’s expected to happen whether a peace deal comes or not. Though a peace deal could also be something to campaign on, it remains to be seen if Trump will go that route, or continue to drag on the conflict.
I would expect a US official to come out and assert they have no plans on leaving Afghanistan, however, they do expect the Afghans to stop shooting at them and stand still so they can be bombed more easily.
Taliban are the true patriots.
Afghanistan borders Iran. We will insist on keeping at least one drone base in Afghanistan.
First of all, there is no way CIA/Mossad is going to let go of the heroin trade in Afghanistan. That poor benighted land now supplies 90% of the world’s heroin and provides the CIA with much of its black-op funding.
“Since United States military occupation of Afghanistan in 2001, followed by NATO occupation in 2003, opium production has increased exponentially. Areas under Taliban control had zero production in 2001 (Global Research, October 17, 2018).”
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=9e6420db54f043e487ba2831a74cb38f
“Though a peace deal could also be something to campaign on, it remains to be seen if Trump will go that route, or continue to drag on the conflict.”
Depends which room he is doing his campaigning. He’ll either brag about wanting to leave or brag about how he could kill 10 million in a week if he wanted.
Our occupation of Afghanistan will go on no matter what Mafia Don has to say about it. If he attempts to “break the CIA up into little pieces”, he’ll end up like JFK.
Go home Yanks, and from Iraq as well. Both have asked nicely and you never had a real reason to be there. Fix your own Homeland.
The Taliban are permanent, the US is temporary. Trump will announce that a peace deal is imminent — great for his reelection — only to have the “deal” evaporate — bad for Trump’s reelection. The US will leave Afghanistan when the American people elect someone who will not just promise, but actually withdraw. (Trump promised, but hasn’t delivered … not yet, anyway … eight-and-a-half months to go.) Bernie would do that … I think.
But the American people will have to be really and truly and so thoroughly f*cked that they finally reach the point where they will elect such a person. You tell me, “Are we there yet?”
Bernie is already being set up for a Russiagate, just in case.
Imagine another country tell the US to get the fuck out.