Afghan Taliban and government negotiators met Monday in Doha, the first such meeting in over a month, on the possibility of continuing negotiations, and setting the agenda for further talks to come, the point at which the process had previously stalled.
The Taliban negotiators, and Afghan chief negotiator Abdullah Abdullah, were both pushing for the talks to continue, though President Ghani is a big question mark over that, having seemingly disavowed them in recent comments.
Ghani was quoted just recently as promising the Taliban “will not see an interim government while I am alive,” and that the peace talks won’t result in any such deal. Abdullah has not addressed that but keeps talking of a ceasefire and a political settlement that would almost have to include power-sharing, since the Taliban controls more than half of Afghanistan as it is.
In all cases, the Biden administration is looming large over the process. If they scrap the pullout, as seems likely, there will be no peace to negotiate over anyhow, and the war will just move into its third decade.
The “experts” and “analysts” are chiming in on this failed regime change for more war and more failure.
>Nov 20, 2020 — Analysts tell lawmakers Biden should freeze US troop level in Afghanistan until Taliban agrees to end war . .here
>Feb 10, 2021 — Afghan Study Group’s New Report Would Guarantee Failure. . .here
As I have indicated recently, the US-Taliban Agreement in fact implies a regime change back to the Taliban, a Pakistan proxy. The reason for that is simple: Pakistan doesn’t want to become an Indian sandwich, with its enemy on both sides. That’s been known for over ten years.
General McChrystal’s Report to the new President Obama on Aug 30, 2009 included: ‘Afghanistan’s insurgency is clearly supported from Pakistan. . .and are reportedly aided by some elements of Pakistan’s ISI [Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence ].” . . .”Indian political and economic influence is increasing in Afghanistan, including significant efforts and financial investment. In addition, the current Afghan government is perceived by Islamabad to be pro-Indian. While Indian activities largely benefit the Afghan people, increasing Indian influence in Afghanistan is likely to exacerbate regional tensions and encourage Pakistani countermeasures in Afghanistan or India.” . .here