BREAKING: Historic peace deal in Afghanistan reached with Taliban, allowing withdrawal of U.S troops
WASHINGTON – U.S. and Taliban negotiators signed an historic agreement Saturday in Qatar that could end 19 years of war in Afghanistan and allow President Donald Trump to begin the promised withdrawal of American troops.
Under the new agreement, the United States will begin a phased withdrawal from Afghanistan, drawing down to 8,600 troops from 13,000. In exchange, the Taliban agreed to sever its ties with al Qaeda, the terrorist group that launched the Sept. 11 attacks against the U.S. Story continues"However, should the Taliban fail to honor their commitments, they will forfeit their chance to sit with fellow Afghans and deliberate on the future of their country. Moreover, the United States would not hesitate to nullify the agreement," Esper said in prepared remarks.
The announcement comes with caveats. In September, negotiators hailed a breakthrough in talks only to see hope for peace dissipate and violence continue. A withdrawal of American troops also would likely take several months. The reduction in violence is supposed to continue as the intra-Afghan talks proceed, and the U.S. is hoping to secure a complete cease-fire in Afghanistan as one of the first elements of those talks.
“We have to be realistic. We're proud of our gains, but our generals have determined that this war is unlikely to be won militarily without tremendous additional resources,” he told reporters in Washington on Tuesday. “All sides are tired of fighting. We've arrived at a historic opportunity for peace. It won't be easy to obtain. We should seize the moment.”
But Afghan civil society and women’s groups will be part of the negotiations, said a second administration official, who also spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity. It will be a “very high priority for us” to protect women’s rights, this official said. Meanwhile, the war-torn country remains violent and divided. On Feb. 8, two Army Special Forces soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. Insurgent attacks that caused casualties in the last quarter of 2019 were at the highest level since recording began in 2010, according to a report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
There are about 13,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Their mission is split between training Afghan security forces and conducting counter-terrorism missions.“ … I think we're all eyes wide open about the complexity and the challenges. There's a reason it's been this long since they've sat at the table together. They have deeply divergent views,” he said.
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