WAR AND PEACE
Afghan peace deal gives Trump’s re-election campaign a big boost; Syria’s northwest ravaged by escalating Turkey-Russia conflict
KABUL/ DOHA/ WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s quest for a second term received a boost on Saturday from a deal with the Taliban for a troop pullout from Afghanistan, but it could take time - possibly years before all US forces come home from America’s longest war.
The fruit of more than a year of on-and-off talks, the agreement, signed in Doha on Saturday, lets Trump claim a major foreign policy success, a prize that has eluded him on North Korea, Venezuela, Iran and other priorities.
And while the Republican president or a successful Democratic challenger in the November 3 US election could order a total pullout before peace is secured, that would risk a Taliban takeover and a resurgence of al-Qaeda militants that could require a new US intervention.
WILL TERRORISM MAKE A RESURGENCE?
“A complete withdrawal of US forces raises the possibility that Afghanistan will become another safe haven for terrorist organisations under a Taliban government,” said Seth Jones, a former adviser to US special forces in Afghanistan with the Center for Strategic and International
Studies think tank. “The Taliban continue to have a close relationship with al-Qaeda.”
The accord calls for an initial drawdown to 8,600 US troops from some 13,000 within 135 days. But it ties further decreases to the Taliban doing things they may find difficult, especially cutting decades-old ties with al-Qaeda and other militant groups so deep they include intermarriages.
ROAD AHEAD NOT EASY, SAYS PENTAGON CHIEF
US defence secretary Mark Esper said on Saturday that the US would remain committed to Afghan security forces and while the signing of a historic accord between Washington and the Taliban would be a good step, the road ahead would not be easy.
“This is a hopeful moment, but it is only the beginning. The road ahead will not be easy. Achieving lasting peace in Afghanistan will require patience and compromise among all parties,” Esper said. “If the Taliban uphold the agreement, the US will begin a conditions-based reduction in forces.”
He added if the Taliban did not live up to commitments, the US would not hesitate to nullify the agreement. He said the US would continue to provide the Afghan security forces with the necessary support.