The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
US, Taliban sign deal aimed at ending war
DOHA, QATAR » The United States signed a peace agreement with Taliban militants Saturday aimed at bringing an end to 18 years of bloodshed in Afghanistan that began after 9/11 and allowing U.S. troops to return home from America’s longest war.
This historic deal, signed by chief negotiators from the two sides and witnessed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the Qatari capital of Doha, could see the withdrawal of all American and allied forces in the next 14 months and allow President Donald Trump to fulfill a key campaign pledge to extract the U.S. from “endless wars.” It sets the stage for intra-Afghan peace talks to begin by March 10, during which a permanent ceasefire will be negotiated and the Taliban will agree to meet with all factions.
Under the agreement, the U.S. would draw its forces down to 8,600 from 13,000 in the next three-four months, with the remaining U.S. forces withdrawing in 14 months. The complete pullout would depend on the Taliban meeting their commitments to prevent terrorism, including specific obligations to renounce al-Qaida and prevent that group and others from using Afghan soil to plot attacks on the U.S. or its allies. The deal does not, however, tie the U.S. withdrawal to any specific outcome from the all Afghan talks, according to U.S. officials.
“We will closely watch the Taliban’s compliance with their commitments and calibrate the pace of our withdrawal to their actions. This is how we will ensure that Afghanistan never again serves as a base for international terrorists,” Pompeo said. He acknowledged that the road ahead would be difficult but said the deal represented “the best opportunity for peace in a generation.”
At a parallel ceremony in Kabul, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signed a joint statement committing the Afghan government to support the U.S.-Taliban deal, which is viewed skeptically by many war-weary Afghans, particularly women who fear a comeback of repression.
President George W. Bush ordered the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Some U.S. troops currently serving there had not yet been born when alQaida hijackers flew two airliners into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, crashed another into the Pentagon and took down a fourth in western Pennsylvania, killing almost 3,000 people.
It took only a few months to topple the Taliban and send Osama bin Laden and top al-Qaida militants scrambling across the border into Pakistan, but the war dragged on for years as the
U.S. tried establish a stable, functioning state in one of the least developed countries in the world.
The U.S. spent more than $750 billion, and on all sides the war cost tens of thousands of lives lost, permanently scarred and indelibly interrupted. But the conflict also frequently was ignored by U.S. politicians and the public as the memory of the attacks on that crisp, sunny morning faded despite having changed how many Americans see the world.
Though Pompeo attended the ceremony in Qatar, where the Taliban have a political office, he did not sign the agreement and appeared to avoid any direct contact with the Taliban delegation. Instead, the deal was signed by U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, after which they shook hands and members of the Taliban shouted “Allahu Akhbar!” or “God is greatest!” Others in attendance, including the Qatari hosts, applauded politely.