Posted on 02/12/2020 3:40:14 PM PST by Farcesensitive
More than 18 years after the United States invaded Afghanistan, President Trump has conditionally approved a peace deal with the Taliban that would withdraw the last American troops from the country, potentially beginning the end of America’s longest war, according to Afghan and American officials.
But the deal will only be signed if the Taliban prove their commitment to a durable reduction of violence over a test period of about seven days later this month. If the Taliban do end hostilities and a deal is signed, the United States would then begin a gradual withdrawal of American troops, and direct negotiations would start between the Taliban and Afghan leaders over the future of their country.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo informed Afghanistan’s top leaders in separate phone calls on Tuesday that Mr. Trump had given tentative approval to this approach, according to a senior Afghan official briefed on one of the calls.
A senior American official aware of the developments also confirmed Mr. Trump had given his preliminary approval for a deal on Monday, dependent on a cessation of violence, the same day he visited Dover Air Force Base to receive the remains of the latest American fatalities in the war, which has killed tens of thousands of Afghans and more than 3,500 American and coalition troops since the United States drove the Taliban from power in 2001.
A senior diplomat in Washington described the deal as 95 percent agreed to in principle, but that the possibility of a final agreement will become clearer in a matter of couple weeks.
A senior Taliban official informed of the negotiations said there were now “positive movements,” but declined to discuss details because the group’s internal deliberations were continuing.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It is about time....that country is beyond reach...let the muzzies spill their own blood and if they cross a line eradicate with extreme prejudice .
How do you keep them from not regrouping....
You don’t.
“How do you keep them from not regrouping....”
Who cares. Not our problem.
L
Que Sera Sera.....
7 day trial? LOL
“But the deal will only be signed if the Taliban prove their commitment to a durable reduction of violence over a test period of about seven days later this month.”
Can the Taliban go an entire seven days without violence?
We need a loya jurga lol
The left will find some reason to bitch.
I believe Afghanistan has a lot of rare earth mineral deposits. I think that if they were smart, Afghanistan could be an important and wealthy nation. If they were smart.
Seven days is no “testing period”.
It is and will be only a period of R&R and resupply on the part of the Taliban. Once direct Taliban-Afghan government direct talks open on the 8th day, then as the talks drag on, the rested and resupplied Taliban will use violence - as usual - to put pressure in the negotiations.
Dreams of peace will hit the hard reality of the nature of the Taliban.
What will the U.S. do then?
Yep...
Exactly. :)
I think Mr Trump wants to get the heck out of there.
It should be simple. Pull out what we want to keep. Arm the northern alliance to the teeth and destroy what’s left but first you’d have to pry the State Departments lips off the Taliban’s ass.
They are not. They are very much in love with killing though. Doesn't matter who they are killing.
Ok
Taliban agrees not to harbor jihadis intent on bombing the West
It’s an improvement.
Maybe one day they’ll want us to build a Navy base
/s
At this point, I don’t care how, just get out.
If they were smart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They aren’t, they’re muslim.
“It should be simple.”
Should be!!! But it never has been that way in Afghanistan. Why?
Since Korea we have refused to fight WWII style - TOTAL commitment to TOTAL defeat of the enemy, including taking the war to his allies and safe havens, until unconditional surrender. That is the only way wars are actually WON.
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