WASHINGTON, July 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — After nearly two decades in
Afghanistan, the United States is racing to reach an agreement with the
Taliban within two months but a broader peace deal for the war-ravaged
country looks far more elusive.
President Donald Trump, in a rare position widely backed by the rival
Democratic Party, is impatient to pull the remaining 14,000 US troops out of
Afghanistan, believing nothing more can be achieved from the military
operation launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
On a visit to Kabul in late June, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that
the US is seeking a deal with the Taliban by Sept 1 – – before Afghanistan’s elections, which could throw in a new element of chaos.
US negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad has met seven times with the Taliban and, in a potentially major first step, the insurgents have agreed to meet a wide
range of Afghans starting Sunday in Qatar.
The Taliban have steadfastly refused to negotiate with the internationally
recognized government in Kabul.
In Doha, any Afghan officials will participate in “personal capacity and on
equal footing” with the Taliban, according to Germany, which organized the
meeting alongside Qatar.
An agreement with the Taliban is expected to have two main points — a US
withdrawal from Afghanistan and a commitment by the militants not to provide a base for terrorists, the main reason for the US invasion 18 years ago.
The United States, which by some estimates has spent $1 trillion in
Afghanistan, will likely try to insist in the agreement that the Taliban open
negotiations with President Ashraf Ghani’s government.
Trump, in a recent interview on Fox News, said that the United States
should not be “the policeman for the whole world” and complained that China has benefited by extracting minerals in Afghanistan.
But he also said that the United States would maintain “very strong
intelligence” after pulling troops, and that “great-looking, central-casting”
generals often warn him of extremist threats that can emerge from
Afghanistan.
The Taliban, believing they have an upper hand, have kept up violence even
while talking to the United States.
An attack Monday that targeted the defense ministry damaged five schools,
with six people killed and scores of people including 50 children hurt mainly by flying glass. — NNN-AGENCIES
