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1margd
Hope innocent Afghans don't join Kurds under the bus...
In Afghanistan, Trump Creates Confusion Over U.S. Policy on Taliban
Mujib Mashal | Nov. 29, 2019
...For much of the yearlong talks, the Taliban and the United States were fundamentally on the same page: The Taliban wanted the Americans out of Afghanistan, and Mr. Trump has made no secret of his desire to end what he has called America’s unending wars. But agreeing upon the details of a deal proved complicated.
In the agreement the two sides were on the verge of finalizing before Mr. Trump pulled the plug, the best the American negotiators could get the Taliban to consent to was some reduction in violence. Discussions on a comprehensive cease-fire were relegated to future talks between the Taliban and Afghan leaders — only after the United States had pledged, and begun, to withdraw its troops.
But on Thursday, Mr. Trump suggested the Taliban position had shifted.
“They didn’t want to do a cease-fire, but now they do want to do a cease-fire, I believe,” he said. “And it will probably work out that way. And we’ll see what happens.”
The Taliban seemed surprised by Mr. Trump’s declaration. While the group’s negotiators have held informal meetings with United States diplomats in recent weeks about ways to go back to the table, on Friday their leaders said their original position on a cease-fire had not changed.
It’s unclear how American negotiators could get the Taliban to agree to a cease-fire now, when they were not able to do so earlier.
The American military has already begun scaling back its presence in the country, giving negotiators even less leverage than they had before. Last month, the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, said the number of troops had been reduced by 2,000 over the past year.
...For the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, Mr. Trump’s statements were welcome. For months, Mr. Ghani had unsuccessfully tried to persuade the Americans not to give away an American troop withdrawal without a cease-fire because that would leave his government even more vulnerable.
The government has already been weakened by being excluded from the talks so far because the Taliban refuse to engage before an American troop withdrawal....
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/29/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-peace-talks-gh...
In Afghanistan, Trump Creates Confusion Over U.S. Policy on Taliban
Mujib Mashal | Nov. 29, 2019
...For much of the yearlong talks, the Taliban and the United States were fundamentally on the same page: The Taliban wanted the Americans out of Afghanistan, and Mr. Trump has made no secret of his desire to end what he has called America’s unending wars. But agreeing upon the details of a deal proved complicated.
In the agreement the two sides were on the verge of finalizing before Mr. Trump pulled the plug, the best the American negotiators could get the Taliban to consent to was some reduction in violence. Discussions on a comprehensive cease-fire were relegated to future talks between the Taliban and Afghan leaders — only after the United States had pledged, and begun, to withdraw its troops.
But on Thursday, Mr. Trump suggested the Taliban position had shifted.
“They didn’t want to do a cease-fire, but now they do want to do a cease-fire, I believe,” he said. “And it will probably work out that way. And we’ll see what happens.”
The Taliban seemed surprised by Mr. Trump’s declaration. While the group’s negotiators have held informal meetings with United States diplomats in recent weeks about ways to go back to the table, on Friday their leaders said their original position on a cease-fire had not changed.
It’s unclear how American negotiators could get the Taliban to agree to a cease-fire now, when they were not able to do so earlier.
The American military has already begun scaling back its presence in the country, giving negotiators even less leverage than they had before. Last month, the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S. Miller, said the number of troops had been reduced by 2,000 over the past year.
...For the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, Mr. Trump’s statements were welcome. For months, Mr. Ghani had unsuccessfully tried to persuade the Americans not to give away an American troop withdrawal without a cease-fire because that would leave his government even more vulnerable.
The government has already been weakened by being excluded from the talks so far because the Taliban refuse to engage before an American troop withdrawal....
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/29/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-peace-talks-gh...
