U.S. Signs Peace Deal With Taliban After Nearly 2 Decades Of War In Afghanistan

[Bazza]

The U.S. and the Taliban have struck a deal that paves the way for eventual peace in Afghanistan. U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad and the head of the militant Islamist group, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, signed the potentially historic agreement Saturday in Doha, Qatar, where the two sides spent months hashing out its details.

Under the terms of the deal, the U.S. commits to withdrawing all of its military forces and supporting civilian personnel, as well as those of its allies, within 14 months. The drawdown process will begin with the U.S. reducing its troop levels to 8,600 in the first 135 days and pulling its forces from five bases.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to America's sons and daughters who paid the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan, and to the many thousands who served over the past nearly 19 years," Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a statement celebrating the deal, which comes on the heels of a seven-day "Reduction in Violence" agreement in Afghanistan.

"The only responsible way to end the war in Afghanistan is through a negotiated political settlement. Today is a reflection of the hard work of our Nation's military, the U.S. Department of State, intelligence professionals, and our valued partners," he added. "The United States is committed to the Afghan people, and to ensuring that Afghanistan never becomes a safe haven for terrorists to threaten our homeland and our Allies."

Much more HERE.

 

[B1GTide]

There will never be peace in that part of the world, but I'll take it if it gets Americans out of there.

 

[NationalTitles18]

Jalali fears the U.S. is simply looking for a way out of Afghanistan before November's election.

"That really speaks to Trump's burning desire to exit from Afghanistan and to say, hey, I ended the Forever War, you know, I can claim credit for that," she says. "I keep saying [it's a] low threshold for peace and a low threshold for ending the war."

I hope it brings a lasting peace and that no one ever suffers again under the rule of those thugs.

Make Afghanistan Great Again.

 

[CrimsonNagus]

They provided safe haven and support for those that carried out the 9/11 attacks.

The Taliban is a terrorist orginization, I don’t care what anyone of you say around here. There will never be peace with terrorist. This will be pitched as a win for Trump but, I see it as us tucking our tail and running.

 

[B1GTide]

They provided safe haven and support for those that carried out the 9/11 attacks.

The Taliban is a terrorist orginization, I don’t care what anyone of you say around here. There will never be peace with terrorist. This will be pitched as a win for Trump but, I see it as us tucking our tail and running.

I agree with all but the last - we have to get out of there. Short of killing everyone, we cannot win. If we cannot win, why continue to waste the lives of Americans? Why continue to spend trillions of dollars?

 

[Go Bama]

I agree with all but the last - we have to get out of there. Short of killing everyone, we cannot win. If we cannot win, why continue to waste the lives of Americans? Why continue to spend trillions of dollars?

I agree, but I also suspect this is about as good a document as the peace agreement Neville Chamberlain signed.

 

[B1GTide]

I agree, but I also suspect this is about as good a document as the peace agreement Neville Chamberlain signed.

Honestly, I don't care what they do to each other over there unless the entire globe is going to join us in stopping it. It is time to stop spending American money and lives, going it alone, trying to save the world from itself.

 

[Bamaro]

If the Taliban don't violate it, great, but I doubt it. Time will tell.

 

[Bodhisattva]

Having worked for the DoD for more than 11 years, I've had the opportunity to speak to a lot of people who were in Afghanistan in either a "boots on the ground" or bureaucratic capacity. Very few have said that we were making long term change for the good over there. It's an ass backwards country and the people want to keep it that way. So many stories, but one I was told was from a guy who oversaw the construction of housing. These compounds were first built for US use and then turned over to the locals. Immediately there were plumbing problems. The locals had a preference for wiping themselves with rocks instead of toilet paper. After costly repairs and supplying the locals with tp, the plumbing problems reoccurred in short order. I don't know what one can do to modernize such a mentality, but IMO we shouldn't spend any more blood or treasure trying.

 

[92tide]

Having worked for the DoD for more than 11 years, I've had the opportunity to speak to a lot of people who were in Afghanistan in either a "boots on the ground" or bureaucratic capacity. Very few have said that we were making long term change for the good over there. It's an ass backwards country and the people want to keep it that way. So many stories, but one I was told was from a guy who oversaw the construction of housing. These compounds were first built for US use and then turned over to the locals. Immediately there were plumbing problems. The locals had a preference for wiping themselves with rocks instead of toilet paper. After costly repairs and supplying the locals with tp, the plumbing problems reoccurred in short order. I don't know what one can do to modernize such a mentality, but IMO we shouldn't spend any more blood or treasure trying.

 

[CrimsonNagus]

I just feel like being over there at least keeps them occupied. Once we leave, they’ll build out their terrorist networks again and the countdown to the next 9/11 will begin. Then we will end up back over there anyway but, completely starting over. There is zero chance the Taliban honor this document and I think it’s stupid to even give them the chance. Every move we make in the Middle East backfires so, why would this be any different?

This is easy for me to say while sitting on my couch, a world away. I’m not military and my life isn’t on the line, maybe my tune would change if it was. I do think it is a fight worth fighting and I understand some think the cost is too high. For those who have lost someone in this war, I am truly sorry for that sacrifice. If we pull out and things just go back to the way they were, wouldn’t all the lives lost be for nothing?

 

[B1GTide]

If we pull out and things just go back to the way they were, wouldn’t all the lives lost be for nothing?

Even if we stay, the losses were for nothing. We have accomplished nothing over there. More people die because we are there than if we had stayed away. 9/11 and the Iran hostage crisis - attacks on Americans resultant from our intrusion in their world. We want to remake the middle east into a western society, but they simply are not interested. There are many reasons, but religion and illiteracy are the biggest two.

Until we figure out how to solve those two problems in the middle east, we need to leave them alone.