A U.S. Marine moves through a village during a patrol near Bost Kalay, Afghanistan. (Sgt. Sean J. Berry/U.S. Marine Corps)
Bonnie Kristian, Defense News: US forces should leave Afghanistan, even if a deal with the Taliban fails
After 18 years, the end of the United States’ Sisyphean war in Afghanistan may be in sight.
American and Taliban negotiators have developed “a draft of the framework that has to be fleshed out before it becomes an agreement,” U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad told The New York Times, and they feel “enough confidence” to forge ahead in sorting out the details.
The basic framework Khalilzad described trades withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan for the Taliban’s pledge, “to our satisfaction, to do what is necessary that would prevent Afghanistan from ever becoming a platform for international terrorist groups or individuals.” An American exit will also hinge on eventual inclusion of the Afghan government in the talks, as well as Taliban consent to a long-term cease-fire.
So the longest conflict in U.S. history finally may be drawing to a close, and it should come as no surprise that diplomacy is the avenue to its completion. The past two decades have made nothing so inescapably clear as the impossibility of a military solution, as invasion, occupation and nation building have thoroughly failed in Afghanistan.
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WNU Editor: I still remember what one of my uncles told me a year after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the overthrow of the Taliban government. As he put it .... if the U.S. is smart, they should support Karzai who had just become President, and leave. My uncle was an interesting character. He was a senior officer who fought in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation, and knew too well on how hard it is to impose a military solution on the region. If he was alive today, I am sure he would be telling everyone "I told you so", and he would be pushing for a speedy withdrawal from Afghanistan. Unfortunately .... no one would be listening to him. President Trump may want U.S. forces to get out of Afghanistan, but America's foreign policy establishment, the Pentagon, and senior leaders in both the Republican and Democrat parties have strongly voiced their opposition to such a move. But more importantly .... and one that I find disturbing .... is that according to this poll a majority of the U.S. public are also against withdrawal .... Poll: Americans Oppose President Trump’s Foreign Policy (January 29, 2019). Until public opinion changes, the U.S. is going to be stuck in Afghanistan for a long time, unless President Trump decides to go against public opinion and any chance of being re-elected, and make the withdrawal happen.
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