The U.S. and the Taliban have made a deal that paves the way for peace in Afghanistan. U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad and head of the Islamist group, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, signed the historic agreement Saturday, February 29th in Doha, Qatar, where both sides spent nearly 18 months figuring out the details of the deal.
There were nine rounds of negotiation talks in Doha, at the Qatari capital where the Taliban has an office, which began in 2018. The U.S. and Taliban had reached an agreement last summer, but President Trump walked away from those talks after a U.S. service member was killed in a September car bombing in the Afghan capital, Kabul. The deal signed Saturday has been 18 months in the making.
Under the terms of the deal, the U.S. agrees to withdraw all military forces and support civilian personnel within 14 months. The process will begin with the U.S. reducing its troop population to 8,600 in the first 135 days and pulling its forces from five separate bases. The rest of its forces, according to the agreement, will leave "within the remaining nine and a half months." The Afghan government also will release up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners, in exchange for 1,000 Afghan security forces held by the Taliban.
"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. "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."
The U.S. intends to "remove members of the Taliban from the sanctions list with the aim of achieving this objective by May 29, 2020" — and the White House aims to remove the group from U.S. sanctions by Aug 27, 2020.
The Afghan government will also begin negotiations with the Taliban to create a political plan that will establish the role that the Taliban will play in a future Afghanistan. These negotiations are expected to start next month.
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