After over a year of negotiations, the United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement in Doha, Qatar on Saturday, sparking hopes that the generation-long military conflict may soon come to an end.
US and Taliban officials signed a four-point agreement in Doha on Saturday, stipulating the complete withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan over a 14 month period, including cutting troop numbers to 8,600 within 135 days' time, and ending sanctions against the Taliban by August. In return, the Taliban is required to prevent areas of Afghanistan under its control from being used to threaten US national security, to commit to a permanent ceasefire, and to agree to intra-Afghan talks on establishing a stable peace by March 10. The potential landmark agreement follows a year-long effort of negotiations in Doha which began in February 2019.
Commenting on the significance of the agreement, J. Michael Springmann, a Washington-based political analyst and former State Department official, urged caution regarding the deal's potential to end the 18+ year war.
“I think it is very unlikely that there will be a complete withdrawal of American soldiers, along with the other NATO soldiers that are operating still in Afghanistan,” Springmann said in an interview. “I think that their claims of reducing the 12,000 [US troops] down to 8,600 in roughly a third of a year, or 135 days, is essentially unrealistic. And the complete withdrawal within 14 months is, of course…
