US and Taliban 'close' to a peace deal

[left-of-center2012]

The Taliban and the United States are "close" to finalising a peace agreement in their talks in the Qatari capital aimed at ending the 18-year Afghanistan war, the group's representative has said.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, the Taliban's political spokesman in Doha, Suhail Shaheen, said the two sides were finalising the agreement during the ninth round of negotiations, which entered their seventh day on Wednesday.

"The talks continue today [Wednesday] and we have reached the last point of the agreement," Shaheen told Al Jazeera. "The final point is the implementation and the mechanism of the deal which is being discussed," he said.

The deal would see the US and other foreign forces gradually withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for a commitment by the Taliban that the country will not be used as a launchpad for global attacks.

Washington hopes to reach a peace agreement with the Taliban by September 1 ahead of the Afghan presidential elections scheduled for September 28.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/taliban-close-peace-deal-afghan-group-spokesman-190828114246759.html

[Downtown Hound]

1. Vietnam redux

The minute we leave and the Taliban regroup, they'll retake the whole country. In other words, Republicans will have lost us another war.

[marble falls]

2. And they started with no clear goals.

[Jake Stern]

3. So how long should we stay in Afghanistan?

50 years? A century? Until whenever?

How many more wounded and dead troops must we sacrifice before we realize that in nearly 2 decades we haven’t defeated the Taliban?

[Downtown Hound]

5. Do you know how many people are going to die

When we leave? People that worked with us because we promised them a better life and freedom? We should have done it right from the get go. But first Bush screwed it up because he had his sights on Iraq and then Trump did because he has no idea what the fuck he's doing. What I know is that this would not happen under Obama or Clinton. They have their priorities right.

[maxsolomon]

4. Well as long as they promise!

I give the current government 2 years max after that treaty is signed, and then the Taliban will be back in control.

Pashtun Puritanism oppressing everyone else. No more kite flying, no more music, no more Buddhist artifacts, and most importantly: no more rights for women.

BTW, the Taliban is nothing but "Global Attacks", since they operate from Pakistan and launch attacks in Afghanistan.

[ChazII]

6. CNN carried the signing

of the treaty this morning.