Afghanistan: current US withdrawal plan risks 'total civil war', top envoys say

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Afghanistan: current US withdrawal plan risks 'total civil war', top envoys say

• Nine ambassadors condemn US approach to negotiations
• Letter says full withdrawal must come ‘only after real peace’

Emma Graham-Harrison
Tue 3 Sep 2019 19.36 BST Last modified on Tue 3 Sep 2019 19.48 BST

The majority of America’s ambassadors to Afghanistan since the removal of the Taliban government have condemned the US approach to negotiating a troop withdrawal, warning it risked a return to “total civil war”.

Writing the day after a draft agreement was announced, the nine men, including a former deputy secretary of state, said they supported peace talks in Afghanistan.

But they warned the current approach risks spawning more violence and insecurity, because negotiators have cut the Afghan government out of discussions and have planned the departure of US troops before sealing a full peace agreement.

“We believe that US security and values, including support for women, require that a full troop withdrawal come only after a real peace,” said the open letter, published by the Atlantic Council.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/03/us-afghanistan-troop-withdrawal-peace-ambassadors

[LuckyLib]

1. The country has been at war for decades. It's hard to imagine that this will change.

Untold numbers of deaths, and war never stops. Whether the US is there or not.