US reaches truce with Taliban

[Repubblica Fascista Sociale Italiana]

https://apnews.com/fa41245d47d48332b10c8aeadcd6cb73

MUNICH (AP) — A senior U.S. official said Friday the United States and the Taliban have reached a truce agreement that will take effect “very soon” and could lead to withdrawals of American troops from Afghanistan.

The official said the agreement for a seven-day “reduction in violence” to be followed by the start of all-Afghan peace talks within 10 days is “very specific” and covers the entire country, including Afghan government forces. There were indications a formal announcement could come as early as the weekend.

The official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Taliban had committed to a halt in roadside and suicide bombings as well as rocket attacks. The official said the U.S. would monitor the truce and determine if there were any violations.

Should the Taliban comply, the “reduction in violence” agreement would be followed by the signing of an agreement that would initiate peace negotiations that include all Afghan sides.

A Taliban official familiar with the deal said that the second agreement would be signed on Feb. 29 and that the inter-Afghan dialogue would begin on March 10. The officials said Germany and Norway have offered to host the talks but there has been no decision on the venue.

That Taliban official added that the withdrawal of foreign troops would start gradually and would be phased over 18 months.

President Donald Trump previously called off the peace talks because of an attack that killed two Americans.

U.S. officials have not publicly spelled out their timetable for an initial drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but the expectation is that a reduction from the current total of about 12,000 to approximately 8,600 will begin after the signing of a U.S.-Taliban deal. That initial reduction is likely to stretch out over a period of weeks or months.

The new developments came as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper met Friday in Munich with Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani. They spoke on the sidelines of an international security forum in Munich.

A truce had been widely anticipated, and Trump agreed in principle to the deal, according to U.S. officials.

The final details were hammered out in recent days by U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban representatives in Doha, Qatar. Khalilzad was in Munich and attended Pompeo and Esper’s meeting as did Gen. Scott Miller, the commander of the U.S.-led international force in Afghanistan.

This is massively consequential if it goes through. This could potentially mean the end of conflict in Afghanistan since the Soviet invasion decades ago. Of course, any potential peace would be very tense and terrorism would still exist, but actual armies fighting it out would hopefully end, and the US can finally begin the withdrawal of the majority of troops in Afghanistan.

What is your opinion on this, NSG?

This is great news if this actually works, hopefully Donny learned his lesson after the Syrian crisis and decided to take precautionary steps with this truce before beginning the withdrawal from Afghanistan. There will still be conflict inevitably, but hopefully no more US troop’s lives are wasted fighting wars for futile money.

[Aureumterra]

Amazing, a president that realizes the US isn’t the world’s police

[Repubblica Fascista Sociale Italiana]

Amazing, a president that realizes the US isn’t the world’s police

Tbh this was going to happen at some point anyways, no matter who was prez

[LimaUniformNovemberAlpha]

Remember when Jack Layton was called "Taliban Jack" for proposing negotiation with the Taliban? I think a certain political movement owes the left an apology...

[Chan Island]

Good. Hopefully the agreement holds up and all of the senseless violence in Afghanistan can finally end.

[Ard al Islam]

It's better for both America and Afghanistan that America just leaves the country altogether and just stops everything with it.

[The Legendary]

This agreement gives the taliban a golden opportunity to recover and strengthen it self.

[LimaUniformNovemberAlpha]

This agreement gives the taliban a golden opportunity to recover and strengthen it self.

[Citation needed.]

[Chan Island]

This agreement gives the taliban a golden opportunity to recover and strengthen it self.

As opposed to.... just keep fighting and have the thousands of bodies keep piling up?

[The Legendary]

This agreement gives the taliban a golden opportunity to recover and strengthen it self.

[Citation needed.]

No citiation needed,It's common sense and only natural to happen at the end of a conflict,or the "suspension" of the conflict.

[Washington Resistance Army]

A shame, I give it a few years tops before they control the country again.

[Nakena]

A shame, I give it a few years tops before they control the country again.

If they dont split up without the common enemy to fight.

[LRON]

The more accurate headline should be "US loses another war - troops to withdraw in 18 months".

[Ard al Islam]

The more accurate headline should be "US loses another war - troops to withdraw in 18 months".

True. If this goes through, this will be America's second loss in war. And Afghanistan will still be undefeated.

Really though, who thought it was a good idea to invade the only country to defeat the Soviet Union?

[LRON]

Good. Hopefully the agreement holds up and all of the senseless violence in Afghanistan can finally end.

Oh no dear boy, within a few years the Taliban will be on the offensive again and Kabul will fall. The Afghan government troops were barely holding on with current levels of American support - huge swaths of the country have been lost to the Taliban, even in areas where they traditionally had not enjoyed much support. Ah well!

[LRON]

The more accurate headline should be "US loses another war - troops to withdraw in 18 months".

True. If this goes through, this will be America's second loss in war. And Afghanistan will still be undefeated.

Really though, who thought it was a good idea to invade the only country to defeat the Soviet Union?

Afghanistan has been defeated quite a number of times in its history. The whole "graveyard of empires" thing is just pop history rubbish.

[Washington Resistance Army]

The more accurate headline should be "US loses another war - troops to withdraw in 18 months".

True. If this goes through, this will be America's second loss in war. And Afghanistan will still be undefeated.

Really though, who thought it was a good idea to invade the only country to defeat the Soviet Union?

tbf we nearly crushed the Taliban entirely years back, as always it was dumbasses in DC that ruined it

[Ard al Islam]

True. If this goes through, this will be America's second loss in war. And Afghanistan will still be undefeated.

Really though, who thought it was a good idea to invade the only country to defeat the Soviet Union?

Afghanistan has been defeated quite a number of times in its history. The whole "graveyard of empires" thing is just pop history rubbish.

This, is completely false.

[LRON]

True. If this goes through, this will be America's second loss in war. And Afghanistan will still be undefeated.

Really though, who thought it was a good idea to invade the only country to defeat the Soviet Union?

tbf we nearly crushed the Taliban entirely years back, as always it was dumbasses in DC that ruined it

And the Afghans would have fallen had it not been for substantial support given to the Mujahideen in the 80's. Originally they were just using home made rifles and Martini-Henry's! And the Soviets were far more ruthless and almost got the job done. They were just stretched too thin and dealing with too many domestic problems by the mid to late 1980's. Had it kicked off in the early 1970's or mid-1970's the Soviets would have crushed Afghanistan.

[Ard al Islam]

True. If this goes through, this will be America's second loss in war. And Afghanistan will still be undefeated.

Really though, who thought it was a good idea to invade the only country to defeat the Soviet Union?

tbf we nearly crushed the Taliban entirely years back, as always it was dumbasses in DC that ruined it

But the Taliban is still here and they've won, from the looks of it. Don't look at what could have been, look at what is.

[LimaUniformNovemberAlpha]

[Citation needed.]

No citiation needed,It's common sense and only natural to happen at the end of a conflict,or the "suspension" of the conflict.

Anyone can claim "common sense." But not every belief that's common is sensible.

Try proving it, in and of itself.

[Ard al Islam]

tbf we nearly crushed the Taliban entirely years back, as always it was dumbasses in DC that ruined it

And the Afghans would have fallen had it not been for substantial support given to the Mujahideen in the 80's. Originally they were just using home made rifles and Martini-Henry's! And the Soviets were far more ruthless and almost got the job done. They were just stretched too thin and dealing with too many domestic problems by the mid to late 1980's. Had it kicked off in the early 1970's or mid-1970's the Soviets would have crushed Afghanistan.

The Afghans would have defeated the Soviets no matter what.

[Repubblica Fascista Sociale Italiana]

True. If this goes through, this will be America's second loss in war. And Afghanistan will still be undefeated.

Really though, who thought it was a good idea to invade the only country to defeat the Soviet Union?

tbf we nearly crushed the Taliban entirely years back, as always it was dumbasses in DC that ruined it

We need something to fuel the war machine of DC

[Unstoppable Empire of Doom]

This is great news if this actually works, hopefully Donny learned his lesson after the Syrian crisis and decided to take precautionary steps with this truce before beginning the withdrawal from Afghanistan. There will still be conflict inevitably, but hopefully no more US troop’s lives are wasted fighting wars for futile money.

Trump had nothing to do with Syria. It was the Arab spring fueled by a power vacuum from the US withdrawing from Iraq (which was comparatively stable).

The Afghan war has nothing to do with getting money.

[LRON]

Afghanistan has been defeated quite a number of times in its history. The whole "graveyard of empires" thing is just pop history rubbish.

This, is completely false.

The Persians, Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, the Maurya, the Greco-Bactrians, the Parthians, the White Huns, the Saffarids, the Ghaznavids, the Mongols and us, the British.