The United States and the Taliban signed a historic agreement on Saturday following a week of reduced violence.
The agreement sets in motion the possibility of a full withdrawal of the entire US troops from Afghanistan which would in turn lead to the end of the longest war that America has ever fought.
The agreement was signed on behalf of the US by the appointed US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad who doubles as the chief US negotiator in the talks with the Taliban and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s chief negotiator.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State.
The “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan” outlines a series of commitments from the US and the Taliban related to troop levels, counterterrorism, and the intra-Afghan dialogue aimed at bringing about “a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire.”
Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State announced at a conference in Doha that: “This is a hopeful moment, but it’s only the beginning, there’s a great deal of hard work ahead on the diplomatic front.”
He also said: “we will closely watch the Taliban’s compliance with their commitments and calibrate the pace of our withdrawal to their actions.”
“This is how we will ensure that Afghanistan never again serves as a base for international terrorists.”
The agreement lays out a 14-month timetable for the withdrawal of “all military forces of the United States, its allies, and Coalition partners, including all non-diplomatic civilian personnel, private security contractors, trainers, advisors, and supporting services personnel.”
An initial drawdown to 8,600 troops would occur within the first 135 days, according to the agreement. US officials have stressed that any downsizing of US troop presence would be “conditions-based.”
What is in The Peace Agreement?
The four-page agreement states that the Taliban will take steps “to prevent any group or individual, including al-Qa’ida, from using the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.
” Those steps include commitments that the Taliban will instruct its members “not to cooperate with groups or individuals threatening the security of the United States and its allies” and that it “will prevent any group or individual in Afghanistan from threatening the security of the United States and its allies, and will prevent them from recruiting, training, and fundraising and will not host them following the commitments in this agreement.”
Following the signing, Mike Pompeo said that “if the Taliban do not uphold their commitments, President Trump and his team will not hesitate to do what we must do to protect American lives.”
While Pompeo was in Doha, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper was in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday for a joint declaration ceremony with Afghan and NATO officials, including Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Esper said that there is “great hope” about Afghanistan’s future.
“Afghanistan deserves a chance to enjoy the security that comes from peace and stability, this will only happen if Afghans join together to embrace this opportunity,” Esper said.
The signing of the US-Taliban agreement sees the realization of a campaign promise for President Donald Trump, who has sought to diminish US involvement in wars overseas.
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Emerging Concerns About the Peace Deal
Members of Congress and regional experts had raised concerns about the deal before the signing. On Wednesday, Rep. Liz Cheney led a group of 21 other Republican lawmakers in expressing “serious concerns” about the anticipated agreement.
In a letter to Pompeo and Esper, they called for the full publication of the deal and wrote that they are “are seeking assurances that you will not place the security of the American people into the hands of the Taliban, and undermine our ally, the current government of Afghanistan.”
A senior administration official said last week that “there are parts of this agreement that are not going to be public but those parts don’t contain any additional commitments by the United States whatsoever,” rather they will contain “some confidential procedures for implementation and verification of the agreement itself.”
Following its signing, Sen. Lindsey Graham expressed mild support as well as some scepticism about the agreement.
“I am very suspect of the Taliban ever accepting the Afghan constitution and honouring the rights of religious minorities and women,” the South Carolina Republican and staunch Trump ally, said.
“Time will tell if reconciliation in Afghanistan can be accomplished with honour and security, but after more than 18 years of war, it is time to try.”
The text of the agreement does not contain any specific language regarding the protection of women or civil society.
In his remarks in Doha Saturday, Pompeo called on the Taliban to “embrace the historic progress obtained for women and girls and build on it for the benefit of all Afghans.”
“The future of Afghanistan ought to draw on the God-given potential of every person,” Pompeo said.
The senior administration official told reporters last week that women will “have a seat at the table during the negotiations.”
Those negotiations in March are likely to take place in Oslo, Norway, a second senior administration official said. The details are still being sorted out in terms of the negotiation’s design, and who will specifically be at the table for the Afghan side.
There were a record-high number of attacks carried out in Afghanistan last year by the Taliban and other anti-government groups. The violence in Afghanistan has continued this year, with the Taliban killing two US service members earlier this month.
The second senior administration official acknowledged last week that the path forward is not going to be “easy” or “perfect.”
The US has been at war in Afghanistan since 2001. Saturday’s agreement in Doha came after more than a year of on and off negotiations with the militant group. The two sides had reached “an agreement in principle” in early September 2019, Khalilzad said at the time.
