The United States and the Taliban agreed to a peace deal Saturday that would eventually lead to a full withdrawal of U.S. troops in the region. The pact was always going to be tricky to pull off, but it's already facing hurdles just a couple of days after the signing, Politico reports.
The biggest struggle now is getting the Taliban and the Afghan government to iron out their own peace deal, which, ultimately, is the only thing that can bring full peace to the country, which has been mired in conflict for decades, well before the United States showed up in 2001. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday refused to commit to releasing 5,000 Taliban prisoners as a prerequisite for negotiations, and the Taliban fired back Monday, saying they wouldn't sit down with the government until the prisoners were released.
Monday also saw the end of a reduction in violence pact that set the table for the U.S. agreement; fighting has reportedly resumed between the Taliban and Afghan security forces. Subsequently, Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States, said Monday he expects the U.S. to stand by its commitment to aid the government should the Taliban violate its side of the agreement. "If Taliban want peace they should stop killing Afghans," Rahmani said. Read more at Politico.
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