Baby steps. You’re not going to transform any country in the Middle East into the Netherlands anytime soon.
I imagine the negotiations are focusing on ceasing terrorism, cooperation on capturing Al Qaeda, and working with the Karzai government. As for the rest, they can do what they want.
There are a lot of medieval fucktards all over the world. Are we going to invade all these places?
If al qaeda returns we can exercise “kinetic military operations” to let a bunch of kids with joysticks in Las Vegas bomb the crap out of them until they leave again. I don’t see why we need to stay there.
I was reading about this in the NYT yesterday, but now I can’t find the article anywhere. I was under the impression that we are negotiating with the Taliban because they have been severly weakened and we are in a good position to make a deal in our favor and get the hell out of there.
I’ll keep looking, but did anyone else see that article?
How does news that the war will be ending mean that the soldiers’ work was in vain? If anything, I’d think it would be the opposite: If the troops thought that we’d be there indefinitely, that would mean that their efforts would be in vain.
Up there with the Saudis, certainly.
They’re not even comparable to say Iran or something, the Taliban are full-on reactionaries.
Fingers crossed that there’s more to it than simply, “Stop shooting at us.”
And just out of curiosity, why did you pick the Netherlands as an example?
It was probably the most socially liberal country he could think of quickly.
Yup, that’s it. Those silly Dutch and their weed-smoking prostitutes! 
And for the Taliban it’s opium smoking multiple wives. 