In Doha today.
All I can say, 'Bout time. Give peace a chance.
Scant few details. We hand over 5,000 Taliban prisoners, they swap 1,000 prisoners (largely Afghan, I think), we pull our troops out and they pinky-swear no more terrorism against the US. They’re supposed to negotiate power sharing with the fractured and inept Afghan government but they’re already openly operating in 70% of Afghanistan so it’s hard to see that number going down. More likely, the Taliban will get greater political and cultural control in the cities.
Peace in our time!
What could possibly go wrong? If they signed it, it’s true, right?
It’s already gone wrong. Specifically the failure of the United States military to enforce the National will on Afghanistan and it’s inhabitants.
Had that not gone wrong, you would not have had the spectre of an American official signing a peace deal with the Taliban.
You’re seriously trusting the Taliban?
No. I am trusting the facts on the ground. You want to change them? Fine, it will take 500,000 men, 10 years and 50,000 casualties to change them.
If it doesn’t work we can always send a cargo plane full of money in the dead of night in exchange for prisoners using the money we save.
All of those lives and all of that time and what we – and more importantly, all the Afghans – wind up with is the Taliban in charge.
Coulda had that how many USA administrations ago now? About Reagan’s, no?
– It’s very likely that there’s nothing in practice the US can do about it; but I doubt those saying ‘this is what the inhabitants of Afghanistan want’ have asked all the women.
So Afghanistan sees off yet another invader… 
The US has lost the war, but is trying to exit with a little dignity.
A peace deal is better than a war deal, but I’ll believe it has teeth when our troops are out of there. (Not when I’m promised by the current administration that they surely will be, trust us.)
Oooohhh, you really done it now. 
You will be labelled “anti American” by our resident keyboard patriots and internet strategists. Though to be fair, the US can try and salvage the result by making movies and TV shows where it “won”, I believe Homeland’s current season is trying just that.
As an aside, what dignity? The US signed a deal where the Taliban signer was a guy who was their prisoner for a decade. Two weeks ago, the USG arranged for the Taliban deputy leader to write his list of demands in the NYT.
You seriously think that “women’s rights” was ever anything but an excuse by occupying powers? Like they actually cared about it in the grand scheme of things.
All it ever amounted to was a few women in the secure areas of Kabul “making progress” which could be plastered before the global media and broadcast feel good stories back home.
You think it made any difference to the lot of Gul Puri in Ghazni?
You’ve seen who we have in charge now? We have no dignity left.
I’m not competent to judge the merits of the deal, but like bobot I agree that a peace deal is better than a war deal, and at this point I’m good with anything that ends this exercise in futility.
As an aside, the right wing collectively shit a brick when Obama traded 5 Taliban prisoners for Bowe Bergdahl. Now that we’re releasing 5000 Taliban prisoners for 1000 Afghan prisoners, I’m sure those same people will be shitting another brick.
Yes, I know that women’s rights were used as an excuse by people some of whom didn’t give a damn about them.
And I am not claiming that continuing this war would improve the lot of women in Ghazni; though I wish that something would.
I was just pointing out that it’s unlikely that everybody in Afghanistan is happy about having the Taliban in power. I expect, for that matter, that some of those opposed to it are men.
Which BTW led American media commentators to question, and politicians to denounce, the NYT for giving him a platform.
Theme song for the next Tramp rally. But where will the military-industrial complex turn now?
I’ve said all along that the War in Afghanistan is simply a rerun of Vietnam, with sand instead of jungle.
~VOW
Mountains.
Which is monumentally silly. As anyone who read the actual OP-ED can tell, it was certainly done at the insistence of the USG, especially considering the type of language used.
I have read Taliban English publications. That didn’t read like it at all.
“U.S. Launches ‘Defensive Strike’ At Taliban As Fragile Afghan Peace Deal Teeters”
It was a good run while it lasted.
While this stinks I dont think the Taliban will allow another Bin laden to take hold and launch another 9/11 from their soil. They wont want another invasion.
Hopefully they will want to play nice with other countries and will tone down the extremes.