Author: Emran Feroz
Affiliation: Freelance journalist
Organization/Publisher: Foreign Policy
Date/Place: March 6, 2020/ U.S.
Type of Literature: Article
Word Count: 1483
Link: https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/06/afghans-wonder-taliban-peace-deal-americans/
Keywords: Taliban, Afghanistan, Peace, United States.
Brief:
The author analyses the post “peace deal” scene in Afghanistan, identifying that although the Taliban are happily talking with Trump and standing down against U.S. troops, they say they are “still at war” with Afghan national security forces. The author opines in the article, which includes several interviews of local Afghanis, that despite the peace deal there is fear among the locals about its outcome. The present situation seems chaotic, with the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fighting for legitimacy of his elected government while the Taliban has taken up arms against the Afghan national defence and security forces, calling them “stooges” and “enemies.” Trump’s call to the Taliban leader is the first ever such contact between a U.S. president and a Taliban leader; Trump – who has a demonstrated habit of forming warm relations with autocrats who respond positively to him – expects a consultative approach by the Taliban. He also made it clear that he would step aside if the Taliban takes control over Afghanistan. For ordinary Afghans, all this recalls an old and bitter history dating to when the Americans abandoned their country after funding the Mujahideen against the Soviet Union in the 1980s, which enabled the Taliban to eventually seize power. The United States says that for the deal to go forward, the Taliban must observe the conditions of the agreement and must be involved in intra-Afghan talks. Although local Afghanis fear violence against them and also destruction of institutions, they are readily welcoming any constructive action towards growth and development of Afghanistan.
By: Usman Khan Pathan, CIGA Research Associat
