The U.S. strikes a deal with Taliban

The U.S. signed a deal with the Taliban on Saturday that could pave the way for a full withdrawal of foreign soldiers from Afghanistan over the next 14 months and represents a step towards ending the 18­-year­-war in the nation.

What's in the agreement?

• Within the first 135 days of the deal, the US will reduce its forces in Afghanistan to 8,600, with allies also drawing down their forces proportionately.
• The move would allow US President Donald Trump to show that he has brought troops home ahead of the US presidential election in November.
  • The deal also provides for a prisoner swap. Some 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 Afghan security force prisoners would be exchanged by 10 March, when talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government are due to start.
  • The US will also lift sanctions against the Taliban and work with the UN to lift its separate sanctions against the group.
  • In Kabul, activist Zahra Husseini said she feared the deal could worsen the situation for women in Afghanistan.

  What's the background of the Afghan war?

  • It began when the US launched airstrikes one month following the 11 September 2001 attacks and after the Taliban had refused to hand over the man behind them, Osama bin Laden.
  • The US was joined by an international coalition and the Taliban were quickly removed from power. However, they turned into an insurgent force and continued deadly attacks, destabilizing subsequent Afghan governments.
  • The international coalition ended its combat mission in 2014, staying only to train Afghan forces. But the US continued its own, scaled-back combat operation, including airstrikes.
  • The Taliban has however continued to gain momentum and in 2018 the BBC found they were active across 70% of Afghanistan.
  • Nearly 3,500 members of the international coalition forces have died in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion.
  • The figures for Afghan civilians, militants and government forces are more difficult to quantify. In a February 2019 report, the UN said that more than 32,000 civilians had died. The Watson Institute at Brown University says 58,000 security personnel and 42,000 opposition combatants have been killed.

  Why has the war lasted so long?

  • There are many reasons for this. But they include a combination of fierce Taliban resistance, the limitations of Afghan forces and governance, and other countries' reluctance to keep their troops for longer in Afghanistan.
  • At times over the past 18 years, the Taliban have been on the back foot. In late 2009, US President Barack Obama announced a troop "surge" that saw the number of American soldiers in Afghanistan top 100,000.
  • The surge helped drive the Taliban out of parts of southern Afghanistan, but it was never destined to last for years.
  • The BBC World Service's Dawood Azami says there are five main reasons the war is still going on now. They include:
  • a lack of political clarity since the invasion began, and questions about the effectiveness of the US strategy over the past 18 years
  • the fact each side is trying to break what has become a stalemate - and that the Taliban have been trying to maximize their leverage during peace negotiations
  • an increase in violence by Islamic State militants in Afghanistan - they've been behind some of the bloodiest attacks recently
  • There's also the role played by Afghanistan's neighbor, Pakistan.
  • There's no question the Taliban have their roots in Pakistan, and that they were able to regroup there during the US invasion. But Pakistan has denied helping or protecting them - even as the US demanded it does more to fight militants.

  Source: The Hindu