A Peace Deal That Went Ugly Early by Gary Anderson - Washington Times
Afghanistan’s peace deal went ugly early. It took just a few days for the Taliban to renege on the peace agreement they signed on the last day of February. By the time U.S. forces appropriately retaliated with airstrikes, the Taliban had conducted 30 attacks, causing fatalities among civilians and Afghan security forces.
This was not unexpected by anyone who has watched the negotiations closely. The new developments don’t mean the end of the process, but they do give an indication of just how difficult things will be. The final withdrawal of U.S. forces is to be condition-based, and that is where the United States still has leverage. We need to keep in mind that — as bad as we want out — the Taliban want us out even more. As President Trump warned, we reserve the right to hit and hit hard if the other side blatantly violates the terms of the agreement and that promise was kept. We should also use that leverage to ensure that some moral commitments that we made to Afghan women and girls during the war are not entirely forgotten in the rush to peace…