Twofer on Afghanistan: Options for Peace and Can the Taliban Become a Meaningful Diplomatic Actor?
Options for Peace in the Continuing War in Afghanistan by Suzanne Schroeder – Divergent Options
Option #1: The U.S. makes peace with the Taliban, and begins a withdrawal of U.S. forces…
Option #2: The U.S. and Afghan Government continue to apply pressure on the Taliban — in short, “talk and fight.”…
Can the Taliban Movement Become a Meaningful Diplomatic Actor? By Farkhondeh Akbari – The Interpreter
It is clear that the Trump administration is seeking an exit from Afghanistan as soon as possible. US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has signalled that a deal is imminent with the Taliban. But we are yet to see if the deal entails a framework for the withdrawal of US forces to end 17 years of conflict or if it entails a plan for sustainable peace for Afghanistan after 40 years of war. The characteristics of the Taliban pose major challenges to achieve the latter.
History has shown that not all peace settlement negotiations lead to peace. Negotiations brought peace in Bosnia and genocide in Rwanda…
