Whoever wins the presidency next year likely will preside over a sobering occasion in 2021: the 20th anniversary of America’s longest war, writes columnist DoyleMcManus.
You may not have noticed, but the Trump administration is racing to reach a peace agreement with the Taliban, the Islamic militants who once sheltered terrorist leader Osama b in Laden in Afghanistan and have been battling U.S. troops since 2001.
Those big issues would be left for later talks between the Taliban and the U.S.-backed government of Ashraf Ghani. Until now the Taliban has refused such talks, dismissing the Kabul government as an illegitimate “puppet regime.”And yet, the proposed pact may be the only way for the United States to withdraw from a grinding war it has been unable to win. Whether it would produce a lasting peace is far less certain.
The problem is we still have major national security interests in Afghanistan, beyond our once-ambitious promises to build democracy, end opium cultivation and promote women’s rights. “We’re always going to have a presence,” he told Fox News radio last week. “We’re going down to 8,600 and then we’ll make a determination from there as to what happens.”
The U.S. side will commit to withdrawing most or all of its troops in stages, after the Taliban keeps specific commitments. The U.S. will also maintain counter-terrorist units in the region and assert its right to attack Al Qaeda or other terrorists wherever they are. Crocker argues that the U.S. will have influence in Kabul only as long as it keeps a viable military force in the country. Otherwise, he said, the outcome will be “surrender.”
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