Get out of there already. It's a no-win situation that is ruinously expensive. The only winning move is not to play.
[War.onTheRocks] The two of us witnessed the signing of the agreement between the United States and the Taliban in Doha on Feb. 29. Since then, we have observed delay upon delay in implementation as the novel coronavirus pandemic outpaces armed conflict as a source of global death and destruction.
Today, representatives of the Taliban were supposed to arrive at Bagram air base to monitor the release of up to 5,000 Taliban detainees as a confidence-building measure brokered by Qatar and the United States. Members of the Taliban had committed themselves to "start intra-Afghan negotiations with Afghan sides" by March 10 in the belief that their detainees would be released. In return, the Taliban had promised to release up to 1,000 detainees of those it holds. The Afghan government, which was not involved in the agreement, was reluctant to release captured fighters who might return to violence, leading to the Taliban's refusal to start talks. The government did not announce its delegation for the negotiations until March 27. The spread of the pandemic also hindered talks as travel and meetings risked spreading the coronavirus.
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