Political turmoil in Afghanistan threatens US-Taliban peace deal

NATO Watch

Promoting a more open, transparent and accountable North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Twitter View in browser Subscribe Forward

| Comments |

Political turmoil in Afghanistan threatens US-Taliban peace deal

Sun, 03/29/2020 - 19:53 By Dr. Ian Davis and Joe Malmkvist 30 March 2020 The Taliban’s refusal to begin talks with the Afghan government’s new 21-member negotiating team on the 28 March is the latest setback in the US-brokered peace process for this 18-year-old conflict. Progress on moving to intra-Afghan talks has already been delayed by a power struggle between Afghan politicians and disagreements between the Taliban and the government over prisoner releases and a possible ceasefire. This briefing reviews the current state of play in the Afghan peace process and the implications for the NATO Resolute Support Mission, which still maintains up to 16,000 ground troops in Afghanistan (of which 8,000 are American) for advising, assisting and training the Afghan security forces  The United States has an additional 5,000 troops deployed to carry out counter-terrorism missions and provide air and ground support to Afghan forces when requested. Read the attached pdf briefing to find out more. Read full issue (PDF)