*WASHINGTON DC: *United States President Donald Trump on Saturday hailedthe signing of a historic deal with the Taliban that Washington hopes willmark the beginning of the end of its longest war, and said he would meetTaliban leaders “in the not so distant future.”
The US leader said he believed the Taliban were ready for peace but warnedthat should the deal fail to take hold, “we’ll go back.”
He said that the first withdrawals of US troops from Afghanistan arestarting “immediately,” following the successful signing of a deal with theTaliban.
Asked when the drawdown would begin under the accord, Trump toldjournalists: “Like today, OK? Today. They’ll start immediately.”
The deal signed Saturday in Doha will see US troops and the smaller numbersof foreign allies pulling out of Afghanistan within 14 months, as long asthe Taliban stick to commitments to negotiate with the Western-backedgovernment in Kabul and repel international jihadist groups.
The US, which currently has between 12,000 and 13,000 troops inAfghanistan, will draw that number down to 8,600 within 135 days of thesigning.
The agreement is expected to lead to a dialogue between the Taliban and theKabul government that, if successful, could ultimately see an end to thegrinding 18-year conflict.
Taliban fighter-turned-dealmaker Mullah Baradar signed the accord alongsideWashington’s chief negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad, in a conference room in aluxury hotel in the Qatari capital.
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The pair then shook hands, as people in the room shouted “Allahu Akbar”(God is greatest).
The Taliban swept to power in 1996 with a hardline interpretation ofIslamic sharia law, banning women from working, closing girls’ schools, andforbidding music and other entertainment.
Since the US-led invasion that ousted them after the September 11, 2001attacks, America has spent more than $1 trillion on fighting and rebuildingin the country. About 2,400 US soldiers have been killed, along withunknown tens of thousands of Afghan troops, Taliban fighters and Afghancivilians.
The Doha accord was drafted over a tempestuous year of dialogue marked bythe abrupt cancellation of the effort by Trump in September.
But the position of the Afghan government, which has been excluded fromdirect US-Taliban talks, remains unclear and the country is gripped by afresh political crisis amid contested election results.
The signing comes after a week-long, partial truce that has mostly heldacross Afghanistan, aimed at building confidence between the warringparties and showing the Taliban can control their forces. – APP / AFP
