KABUL – Almost two decades into its invasion of Afghanistan, the UnitedStates is today caught in a “quagmire” in the Asian country as Washingtoncan neither militarily defeat the Taliban nor strike a “satisfactory” dealwith the militant group, which could serve as “a smokescreen” for aface-saving pullout, a commentator tells Press TV.
Speaking on Press TV’s The Debate show on Sunday, author and journalistDaniel Lazare said US President Donald Trump was really seeking a deal withthe Afghan Taliban militant group, but “I think it [the US] is unable toget a deal that it will regard as satisfactory.”
“Washington invaded Afghanistan 18 years ago in order to dislodge theTaliban, and this deal essentially meant turning the country back into theTaliban’s hands,” Lazare said, adding the US has today achieved no resultin its military campaign against the militants.
Trump “really faced an impossible situation. He wants to pull out, but heknows the second he does, the country will fall into civil war…and thecountry will return to the anarchy of the 1990s and the US would accomplishabsolutely nothing.”
“The US cannot pull out. There is no way out. It is caught in a trap,” hesaid. “The US is now in a quagmire; it has no way extricating itself.”
Lazare further said, “It is very easy to invade a country and it’s veryhard to get out, and that’s the problem the US faces.”
The Taliban’s five-year rule over at least three quarters of Afghanistancame to an end following the US-led invasion in 2001, but 18 years on,Washington is now seeking a truce with the militants, who still controllarge swathes of territory.[image: PressTV-Trump says he called off meeting w/ Taliban leaders]link
After several rounds of talks held between the US and the Taliban in theQatari capital, Doha over almost a year ago, Trump said he was cancelingthe talks over a recent deadly attack by the Taliban in Kabul last week.
Predicting the Taliban’s possible reaction to Trump’s move, Lazare saidthat they “intend to step up hostilities and the US will, therefore, haveto deploy more troops, or at least fight harder with the forces it has inplace.”
“The Taliban sense an advantage; they are really controlling the situation.The US is desperate to escape, but it really can’t. So the Taliban, in asense, have the US where they want them,” he pointed out.
The author also described the Doha peace process as “purposelessnegotiations” that are essentially meant to provide “smokescreen for whatis, in fact, US retreat.”
“The US just cannot win in Afghanistan, it does not have resources.” hesaid. “The situation there is militarily, extremely disadvantageous, so theUS is looking for a way out.
And Trump was hoping that the Taliban would make it easy for him but theTaliban is not, so he is stuck.”