RFE/RLTue, 03 Sep 2019 19:42 UTC
© REUTERS / Omar Sobhani
The Taliban has taken credit for killing at least 16 civilians involving a car bombing and gunmen in Kabul on September 2 as the Afghan-based militant group agreed "in principle" to a deal to end the nearly 18-year conflict, the longest war in which the United States has been embroiled.
Interior Ministry spokesman Nusrat Rahimi said the explosion occurred in a large compound of the Afghan capital
where foreign organizations and aid agencies are based, and which is outside the heavily fortified Green Zone.
At least 119 were wounded "in last night's attack.... The explosion was caused by a tractor filled with explosives," Rahimi said on September 3.
The attack came as U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad was in Kabul to discuss with Afghan officials the
draft peace deal.
In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, Khalilzad said the Taliban had agreed "in principle" that any Afghan territory it controls in the future will not be used as a sanctuary for terrorists to launch attacks against the United States and its allies.
He also said that U.S. and Taliban negotiators had also agreed on the gradual "reduction and withdrawal" of Western forces from Afghanistan.
"That would depend on the situation on the ground," the envoy said.
However, he pointed out that the agreement, reached after nine rounds of U.S.-Taliban negotiations in Qatar, wasn't final until U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to it.
Khalilzad said he "will have more talks" with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, and other high-ranking government officials to discuss the draft agreement.Presidential spokesperson Sediq Sediqqi told reporters in Kabul the government will need to "study and assess" details of the draft deal.
Khalilzad arrived in the Afghan capital on September 1 from Qatar, after declaring that U.S. and Taliban negotiators were "at the threshold" of a deal following the ninth round of talks.
The envoy said Washington hopes that a final U.S.-Taliban agreement would pave the way for "inter-Afghan dialogue, which is an historic and golden chance to end the 40-year-old war in Afghanistan."
Comment: The agreement will reportedly involve 5000 troops being withdrawn from 5 bases within 5 months, "yet the Trump administration and military officials reportedly remain in disagreement over whether to keep a CIA presence."
The deal, which took months of negotiations, still requires President Trump's approval, Reuters reports. Afghan President Ashram Ghani has been briefed on the accord and will reportedly look it over in detail before weighing in.
If signed, the deal will prohibit the Taliban from allowing militants to use Afghanistan to plan attacks on the United States or its allies, Reuters reported. The agreement also includes a provision for "intra-Afghan" talks to end the conflict between the Taliban and Kabul's western-backed government.
Ghani has met with special envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and plans to "study and assess" the specifics of the agreement, according to Reuters.
A spokesman told reporters that "for us, a meaningful peace or a path to a meaningful peace is the end of violence and direct negotiation with the Taliban."
However, according to a report by the New York Times, some White House advisers have proposed secretly expanding the CIA presence in Afghanistan if troops are withdrawn. Some officials told the paper they want CIA-backed forces in the country as part of a counterterrorism force. They claim it could quell concerns that the US will be left with little ability to prevent terrorist groups from using Afghanistan as a base of operations. The Times said it based the report off interviews with a half-dozen of current or former officials briefed on the discussions yet neither the CIA nor the White House confirmed the reports.
increased the antipathy for the war and ended it sooner. The latest wars have not been leading stories for YEARS, the better for all
those MIC profits, of course.