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https://thehill.com/policy/defense/485266-us-taliban-sign-deal-to-withdraw-troops-from-afghanistan?#.XlqFZxreaRk.twitter
The United States and the Taliban signed a historic deal Saturday aimed at winding down America’s longest war.
With Secretary of State Mike Pompeo watching, U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban’s political chief, Abdul Ghani Baradar, signed a deal in Doha, Qatar, to begin the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
In exchange, the Taliban is assuring it will not allow Afghanistan to be used by terrorists to attack the United States.
Despite the milestone, a long road remains before peace in Afghanistan, including intra-Afghan talks, where the entire deal still has the potential to collapse.
he agreement also ushers in the start of talks to reconcile the Taliban and the Afghanistan government. Talks are scheduled to start March 10.
The intra-Afghan talks will be launched with a prisoner release, according to Saturday’s deal. The Taliban will have 5,000 prisoners released, while the Afghan government side will have 1,000. Remaining prisoners will be released in three months.
Skeptics of Trump’s efforts have long warned that the intra-Afghan stage would be the hardest, as the Taliban has been loath to sit down with a government it sees as a puppet of the United States.
