[3/4/20] U.S. forces conducted an airstrike against Taliban fighters in Helmand, Afghanistan, Wednesday, the first such strike since the two sides signed a historic peace deal.
The airstrike was conducted as a "defensive" measure as Taliban fighters were "actively attacking" an Afghan government checkpoint, Colonel Sonny Legget, the spokesman for American forces in Afghanistan, said.
Taliban forces carried out 43 attacks on Afghan government checkpoints on March 3, despite their promises to the international community to reduce levels of violence, the spokesman said.
MORE: In historic call, Trump speaks to Taliban leader amid concerns about deal with US
"Taliban leadership promised the int’l community they would reduce violence and not increase attacks," Leggett posted on Twitter. We call on the Taliban to stop needless attacks and uphold their commitments. As we have demonstrated, we will defend our partners when required."
The airstrike came just a day after President Trump spoke to Abdul Ghani Baradar, the co-founder and a senior leader in the Taliban, by phone, in the first known conversation between a U.S. president and the militant group.
After the phone call, Trump told reporters that his relationship with Baradar was "very good" and that the Taliban "want to cease the violence." According to the Taliban, Trump told Baradar that "the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan now is in the interest of everyone."
Despite the assertion that the Taliban were looking to reduce levels of violence, the group released a statement Monday saying they would resume attacks on Afghan government forces.
On Saturday, U.S. negotiators led by Zalmay Khalilzad concluded a year-and-a-half long process by signing a bilateral agreement with the Taliban which lays out a full U.S. withdrawal from the country. The withdrawal is conditional on the militant group engaging in a peace process with the Afghan government and preventing the country from being a safe haven for terror groups.
MORE: US signs historic deal with Taliban
Doubts about the Taliban's commitment to peace have surrounded the agreement. Wednesday's airstrike is the first on Taliban forces since the signing last weekend, and the first in 11 days.
[2/29/20] DOHA, QATAR >> The United States signed a peace agreement with Taliban militants today aimed at bringing an end to 18 years of bloodshed in Afghanistan that began after 9/11 and allowing U.S. troops to return home from America’s longest war.
This historic deal, signed by chief negotiators from the two sides and witnessed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the Qatari capital of Doha, could see the withdrawal of all American and allied forces in the next 14 months and allow President Donald Trump to fulfill a key campaign pledge to extract the U.S. from “endless wars.” It sets the stage for intra-Afghan peace talks to begin by March 10 during which a permanent ceasefire will be negotiated and the Taliban agree to meet with all factions.
Under the agreement, the U.S. would draw its forces down to 8,600 from 13,000 in the next 3-4 months, with the remaining U.S. forces withdrawing in 14 months. The complete pullout would depend on the Taliban meeting their commitments to prevent terrorism, including specific obligations to renounce al-Qaida and prevent that group and others from using Afghan soil to plot attacks on the U.S. or its allies. The deal does not, however, tie the U.S. withdrawal to any specific outcome from the all Afghan talks, according to U.S. officials.
“We will closely watch the Taliban’s compliance with their commitments, and calibrate the pace of our withdrawal to their actions. This is how we will ensure that Afghanistan never again serves as a base for international terrorists,” said Pompeo. He acknowledged that the road ahead would be difficult but said the deal represented “the best opportunity for peace in a generation.”
At a parallel ceremony in Kabul, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signed a joint statement committing the Afghan government to support the U.S.-Taliban deal, which is viewed skeptically by many war-weary Afghans, particularly women who fear a comeback of repression under the ultra-conservative Taliban.
President George W. Bush ordered the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Some U.S. troops currently serving there had not yet been born when al-Qaida hijackers flew two airliners into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, crashed another into the Pentagon and took down a fourth in western Pennsylvania, killing almost 3,000 people.
It only took a few months to topple the Taliban and send Osama bin Laden and top al-Qaida militants scrambling across the border into Pakistan, but the war dragged on for years as the U.S. tried establish a stable, functioning state in one of the least developed countries in the world. The Taliban regrouped, and currently hold sway over half the country.
The U.S. spent more than $750 billion, and on all sides the war cost tens of thousands of lives lost, permanently scarred and indelibly interrupted. But the conflict was also frequently ignored by U.S. politicians and the American public as the memory of the attacks on that crisp, sunny morning faded despite having changed how many Americans see the world.
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