USA and Taliban Negotiations Concerning Afghanistan: Discursive Essay

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The last two objectives are natural. Anyone who understands the Geo-strategic importance of Afghanistan, would exploit this position, if granted the presence.

None of these objectives could be achieved without the presence of US in Afghanistan. Contrary to what US thought, it failed miserably in Afghanistan, with addition of military and financial losses. The BBC quoted the US Forbes Magazine (9th January, 2016) and said, “The war in Afghanistan has cost America up to $ 1 trillion and $ 70 Billion, in addtion to the killing of more than 2,400 US troops, the injury of tens of thousands of people with permanent deformation and disabilities, and despite these human and financial losses, America has failed to eliminate the movement.” And since the initial strategy was no longer possible, US had no option but to call for peace negotiations. For which US appointed Zalmay Khalilzad on 5th September, 2018 with a specific mission: “The US State Department summerized in a previous statement the task of Khalilzad, of coordinating and directing US efforts aimed at ensuring Taliban’s presence in the negotiating table.” (Turkish Anatolia Agency, 12th January, 2019). US wanted these negotiations to be between Taliban and Afghan Government, but it failed, as Taliban rejected to recognise Kabul Government and viewed it as a puppet regime of US. Therefore, the negotiation option shifted towards US, which Taliban accepted. The peruse of peace is not an event of 2019, but it began in 2013, when Obama addressed the State Union on 12th February, 2013 and said, “Tonight, I can announce that over the next year, another 34,000 American troops will come home from Afghanistan. This draw down will continue and by the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over.” and once again, for US, it didn’t go as planned. In the elections of May 2011, Imran Khan gain power in the North Western Frontier Provence of Pakistan, who spoke in favor of negotiations at every opportunity he got. And made the image that he wants to peruse US for peace talks, as a solution for US Afghan War. And when he become Prime Minister, in the elections of 2018, he gave his above mentioned speech.

In order to make sure that US demands be met by the Taliban. US divided its efforts in two sections, one in the shape of internal operations and the other by mobilization of puppet leaders around the world.

Internal Operations: US focused its operations on the Taliban leaders, especially those who rejected the negotiations. Few examples, “US officials said that the United States launched a drone attack on Saturday against the Afghan Taliban leader Akhtar Mansoor… The Pentagon described him as an obstacle in the face of peace and reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Taliban.” (Dunya Al Watan 22nd May, 2016) That is to say that he was killed for rejecting the negotiations. This was under Obama administration. Same policy of US was continued during Trump administration. “NATO Support Mission, said in a press release on Wednesday evening: “Two Taliban commanders were killed in Kaspia province in a US raid to support the Afghan Special Security forces in Tajab district on July 22.” (Russian Sputnik News Agency, 25th July, 2018) and there was another incident in which another Taliban leader was killed: “Col. Dave Butler, spokesperson for US forces in Afghanistan, said: “We can confirm a US air strike conducted yesterday, resulted in the killing of the Taliban leaders, Mullah Manan,” adding: “We drive towards a political solution.” (CNN Arabic 2nd December, 2018).

Mobilization of Rulers Serving US Agenda: Let us look to it from country to country.

Iran: It is believed that Iran is a “State hostile to America.” (Taliban also believe it). Iran extended its hand towards Taliban and pushed it towards political solution with America. “Iran said that representatives of Afghan Taliban held negotiations with Iranian officials in Tehran on Sunday, as the Islamic Republic seeks to push peace talks in the neighboring country to curb the influence of other Islamic Groups.” Bahram Qasimi, a spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the talks took place with the knowledge of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and are aimed at drawing up the parameters of negotiations between Taliban and the Afghan Government.” (Euro News, 31st December, 2018). Moreover, the assassination of the Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour, happened just as he was coming back from Iran, and on its borders, was probably by an American-Iranian coordination.

Qatar: Qatar opened the office for Taliban in Doha. Taliban thought that Qatar did this because it recognize the strengthening of the movement, but Qatar has publicly the real reason for opening the office. During its crisis with the siege countries, Qatar said: “Former CIA director David Petraeus’ statements are sufficient to say that the meeting of Taliban and Hamas in Doha was at the request of the US government, which in itself proves that Qatar did nothing to hide, and that was with the knowledge of everyone and not behind their backs… the presence of Hamas and the Taliban in Doha was at the request of the United State s of America to find a way out of the Palestinian cause and the Taliban.” (Qatar Al Sharq Newspaper 4th July, 2017). In other words Taliban fell into a trap. As the crisis intensified on Qatar from the countries of the siege, it begged the Trump administration to paid its money to protect its regime, Qatar, an English agent, increased its approach to America and pushed the Taliban to the negotiations, in the hope that the Trump administration would ease the Saudi risks from it… Thus America made the issue of its service by pushing the Taliban to peace negotiations, making it a competition between rival states in the Gulf. The UAE competes with Qatar to drag the negotiations to the city of Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia to Jeddah. Reuters quoting a Taliban military commander participating in negotiations, who asked not to disclose his name: ‘In fact, the differences between Saudi Arabia and Qatar have completely destroyed the peace process,’ he said, ‘The Saudis are pressing us unnecessarily to declare a ceasefire…’ (Russian Sputnik Newspaper, 14/1/2019), and with this tension, which is apparent in contradiction and difference, the Taliban found itself strapped with three Gulf cords, with apparent contradiction, but with one direction, the negotiations with America. America’s agents in Saudi Arabia compete with the British agents in the UAE and Qatar to serve America and obtain its satisfaction, but during this competition in falsehood entrapping Taliban and unifying its orientation towards the American negotiations and a political solution is the target. Britain does not oppose Qatar’s approach as a defense of the Qatar regime, and the UAE has been put by Britain on the front lines with America’s agents for other purposes.

Pakistan: Pakistan started of with extreme operations against the Taliban in it’s west and with the elections of 2018, it softened the atmosphere towards the Taliban. The statements of Imran Khan shows closeness towards Taliban, which as previously discussed, was build from the moment he won elections in North Western Frontier Province back in 2013. Furthermore, circumstances are created to increase Taliban’s trust in him, not realizing that it is a trap set up for making it enter in the US negotiations. Thus Taliban fell in the trap, and is bitten twice from the same hole, the government’s hole that only implements the US policy: it supported it in 1996 for the Afghan Taliban to rule, and then abandoned it in front of George W. Bush’s attack in 2001 and beyond. It even participated in America’s attack by pursuing the Taliban inside Pakistan… Now that America failed to eliminate the Taliban and decided to return to negotiations as the only option, to resolve and maintain its influence in Pakistan, Islamabad went back to building its old bridges with the Taliban, but with the sole aim of implementing the new American strategy and maintaining US influence in Afghanistan. The Taliban therefore fell into the hole again! Although things were clear and not hidden: Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan said on Monday that US President Donald Trump has asked for his help in the Afghan peace process, Geo news quoted Khan as saying that he ‘received a letter from the US president earlier in the day, in which he asked Pakistan to play a role in the Afghan peace talks, and help bring the Taliban to the negotiating table.” (Russian Sputnik news agency, 3rd December, 2018)

And then the Pakistani Prime Minister met with the US special envoy Khalilzad in Islamabad for two days, stressing the progress of Pakistan in the American plan in Afghanistan, “for his part, Imran said that ‘Pakistan wants a political settlement for peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan” (Masrawi 5th December, 2018). The Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday that his country will do its best to promote the Afghan peace process, adding that his country has contributed to the dialogue between the Taliban and the United States of America in Abu Dhabi recently. (AlYoum7 18th December, 2018). Imran himself revealed on his Twitter on 19th November, 2018 in his defense of his service to America, he said: ‘Pakistan chose to participate in the US war on terrorism, Pakistan suffered 75 thousand casualties in this war, and lost more than $ 123 billion of its economy, while US aid was only $20 billion.’ Pakistan’s former defense minister, Khawaja Asif, also confirmed the betrayal of the rulers of Pakistan, and he is one of them, he wrote on 19th November, 2018 on his Twitter account: ‘Pakistan is still sacrificing with blood for America, because we are fighting wars that are not ours, we have wasted the values ​​of our religion to make it compatible with American interests and destroyed peaceful nature and replaced it with division and intolerance.’ There is no more frankness than this: Pakistan fought a war that is not its war and shed the blood of the Muslims for America… and wasted the values ​​of its Islamic religion to serve US interests… The role of Pakistan in Afghanistan is similar to the role of Turkey and its ruler Erdogan in Syria, and his services to America by exerting pressure on the armed factions and subjecting them to the American solutions, despite the repeated America‘s humiliation to him.

These are the local conditions within Afghanistan and the regional movements of America’s agents and non-agents that America used to push firmly the Taliban towards negotiations and political solutions. The Taliban, wherever they turned, to Pakistan or Iran or Saudi Arabia or Qatar or the UAE found themselves on the path of America‘s negotiations to maintain US influence in Afghanistan! The Taliban, however, if they understood and have managed America’s pursuit to negotiate with it and the extent of pressure on its agents to do their best using malicious twisted tactics to persuade the Taliban to accept negotiations… if they understood the depth of America’s military and financial suffering in 17 years of their heroic jihad. If they realized America’s insistence on negotiating with the Taliban, even though it labels them as terrorists, as usual, by accusing everyone who resists US’s terrorism and arrogance as a terrorist… If they understood all this, they will know it is an announcement of America’s defeat in Afghanistan informally. America wants to exit before these defeats crushes it, exposing it as a great state crumbling down. They should have used this and put the pressure on America to expel it with humiliation, rather than giving it the warrior’s rest by going to the negotiations, no one can trust America:

[لَا يَرْقُبُونَ فِي مُؤْمِنٍ إِلّاً وَلَا ذِمَّةً وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُعْتَدُونَ]

“They do not observe toward a believer any pact of kinship or covenant of protection. And it is they who are the transgressors” [At-Tawba: 10]

America does not accept the Taliban‘s concessions, no matter what they are through the negotiations only if the American influence remains in Afghanistan, even if the representatives of America smiled in the face of the Taliban, what is hidden in their hearts is far greater.

Demands of United States in Negotiations:

After all of this, the demands of US are not something which will come as a shock. US major demands are as follows:

  1. Few military bases would remain in Afghanistan.
  2. Taliban, along with, the Kabul regime would create a government, which will run under a constitution which would be acceptable for US.
  3. The Taliban would have to ensure that their lands will no longer be used for any “terrorist” activities, against any other country and Taliban would sever their ties from all other Jihadi groups.
  4. In return, US will give money for all the damage caused due to the war and build all the infrastructure through the aid of civil societies, Private contractors and NGOs.

Even a superficial glance on these demands would reveal the following factors:

  1. By ensure military bases US will continue to gain its objectives and also its privileges, coming from the untapped resources of Afghanistan. It will also allow US to be strengthen its grip in Asia.
  2. By making a coalition government between Taliban and Kabul government, US will be able to use the soil and blood of Afghani people for its own causes.
  3. The third demand will allow US to increase divide and rifts among the Jihadist factions. This will further give control to US in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, in accordance to same old divide and rule policy.

Demands of Taliban:

However, these demands are not agreed by the Taliban and their demands are in contradiction to US’s interests. Which are as follows:

  1. Taliban don’t recognize the Kabul government and none of the members of the government would be tolerated on the negotiating table.
  2. All of the US forces will completely evacuate Afghanistan. Whenever the US agree to this, after that the negotiation talks would commence further.
  3. The internal affairs of Afghanistan are the affairs of their own. In these matters they are answerable to no one. The constitution of Afghanistan will be in accordance to Islam and all the political parties of Afghanistan would be included in the government.

The problem with these demands are following:

  1. The US may agree to pull out all of its military forces, but in addition to US military there are about 26,000 private contractors (according to 2017 report, the number of contractors have increased since then). Even if the US forces leaves, what about the private contractors?
  2. It is true and agreeable that Taliban would make their constitution in accordance to Islam, but, Islam demands the expansion of borders, which contradicts US’s third demand.

Negotiations Current Status:

After all of this, it’s sad to hear, when Wahid Mugdeh, said that the two sides agreed a great deal about the withdrawal of foreign forces and that Afghanistan is not a threat to any part of the world. He explained that the movement is seeking a guarantee to the suggested peace process with international protection. He added: ‘The agreement was not finalized in Doha because of some technical issues and the drafting of the agreement.” (Anatolia Agency 26th January, 2019) or when, Reuters news agency reported on 26th January, 2019, from Taliban officials that: ‘They agreed on some items with Washington to include the final agreement, and one of these items confirms the necessity of the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan within 18 months of signing the agreement in exchange for guarantees from the Taliban; not to allow al-Qaeda or ISIS of using Afghan territory against America…’ It is clear from the text “not to allow al-Qaeda or ISIS”… that America wants to give the Taliban a place in the system because it required guarantees from it to stand in the face of other organizations, so it wants to use it for this purpose as well.

This was also confirmed by the US officials, when th
US Special Representative, Zalmay Khalilzad, wrote on Twitter: “after six days of talks with the Taliban in Qatar, the meetings which took place here were more fruitful than in the past. We have made significant progress on vital issues.’ (Deutsche Welle Arabic, 26th January, 2019)

Thus, the draft Doha agreement is a major breach in the wall of the Taliban, which was solid. The agent government worked to weaken it further, and despite some conservative statements from the Taliban that it will not negotiate with the government of Kabul, and the similar US statements that the agreement must be on everything or nothing. However, the rush of the two parties to other rounds of negotiations is based on the momentum provided by the Doha negotiations and the firm push of the agents. Therefore it can be said that America finally after 17 years of war has found a light at the end of the tunnel to get out of its predicament in Afghanistan. Unless the faithful current inside the Taliban rise, destroy this agreement, and make it vanish, and extinguish that light in which America saw a safe way out of the Afghanistan war.

Conclusion:

Therefore, the Taliban and all the Mujahideen resisting the Crusader American and Atlantic occupation should not concede to America and its regime, and must not participate in it, and should remain steadfast in resisting them until America is forced to get out broken and humiliated and war is but an hour’s patience. The US has not accepted the negotiations until it was unable to break the will of the Mujahideen. They must be warned of falling into the quagmire of negotiations, which means to the Americans and Westerners a concession from the other party, and to win through the negotiations what they could not by war, i.e. the defeat of the opponent on the table without shedding a drop of blood or spend any cent! This is according to their pragmatic political concepts… America is a criminal aggressor that must be held accountable for its aggression and its crimes. It has killed, wounded, disabled, and displaced millions of Afghans and destroyed the country. Its crimes are countless and greater than the crimes of the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan. As the Soviet Union was expelled humiliated and broken, this could also be the fate of America if the Taliban is steadfast on what they came out for, fighting America and are patient. Allah (swt) promised victory for those who are patient and steadfast even if they are less than the enemy.

Allah (swt) says:

[الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلَاقُو اللَّهِ كَمْ مِنْ فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ]

“But those who were certain that they would meet Allah said, ‘How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah. And Allah is with the patient.” [Al-Baqara: 249]

And they must not accept the participation in the agent regime in Afghanistan, but to demolish it, and establish the rule of Islam, the Khilafah Rashidah (guided Caliphate) on the method of Prophethood, that our Messenger (saw) gave the glad-tidings of its arrival «ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةٌ عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ»“Then there will Khilafah on the method of Prophethood”

[ لِمِثْلِ هَذَا فَلْيَعْمَلِ الْعَامِلُونَ]

“For the like of this let the workers [on earth] work” [As- Saffat: 61]

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