Recently, the Taliban, the U.S. and Afghanistan agreed to peace talks in Doha, Qatar, but the talks have been falling apart.
The fascinating news comes just six months before the U.S. is slated to draw down troops and officially leave Afghanistan to the Afghanis.
As the Taliban agreed to formal peace talks ahead of the U.S. drawdown, it has unlimited power. The agreement to negotiate by the U.S. makes little sense, because its greatest bargaining chip — a total war — is disappearing in just a few months.
The Taliban, the former ruler of Afghanistan, has high ambitions. It claimed a political affiliation to the country and angered the Afghan government.
These bold movements by the organization are signals that the group is unwilling to negotiate in good faith, something that Secretary of State John Kerry and officials at the State Department have worked toward while in the Middle East.
The Obama administration told NBC News that "the negotiation's conditions require the Taliban to sever ties with (al-Qaida), put an end to violence and accept the Afghan constitution, in particular protections for women and minorities."
The Afghani government and the U.S. government have absolutely no room to bargain in this situation.
The Taliban has effectively routed the U.S. and expanded in Pakistan and elsewhere through al-Qaida. This means the war in Afghanistan has been lost despite billions of dollars spent.
We can invest and invest in the Afghani people, but the truth is, we just cannot expect them to carry on the U.S.'s wishes. They are their own people with their own lives and problems that cannot be solved by throwing money around. The true tests of strength can be shown in the diplomatic relations between the three parties.
Unfortunately, the Afghani government has pulled out of the talks recently as a show of power to its ally, the U.S.
By demonstrating the power of the triumvirate, the governments show how careful the peace process must be before the real transition into statehood begins for Afghanistan.
By involving itself in a quagmire, our government has put itself into a position where it must hold every stakeholder's hand and lead them to peace.
This situation, detrimental to the independence and sovereignty of every nation, develops strange national neuroses.
While the Taliban appreciates its power to halt peace talks, the Afghani government clings its grip to power by using the U.S. as leverage against the Taliban.
The U.S. does not have any power in the situation, even though we spent billions of dollars, thousands of American lives and a ridiculous amount of diplomatic currency.
I find it frustrating that our diplomats waddle around and ask countries to play nice, but at the end of the day, they will do what they want against our wishes and after a ton of money and willpower is spent to try to sway them.
Tell Peter what you think about the peace talks at Peter.Northfelt@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @peternorthfelt
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