DOHA, 29 February 2020, TON: American media is celebrating US -Taliban historic agreement, which American leadership claims would set into motion the drawdown of US troops from Afghanistan and potentially pave the way to ending America's longest-fought war. The media throughout the world is rejoicing over deal between the US and the Taliban but question remains, where is the deal? In fact, the deals authenticate US troops’ presence till April-May 2021, censures Taliban-Al Qaida linkage and set condition of political settlement prior to the withdrawal.

This winter the average deployment of US troops in Afghanistan was less than 4000 but the agreement provides reduction of US troops from about 12,000 to 8,600. Similarly, the NATO troops have also been explained in the deal in a similar fashion. A joint statement issued by the US and Afghan governments from Doha provide that the United States and NATO would withdraw all troops in Afghanistan within 14 months if the Taliban upheld its commitments.

Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission has announced that President Ashraf Ghani won 50.64 percent of a 28 September. Where Washington has asked President Ashraf Ghani to give up his claim of winning the elections, interestingly, the so called Taliban representatives are also dubbing President Ashraf Ghani’s government as US puppet regime. Obviously, who is left to be negotiated is an open secret.  Interestingly, Afghanistan’s government has also agreed to postpone President Ashraf Ghani’s inauguration to a second term. In the same regard, US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement that US notes the results announced in Ashraf Ghani’s favor but Washington claims that it is not recognizing either victory claim.

If we recall, prior to the signing of the deal, President Donald Trump said: “If the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan live up to these commitments, we will have a powerful path forward to end the war in Afghanistan and bring our troops home”. One wonders is this the same democracy which USA, Britain and other western feel proud of and want the other nations to follow and implement as a political system in their countries.  

The Afghan war has led around 1.6 million innocent Afghan men, women, children killed since bloody attacks on Kandhar by the US in 1998 from the Arabian Gulf.  Whereas, although the death toll of the foreign forces in Afghanistan is much higher but the official figures released by the US and British governments says that more than 2,400 American troops and 450 from Britain have been killed in the Afghan war. One wonders if United Nations Organizations has a role to play as World Organization; if United Nations Organization can authorize US and allies to invade and destroy Afghanistan what bars United Nations Security Council to order complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan.