Trump's Failures: His Taliban Doha Peace Agreement is Truly His Making Not Anyone Else's

 

Trump-Taliban Agreement: Stop blaming others - own it

(Not Biden's, not the DEMS, His)

Various topics in this post below in my nearly complete wrap-up of the mess in Afghanistan. My related posts are here and here.

Now the so-called icing on the cake before the grand finale – whenever that will be remains to be seen, but the Trump-Taliban “Doha Agreement” is in my view: “A Bridge too Far” as the expression goes.

Reflect on this from Trump: “I’m the best dealmaker ever, believe me.”

The Doha Agreement (2020), also known as the “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan,” is a peace agreement signed between Trump and the Taliban on February 29, 2020 held at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Doha, Qatar. The 4 page agreement (.pdf format) is posted on the State Department’s website here.

The provisions of the agreement include:

(1) The withdrawal of all American and NATO troops from Afghanistan.

(2) The Taliban pledge to prevent al-Qaeda from operating in areas under Taliban control and protection of Afghan citizens.

(3) The pledge to continue talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

(4) The U.S. agrees to an initial reduction of U.S. Forces from 13,000 to 8,600 by July 2020.

(5) A full withdrawal of all U.S. Forces within 14 months if the Taliban keeps its commitments.

(6) The U.S. committed to closing five bases within 135 days.

(7) The U.S. expressed its intent to end economic sanctions against the Taliban by August 27, 2020.

PERTINENT NOTES:

— The deal also was supported by China, Russia, Pakistan, and unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council.

— While all that took place, it DID NOT involve any official of the Afghan government.  

— Despite the on-going agreement, the Taliban continued attacks against Afghan forces that surged for 45 days even after the agreement was signed.

— The Taliban conducted more than 4,500 attacks, killing more than 900 Afghan security and military forces,

— Conversely, and due to the agreed reduction in the number of offensives against the Taliban, their casualties dropped to 610, down from about 1,660 in the same period a year earlier.

My 2 Cents: What is the so-called bottom line in all this? Who got the better part of the Trump-Taliban deal? 

Hint: Not the U.S., and certainly not the Afghan government, nor the Afghan military and security forces, and for damn sure NOT President Joe Biden and the thousands of Americans and Afghans who served with the U.S. forces trying to get out the country, and who are being punished, tracked down, threatened, and God only knows what else. 

All the while, Trump and his sycophant loyalists are flying high above the fray trying to come across as: “The saviors of Afghanistan who stopped that 20-year war, saving American lives, and saving tax dollars.” 

Conversely, however, the outcome really favors and props up the Taliban by giving them everything they asked for in the Doha Agreement, and from what we have seen recently, apparently they are getting all that in spades. 

What about the domestic politics of this: Seems it also favors Trump, Inc., and his solely owned and operated GOP. 

I expect we will hear them yakking 24/7 between now and the 2022 midterms and presidential race in 2024, this simple catchy sound bite: “See how Sleepy Joe and the DEMS failed. Kick them all out and give me and my GOP the majority back and watch us excel.” /signed/ Trump

Finally: Who in their right mind can ever again believe or trust anything from Trump? Really.

Thanks for stopping by.