Peace in Afghanistan?

Christopher A. Preble

Regarding news that the United States and the Taliban had reached an agreement to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan, I issued the following statement:

President Donald Trump campaigned on a platform of reigning in America’s long and costly overseas military engagements. In office, however, he has mostly expanded these conflicts, including the war in Afghanistan. Now we may finally see if he can keep his promise. The peace deal signed earlier today is imperfect, but critics have long questioned the very premise of negotiations with the Taliban. It seems clear that they would have opposed any deal that didn’t leave U.S. troops in place indefinitely. President Trump should ignore these endless war advocates, and listen to the American people who realized long ago that the war is no longer vital to U.S. safety or prosperity. A full and expeditious withdrawal of all remaining U.S. military personnel from Afghanistan will allow the people there, who have been suffering under the scourge of war for over four decades, to fashion a durable political settlement, and allow Americans to focus on urgent problems here at home.