Taliban Must Have Read ‘Art of the Deal’ Before Signing Peace Agreement, Ex-Ambassador Says After Congressman Criticizes Terms – By David Brennan (Newsweek) / March 2 2020
The U.S. and the Taliban signed a peace agreement this weekend that may be a precursor to the end of more than 18 years of war, but skeptics are already warning that the deal’s terms could yet prove dangerous.
The deal, signed this weekend after a successful week-long “reduction in violence,” could mean that all U.S. and NATO troops leave the country in 14 months. Talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government will now follow.
But critics are raising concerns that the deal is too lenient on the Taliban for little U.S. and NATO gain. The agreement says that the U.S. will cut its in-country troop numbers to 8,600 within the first 135 days, with other allied nations making proportionate reductions.
The deal also stipulates that 5,000 Taliban prisoners will be released by 10 March, in exchange for up to 1,000 government detainees.
New Jersey Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski was among those uncomfortable with such terms. He suggested on Twitter that ” for just one week of less shooting, the Taliban get 4,400 US troops out, and 5,000 of their fighters back. The rest of the deal is all promises that they can pretty much break without consequence, and therefore likely will.”
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul replied, “Looks like the Taliban read Art of the Deal,” referring to President Donald Trump’s combined memoir and business-advice book published in the late 1980s.
Trump himself said Saturday it is “time after all these years to bring our people back home,” describing America’s longest-running war as a “long and hard journey.”
Continue to article: https://www.newsweek.com/trump-taliban-deal-afghanistan-art-deal-pompeo-1489961
