Central Asia

Eighteen years ago, the US led the NATO invasion of Afghanistan for the stated purpose of toppling the Taliban government and crushing the Al Qaeda forces they were harboring. Now, after more than 4,000 US military personnel and contractors have been killed, and over a trillion dollars spent, a peace agreement between the USA and the Taliban appears to be in the works.

There seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for the US in its struggle against the ‘Afghan Trap.’ This light emanates from the agreement signed on February 29 in Doha, the capital of Qatar, between US representatives and the Taliban movement (banned in Russia).

The war in Afghanistan that began with the invasion in October 2001 by the United States and its allies is now in its 19th year. There is periodic talk in the western media of the Trump administration reaching a peace deal with the Taliban, leading to the Taliban resuming political control over the whole country.