Former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker says the potential peace agreement with the Taliban in Afghanistan is a sign the U.S. is “surrendering” to the group.
The agreement, which calls for a cease-fire and could pave the way for a full withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, would prohibit the Taliban from allowing members of al Qaeda and the Islamic State to enter Afghanistan to plot terrorist attacks and require it never to harbor terrorists who threaten the U.S.
But Crocker, who held his post near the end of former President Barack Obama’s first term, warned the deal would be a mistake.
“This current process bears an unfortunate resemblance to the Paris peace talks during the Vietnam War,” Crocker wrote in a Washington Post op-ed published Tuesday. “Then, as now, it was clear that by going to the table we were surrendering; we were just negotiating the terms of our surrender. The Taliban will offer any number of commitments, knowing that when we are gone and the Taliban is back, we will have no means of enforcing any of them.”
“The framework was reached without the involvement of the Afghan government,” Crocker wrote. “The Taliban has said all along that it refuses to negotiate with the government, considering the government the illegitimate puppet of the U.S. occupation. By acceding to this Taliban demand, we have ourselves delegitimized the government we claim to support.”
Crocker’s remarks were in response to U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad’s negotiations in Qatar with the Taliban last week. Khalilzad said over the weekend that discussions with the Taliban in Qatar were “more productive than they have been in the past.”
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said Tuesday that the discussions were “encouraging” and said he has not been instructed to develop plans for a U.S. withdrawal at this point.
[Opinion: No matter how Taliban peace talks go, Trump should pull troops from Afghanistan]
