The Taliban launched a major attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday, killing dozens and injuring more than 100 people, nearly half of whom were reportedly children. This attack, combined with each side’s frustration at the other’s inflexibility, makes the likelihood of any substantive progress in the ongoing U.S.-Taliban peace negotiations very small. Meanwhile, two Americans soldiers and a special forces medic were killed in Afghanistan just within the last week.
After nearly two decades of war and amid the stalemate at the negotiating table, it is increasingly clear these peace talks, however nice and potentially beneficial for the people of Afghanistan, should not be used as a pretext for prolonging American military involvement. We do not need a formal peace accord to guarantee our security, and U.S. involvement in Afghanistan should have ended years ago.
