Taliban spokesperson says

[oyarde]

Peace deal with US has been finalized . On Afghan television 1TV , Suhail Shaheen stated this and said it should be official no later than Feb 29 .

[Warlord]

Peace deal with US has been finalized . On Afghan television 1TV , Suhail Shaheen stated this and said it should be official no later than Feb 29 .

Trump will have to stop bombing the sh1t out of them first and he won't stop so its unlikely to hold.

[oyarde]

Sec of defense says planned right now would be reduce troops from 12 or 13K to 8k

[oyarde]

Trump will have to stop bombing the sh1t out of them first and he won't stop so its unlikely to hold.

It appears a lot of effort has been put into this by Zalmay Kahlilzad and Mark Esper and others . I hope it goes through.

[oyarde]

Anyway , I have a bottle of bourbon at my house for those guys . Sometimes effort should be awarded .

[Warlord]

It appears a lot of effort has been put into this by Zalmay Kahlilzad and Mark Esper and others . I hope it goes through.

A 'reduction of violence' is not a ceasefire. I would not trust Epser or Pompeo to adhere to it if I were the taliban. Neocons have a history of double crossing.

[oyarde]

A 'reduction of violence' is not a ceasefire. I would not trust Epser or Pompeo to adhere to it if I were the taliban. Neocons have a history of double crossing.

Well , that goes without saying . You cannot trust the Taliban , afghan govt or the US . The Taliban just wants to go back to the 7th century , the afghan govt does not want to be that poor and the US has no idea what it is doing . No trust on the table , just stop shooting for awhile.

[oyarde]

I am hopeful it goes through . Get US troops out of there .

[oyarde]

Let them return to the dancing boys and repressed women . No reason for us to participate .

[Warlord]

I am hopeful it goes through . Get US troops out of there .

The neocons will never allow it. There is only talk of a reduction of troops to 8600 or so.The taliban want all of them out so the whole thing will fail again.

[oyarde]

The neocons will never allow it. There is only talk of a reduction of troops to 8600 or so.The taliban want all of them out so the whole thing will fail again.

I think the Taliban may agree to 8600 if there footprint is reduced to areas they do not control . Hopefully there will also be a withdrawal date set for those . It is a 33 percent reduction .

[Warlord]

I think the Taliban may agree to 8600 if there footprint is reduced to areas they do not control . Hopefully there will also be a withdrawal date set for those . It is a 33 percent reduction .

The problem is that the hardliners in the taliban will still continue to fight until their all gone..

[oyarde]

It will be the last chance to get out under 20 years . If trump were to lose there will be no other chances for another decade .

[oyarde]

Your prayers are requested for the success of the deal .

[specsaregood]

So I guess the Taliban have decided to allow poppy production going forward?

[Warlord]

So I guess the Taliban have decided to allow poppy production going forward?

50/50 profit share.

[oyarde]

Votes for Dem pres in primary and general elections will be votes to stay in Afghanistan another decade . As simple as that . Very disappointing people here are participating in that but , hey , humans are just a murderous species .

[oyarde]

So I guess the Taliban have decided to allow poppy production going forward?

In order to keep things neutral I would have suggested that be sub contracted to a third party .

[oyarde]

Trump needs to do what it takes to bring this home .

[Zippyjuan]

"Peace deal" only calls for one week of "reduced violence"- not even a full cease-fire.

[oyarde]

"Peace deal" only calls for one week of "reduced violence"- not even a full cease-fire.

This deal is permanent to be approved by months end . The probationary period was set as conditional prior to this deal to see if the Taliban can resist killing for a few days .

[Warlord]

This deal is permanent to be approved by months end . The probationary period was set as conditional prior to this deal to see if the Taliban can resist killing for a few days .

The best and most well funded army in the world can't beat the ragheads who have AK-47's.

Why is that ?

[oyarde]

The best and most well funded army in the world can't beat the ragheads who have AK-47's.

Why is that ?
Most are not likely to win guerilla war on others home turf . A standing army is meant to engage other standing armies .

[shakey1]

Peace deal with US has been finalized . On Afghan television 1TV , Suhail Shaheen stated this and said it should be official no later than Feb 29 .

If not, maybe next Feb 29. :questionsmerk:

[shakey1]

Most are not likely to win guerilla war on others home turf . A standing army is meant to engage other standing armies .

A historical truth.

[Anti Globalist]

The best and most well funded army in the world can't beat the ragheads who have AK-47's.

Why is that ?
That's because we're not trying to win the war. We're trying to prolong it on taxpayers dime.

[Swordsmyth]

I think the Taliban may agree to 8600 if there footprint is reduced to areas they do not control . Hopefully there will also be a withdrawal date set for those . It is a 33 percent reduction .
That's just the first phase, they will all leave.

[oyarde]

I am going to cautiously have a beer to celebrate the new peace accord .

[pcosmar]

I'll Celebrate with some Afghani Hash.. if it is ever available again..

Haven't seen any since Russia invaded.

[oyarde]

I'll Celebrate with some Afghani Hash.. if it is ever available again..

Haven't seen any since Russia invaded.We do not have a hashish emoji .

[eleganz]

It appears like a full pull out is being prepped for 2020 elections

Very interesting timing as the show Homeland is literally manifesting this very topic at the same time as the real thing is occurring before our eyes. I recommend you all watch it.


Saul Berenson, the National Security Advisor for newly inaugurated President Ralph Warner, is assigned to negotiate peace with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Carrie Mathison is still struggling to recover from her brutal treatment as a prisoner in Russia, but Saul wants to take her to Afghanistan, feeling her knowledge and experience in Afghanistan is essential.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_(season_8)

Season 7 was about the Deep State, lying about intel, trying to take out the president, also while the Trump situation just began unfolding.

[Swordsmyth]

It appears like a full pull out is being prepped for 2020 elections

Very interesting timing as the show Homeland is literally manifesting this very topic at the same time as the real thing is occurring before our eyes. I recommend you all watch it.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_(season_8)

Season 7 was about the Deep State, lying about intel, trying to take out the president, also while the Trump situation just began unfolding.
According to some rumors we will leave Iraq at about the same time.

[oyarde]

We could leave Iraq now I think .

[Warlord]

It appears like a full pull out is being prepped for 2020 elections



Believe it when I see it.

[Zippyjuan]

According to some rumors we will leave Iraq at about the same time.

According to some rumors (started by Trump) we will be out of Syria by January, 2019.

[oyarde]

No news is good news . Moving forward still I think .

[oyarde]

Great job .:clap:

[Warlord]

Great job .:clap:

Not so fast. There's a long way to go before - allegedly - all troops will leave which is a key demand of the Taliban.

And now this:

Afghan peace deal hits first snag over prisoner releases


KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s president said Sunday that he will not free thousands of Taliban prisoners ahead of all-Afghan power-sharing talks set for next week, publicly disagreeing with a timetable for a speedy prisoner release laid out just a day earlier in a U.S.-Taliban peace agreement.

President Ashraf Ghani’s comments pointed to the first hitch in implementing the fragile deal, which is aimed at ending America’s longest war after more than 18 years and getting rival Afghan factions to agree on their country’s future.

Still, the U.S. has said a planned U.S. troop withdrawal over the next 14 months is linked to the Taliban’s counter-terrorism performance, not to progress in intra-Afghan talks.

Washington’s Peace Envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as America’s first ambassador to Afghanistan after the 2001 U.S. invasion, spent the past 17 months running on-again, off-again talks with the Taliban to hammer out the agreement.

The U.S.-Taliban deal signed Saturday in the Middle Eastern State of Qatar envisions the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners by the Afghan government ahead of talks between Afghan factions meant to begin March 10 in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The Taliban would release up to 1,000 prisoners.

Ghani told a news conference in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday that this wasn’t a promise the United States could make. He said the release of any prisoners was a decision for his government to take and that he wasn’t ready to release prisoners before the start of negotiations.

“The request has been made by the United States for the release of prisoners and it can be part of the negotiations but it cannot be a precondition,” Ghani said.

The U.S.-Taliban deal is seen as a historic opportunity to extricate the United States from Afghanistan, a nation convulsed by conflict since the Soviet invasion in December 1979. Yet it could also unravel quickly, particularly if the Taliban fail to deliver on a promise that no terror attacks would be launched from Afghan soil.

The intra-Afghan talks between squabbling political factions and rival Taliban in Afghanistan are even more intricate — even if a potential failure might not slow the withdrawal of American forces.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he considered a prisoner exchange an important confidence-building measure.

“Everything is interconnected,” he said Sunday about the agreement’s 14-month timeframe.

“The prisoner exchange will be one of the first confidence-building measures, so it will remain a very critical step that we need to push forward,” he added.

U.S. officials, travelling with Secretary of State Pompeo on his return to America, noted that the agreement stipulates “up to” 5,000 prisoners would be released, without referring specifically to Ghani’s statements.

President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday at the White House that he will be “meeting personally with Taliban leaders in the not-too-distant future,” and described the group as “tired of war.”

He did not say where or why he plans to meet with Taliban leaders. He said he thinks they are serious about the deal they signed but warned that if it fails, the U.S. could restart combat.

“We think we’ll be successful in the end,” he said, referring to all-Afghan peace talks and a final U.S. exit.

But he also warned: “If bad things happen, we’ll go back” in with military firepower.


https://apnews.com/8cfce4344ad386697c78b033a3cb3dc6

[vita3]

Trump is master of positive PR with signing ceremonies

When majority of troops are home, then he gets real credit

& deservedly so.

[shakey1]

Let’s do this thing.

[Ender]

Hmmmm......this paragraph is very telling:


The U.S.-Taliban deal is seen as a historic opportunity to extricate the United States from Afghanistan, a nation convulsed by conflict since the Soviet invasion in December 1979. Yet it could also unravel quickly, particularly if the Taliban fail to deliver on a promise that no terror attacks would be launched from Afghan soil.

The US should never have been there in the first place.

[oyarde]

Not so fast. There's a long way to go before - allegedly - all troops will leave which is a key demand of the Taliban.

And now this:

Afghan peace deal hits first snag over prisoner releases



https://apnews.com/8cfce4344ad386697c78b033a3cb3dc6

I called in all my owed favors to get everyone I could working on this . Hopefully we have enough leverage to get the prisoners taken care of satisfactorily .

[AngryCanadian]

I called in all my owed favors to get everyone I could working on this . Hopefully we have enough leverage to get the prisoners taken care of satisfactorily .

Afghanistan’s current president is a puppet of the NeoCons/War Mongers they thought that America/West would military occupy Afghanistan for 20+ more years and lie to Westerns about a none existing success if this supposed deal never happened the Taliban would have being at the front door in Kabul.

If the Taliban marched towards in Kabul the West/NATO would have no choice but to completely withdraw their forces from Afghanistan, carpet bombing, air bombing, military ground to ground warfare does nothing to stop them.

Another 100+ Military occupation years of Afghanistan would led no results either expect maybe grabbing a nation resources?


https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/Images/2019/6/23/19970a5e8f7847e6a9d6093772d3d9a4_6.jpg

[enhanced_deficit]

Afghan Prez says:

Afghanistan did not commit to release 5,000 Taliban, Ghani says
11 hrs ago
KABUL, March 1 (Reuters) - The government of Afghanistan has made no commitment to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners as stated in a pact signed between the United States and Taliban Islamic militants, President Ashraf Ghani said on Sunday.


Afghanistan Peace Deal Hits Snag Over Taliban Prisoner Release

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during a news conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, on March, 1, 2020.
Rahmat Gul—AP
By KATHY GANNON / AP
March 1, 2020 10:10 AM EST

(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Afghanistan’s president said Sunday that he will not free thousands of Taliban prisoners ahead of all-Afghan power-sharing talks set for next week, publicly disagreeing with a timetable for a speedy prisoner release laid out just a day earlier in a U.S.-Taliban peace agreement.

President Ashraf Ghani’s comments pointed to the first hitch in implementing the fragile deal, which is aimed at ending America’s longest war after more than 18 years and getting rival Afghan factions to agree on their country’s future.
time.com/5793132/afghanistan-taliban-deal-prisoners-release/



It's still early, hopefully this report is fakenews/will be sorted out soon and MAGA will be able to negate NBC's 'broken peace coin' narrative.




QUOTE=RonZeplin;6927089]https://images.theweek.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/4_Wasserman.jpg?itok=vbdbR3ZU[/QUOTE]


Also, wise cautious approach by peace leadership/White House giftshop teams this time around by not releasing this peace deal commemorative coins at this stage.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/24/politics/north-korea-summit-coin-reaction/index.html


In the end, all of us should hope and pray that any skpeticisms will be proven unfounded and peace deal will be a success. There is a powerful 2020 election factor going in favor of this deal's success, ironically N-Korea peace deal failure may make this deal all the more indispensable politicaly.

[Pauls' Revere]

That's just the first phase, they will all leave.

https://i.redd.it/a43h1iedi8cz.jpg

Phase two, insert corporate interest.

[Swordsmyth]

Not so fast. There's a long way to go before - allegedly - all troops will leave which is a key demand of the Taliban.

And now this:

Afghan peace deal hits first snag over prisoner releases



https://apnews.com/8cfce4344ad386697c78b033a3cb3dc6
Still, the U.S. has said a planned U.S. troop withdrawal over the next 14 months is linked to the Taliban’s counter-terrorism performance, not to progress in intra-Afghan talks.

[Warlord]

Cheney and 21 travelers are dead against this deal with the Taliban. No amount of blood or treasure will satisfy them.

Cheney, House Republicans express 'serious concerns' with US-Taliban deal


Twenty-two House Republicans are expressing “serious concerns” about the Trump administration’s plans to sign a peace deal with the Taliban this weekend.

In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, the lawmakers said they are “seeking assurances that you will not place the security of the American people into the hands of the Taliban, and undermine our ally, the current government of Afghanistan.”

“President Trump has taken crucial action to keep our nation safe, including eliminating the world's most dangerous terrorists and destroying the ISIS caliphate. He knows a bad deal when he sees one,” the Republicans wrote in the letter, which says at the bottom that a copy was also sent to Trump.

“We urge you not to commit America to a dangerous deal with the Taliban that would abandon the President's track record of strengthening America and putting our security and interests first,” the lawmakers added.

The letter was organized by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the No. 3 House Republican and a fierce defense hawk whose father is former Vice President Dick Cheney.

It comes as U.S. officials have said a seven-day partial truce is working. The so-called “reduction in violence” period, which started last Saturday, is meant as a confidence-building measure ahead of the United States and Taliban signing a broader deal that would start a gradual U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in exchange for assurances from the insurgents they would cut ties with al Qaeda.

The agreement would also kick-start intra-Afghan negotiations, seen as vital to achieving a real peace in Afghanistan.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday the reduction in violence was “imperfect, but it's working.” He added the United States would sign the deal with the Taliban “on or about” this coming Saturday “if and only if” the partial truce holds.

Meanwhile, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan and Afghanistan’s acting defense minister walked around Kabul without body armor Wednesday to highlight the relative peace, according to The Washington Post.

But in their letter, dated Wednesday, the 22 Republicans warned the Taliban “has a history of extracting concessions in exchange for false assurances.”

“They will accept nothing less than a full-scale U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as they seek to establish their totalitarian ‘Islamic Emirate,’ ” the lawmakers wrote. “Our withdrawal would then allow terrorist groups in Afghanistan to grow stronger and establish safe havens from which to plot attacks against us. Any promises the Taliban may have made to the U.S. related to counterterrorism cannot be trusted, not least because the group is a long-time ally of al-Qaeda.”

The lawmakers stressed that “any supposed counterterrorism assurances and potential verification mechanisms” must “be made public.” Time reported earlier this month the deal would include four “secret annexes.”

“The safety of the American people is inextricably linked to this deal. They deserve to know its details,” the letter said.

The letter also highlighted that when he was a congressman, Pompeo “rightfully fought for the disclosure of secret side deals” in the Iran nuclear deal. Iran hardliners such as Pompeo railed against agreements between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency as “secret side deals” in the Obama administration-negotiated Iran nuclear deal.

The lawmakers specifically ask for assurances that the U.S.-Taliban deal be made public without any secret annexes, that Trump administration will not be “pretending that the Taliban is a reliable counter-terrorism partner” and that a deal not commit to a full U.S. troop withdrawal.

They also asked that a deal require the Taliban to turn over al Qaeda leaders and operatives in Taliban territory, that sanctions against the Haqqani network stay in place, that there be not “uneven or premature” release of Taliban prisoners and that there be no joint counterterrorism center with the Taliban, which they said, “would be a farce and put American lives at risk.”



https://thehill.com/policy/defense/484964-cheney-house-republicans-express-serious-concerns-with-us-taliban-deal