Skip to main content
University of Nebraska Omaha logo University of Nebraska Omaha
APPLY MY UNO DIRECTORY

APPLY MY UNO DIRECTORY
  • About Backback to Main menu
    • About
    • Leadership
    • Mission and Strategic Plan
    • Accreditation
    • Our City
    • Facts and Figures
    • Campus Safety
    • Buildings and Maps
    • Contact Us
  • Academics Backback to Main menu
    • Academics
    • Majors & Programs
    • Class Search
    • Catalogs
    • Academic Calendar
    • Colleges
    • Academic Affairs
    • Online Learning
    • International
    • Library
  • Admissions Backback to Main menu
    • Admissions
    • Undergraduate Admissions
    • Graduate Admissions
    • Tuition and Fees
    • Financial Aid
    • Registrar
    • Visit UNO
    • Request Info
    • Apply
  • Student Life Backback to Main menu
    • Student Life
    • Division of Student Life and Wellbeing
    • Academic & Career Development Center
    • Accessibility
    • Housing & Residence Life
    • Inclusion
    • Service
    • Student Conduct & Community Standards
    • Student Involvement
    • Student Safety
    • Wellness
  • Engagement Backback to Main menu
    • Engagement
    • Office of Engagement
    • Campus Resources for Community
    • Service Learning Academy
    • Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center
    • Volunteer and Civic Engagement Programs
    • Samuel Bak Museum: The Learning Center
    • Faculty Resources
    • Student Resources
    • Voter Engagement
    • Community Engagement Partnership Initiative
  • Research Backback to Main menu
    • Research
    • Research News
    • Centers and Institutes
  • Athletics Backback to Main menu
    • Athletics
    • Baxter Arena
    • Omaha Mavericks Website
  • Alumni Backback to Main menu
    • Alumni
    • Transcripts
    • Thompson Center
  1. UNO
  2. News
  3. 2020
  4. 09
  5. Afghanistan Peace Talks Begin – But Will the Taliban Hold Up Their End of the Deal?

Afghanistan Peace Talks Begin – But Will the Taliban Hold Up Their End of the Deal?

From "The Conversation": Sher Jan Ahmadzai, director of the UNO Center for Afghanistan Studies, offers his insight on the fragile nature of an accord between the United States and the Taliban.

  • published: 2020/09/14
  • contact: Sher Jan Ahmadzai - Center for Afghanistan Studies
  • email: sahmadzai@unomaha.edu
  • search keywords:
  • The Conversation
  • Afghanistan
Sher Jan Ahmadzai

Sher Jan Ahmadzai

This article originally appeared on The Conversation.

It was written by Sher Jan Ahmadzai, director of the UNO Center for Afghanistan Studies. Ahmadzai worked in the Afghan government from 2002 to 2007 in different capacities. His last position was as scheduling manager for then-President Hamid Karzai.


Six months after the United States signed an historic accord with the Taliban of Afghanistan, the Islamic militant group has entered into talks with the Afghan government in Doha, Qatar. Meeting with the Afghan government was a condition of the U.S.-Taliban deal.

That deal will end America’s deadly and costly 19-year war in Afghanistan. But it did not resolve the Taliban’s organized military campaign to unseat the Afghan government and rule the country under strict Islamic law. In Doha, the two sides are expected to debate a comprehensive ceasefire and discuss what the Taliban’s role in governing Afghanistan should be, among other topics.

Talks were supposed to begin in March. But the Taliban’s continued attacks on Afghan forces made that impossible. After a brief ceasefire and the release of 5,000 Taliban detainees from Afghan prisons, talks were rescheduled for Aug. 17. Then the Afghan government refused to release its last 320 Taliban prisoners unless the Taliban released more Afghan soldiers from its prisons, leading to another delay.

The commencement on Sept. 12 of the “intra-Afghan” talks represents a significant step forward in the effort to end decades of war in Afghanistan, but peace is far from guaranteed.

I’ve been tracking the progress of the U.S.-Taliban accord in my capacity as director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. My analysis finds that implementation of the Trump administration’s agreement has been halting.

Even on the first day of talks, conflict in Afghanistan killed and wounded more than 100 people.

What’s in the US-Taliban accord?

The four-part agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban committed the U.S. to withdrawing most of its soldiers from Afghanistan, which it is doing. In exchange, the Taliban provided assurances that Afghanistan would no longer be used as a base from which to wage attacks against the U.S. and its allies. It also agreed to engage with the Afghan government.

But the promises made by the Taliban to meet those goals were vague and very difficult to verify.

Based on publicly available information, I find the Taliban has met only two of the seven conditions stipulated in its peace accord with the U.S.: releasing 1,000 Afghan prisoners and entering talks with the Afghan government.

The remaining five conditions in the U.S.-Taliban deal essentially demand, in various ways, that the Taliban sever all ties with militant organizations, especially al-Qaida. Al-Qaida has long provided funds for the Taliban’s insurgency in Afghanistan. In September 2001, just before the 9/11 attacks, it helped the Taliban assassinate a strong Afghan resistance leader, Commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.

Broken promises

On the first day of the intra-Afghan talks, Taliban deputy leader Mullah Beradar Akhund claimed in his opening remarks that the group had met the conditions of the U.S.-Taliban deal.

But international and domestic observers of the Afghan peace process have been unable to confirm that the Taliban has severed its relationship with al-Qaida. In fact, according to a May 2020 United Nations report, the Taliban met with al-Qaida repeatedly in 2019 and early 2020 to coordinate “operational planning, training and the provision by the Taliban of safe havens for al-Qaida members inside Afghanistan.”

Since the U.S.-Taliban accord, violence levels in Afghanistan have actually increased. Some Taliban fighters have insisted they will continue their jihad “until an Islamic system is established,” leading to concerns that the organization is not actually committed to peace.

Peace deals generally have enforcement mechanisms that hold each side accountable for their pledges. That is not the case with the U.S.-Taliban deal. It contains no provisions for what will happen if the Taliban breaks their promises, beyond the U.S. pausing its troop withdrawal. The Qataris, who are hosting the Afghanistan peace talks, have no official power to pressure parties into compliance.

Mutual distrust means the peace process could collapse. The Taliban does not accept Afghanistan’s internationally recognized government as legitimate, though it has stood for three elections since taking power after the Taliban’s regime was toppled by the 2001 U.S. invasion.

That’s why the Afghan government was not a party to the U.S.-Taliban agreement. Instead, the February 2020 deal merely committed the Taliban to direct negotiations with the Afghans.

Hope and doubt

Some U.S. government officials and former diplomats sharply criticized the concession to exclude Afghanistan’s government from talks with the U.S. and the Taliban about the future of the country.

“This deal is a surrender,” wrote the longtime U.S. diplomat and ambassador to Afghanistan under President Obama, Ryan Crocker, in The Washington Post.

[Insight, in your inbox each day. You can get it with The Conversation’s email newsletter.]

Polling shows the Afghan people were willing to make some compromises for peace. But many question whether the Taliban can be held accountable for what they’ve promised. They also fear losing the meaningful achievements that came out of international engagement in Afghanistan, such as women’s empowerment, increased freedom of speech and a more vibrant press.

Those rights – hard-won with American and Afghan blood – will be among the issues negotiated in the Taliban-Afghan talks. Since 2001, 2,219 U.S. troops and exponentially more Afghan civilians and soldiers lost their lives battling the Taliban. For Afghans, the fight continues to this day.

The stakes of Afghanistan’s peace talks are extremely high. Failure, said President Ashraf Ghani last month, is “not an option.”

This story is an updated version of an article originally published Aug. 26, 2020.The Conversation

Sher Jan Ahmadzai, Director, Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska Omaha

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

About the University of Nebraska at Omaha

Located in one of America’s best cities to live, work and learn, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is Nebraska’s premier metropolitan university. With more than 15,000 students enrolled in 200-plus programs of study, UNO is recognized nationally for its online education, graduate education, military friendliness and community engagement efforts. Founded in 1908, UNO has served learners of all backgrounds for more than 100 years and is dedicated to another century of excellence both in the classroom and in the community.

Follow UNO on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube. 

  • News Sections:
  • UNO News Center
  • Maverick Daily
  • The Bullseye
  • Campus Events
SHARE

News Sections

  • News Center
  • Maverick Daily
  • The Bullseye
  • Campus Events

Featured Stories

  • Social Mobility, Experiential Learning Focus of Interview with UNO Chancellor Li
  • UNO Students Graduate as Community Engaged Scholars
  • The Semester Guide
  • More Than 4,800 UNO Students Named to Dean's, Chancellor's Lists in Fall 2022

Contact Us

If you have a story idea, news tip, or other question, please email the UNO News team at unonews@unomaha.edu.

About University Communications

  • Next Steps
  • Visit UNO
  • Request Information
  • Apply for Admission
  • The UNO Advantage
  • Our City (Omaha)
  • Just For You
  • Future Students
  • Current Students
  • Work at UNO
  • Faculty and Staff
  • A-Z List
  • Popular Services and Resources
  • my.unomaha.edu
  • Academic Calendar
  • Campus Buildings & Maps
  • Library
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Course Catalogs
  • Internships & Career Development
  • Bookstore
  • MavCARD Services
  • Military-Connected Resource Center
  • Speech Center
  • Writing Center
  • Human Resources
  • Center for Faculty Excellence
  • Affiliates
  • University of Nebraska System
  • NU Foundation
  • Buffett Early Childhood Institute
  • Daugherty Water for Food Institute
  • National Strategic Research Institute
  • Peter Kiewit Institute
  • Rural Prosperity Nebraska
  1. University Policies
  2. Privacy Statement
  3. Accessibility
  1. 402.554.2800

University of Nebraska Omaha
University of Nebraska Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68182
  • © 2023  
  • Emergency Information Alert
  • Report an Incident or Concern

Omaha Skyline

Our Campus. Otherwise Known as Omaha.

The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its education programs or activities, including admissions and employment. The University prohibits any form of retaliation taken against anyone for reporting discrimination, harassment, or retaliation for otherwise engaging in protected activity. Read the full statement.

scroll to top of page