Afghan security force members inspect at the site of an attack in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, May 8, 2019. Eleven people, including six assailants, were killed and 24 civilians wounded after Taliban suicide bombers attacked a U.S.-funded aid agency in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul. (Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah)
The war has been too long, almost two decades since the United States first marched in. It's time for all related sides to seize the chance to end it.
BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- "It's been a hard journey for everyone," U.S. President Donald Trump said at the White House after his government signed a peace deal with the Taliban on Saturday in a bid to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan.
The deal, signed after over 2,400 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Afghan civilians were killed in the long-running war, opens a door to enduring peace in the conflict-stricken country. Still, plenty of uncertainties remain.
The first problem is the fragile trust between the two signing parties. That will confuse the implementation process as both sides were still harboring doubts and hurling threats against each other before and during the signing.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper warned in Kabul that the United States would "not hesitate to nullify the agreement" if the Taliban does not honor its commitments, while admitting that "this is our chance to bring troops home from Afghanistan for good."
Taliban Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told the British newspaper Financial Times that the group's leadership did not foresee any problems in implementing the deal but warned if any party violated the terms "we would naturally return to finding a solution through military and jihadi means."
Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2020 shows disabled children in Surkh Rod district of Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has documented more than 10,000 civilian casualties in 2019, of these more than 3,400 had been killed, said a report of the body released. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Another concern would be the absence of the Afghan government at the signing table. Kabul will talk with the Taliban under the newly-signed agreement.
The Taliban in the past refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, calling it a U.S. "puppet." Whether the Taliban will sit down with the government as promised would have a great impact on the future of the deal.
Talking to each other is only the first step. The current Afghan government and the Taliban differ greatly in how to run the country. Thus, it is going to be arduous for the two sides to compromise on a power-sharing structure.
The third problem would be a concern for terrorism. As one of the prerequisites for a gradual withdrawal of the U.S. troops, the Taliban has promised to cut ties with terrorist groups. However, it is highly likely that neither al-Qaida operatives nor the Islamic State militants will sit on their hands and watch.
Therefore, foreign troops in Afghanistan should withdraw in an orderly and responsible way to ensure a steady transition, and avoid a security vacuum.
The deal did not come easily, and has seen by many as a historic starting point for Afghanistan to forge lasting peace and stability.
The war has been too long, almost two decades since the United States first marched in. The chance to end it seems to be within reach now. It is time for all related sides to seize it. ■
