1121: Afghanistan: yes, al Qaeda and Taliban are still allies. @thomasjoscelyn, @FDD; @billroggio, @Long War Journal @FDD @LongWarJournal
Image: 1950s Afghanistan - Mothers and children at a city playground Tom Joscelyn, @thomasjoscelyn, Long War Journal and @FDD; and Bill Roggio, @billroggio, @Long War Journal and @FDD; podcast: Generation Jihad, @LongWarJournal; in re: Feb 29, 2020, Trump Adm intended to exit Afghanistan in some fashion, However, violence increased. Trump Adm pretended that Taliban were living up to the deal; Biden Adm is re-evaluating. The “peace talks” are a withdrawal deal. Pentagon is suddenly acknowledging hat this isn't working. From Taliban’s perspective, there’s no there there. Why pretend they’re a partner for peace? They’re fighting for the so-called Islamic emirate. Biden might keep 2,500 troops there on the pretext that they're counterterrorism trainers. Taliban call it “Termination of Occupation Agreement.” The doc is written entirely to facilitate US withdrawal. US calls it “Reducti9n of Violence Agreement” or “peace deal,” when it's nothing of the sort. There exists no obvious plan to complete this. https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2021/02/ep-42-groundhog-day-in-afghanistan.php